Jalen Adams finds new home with Arizona softball

It didn’t take Jalen Adams long to find her new home.

Adams, who led Fort Dodge Senior High to a state softball championship, has transferred to Arizona to play her senior season.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jalen to Tucscon after a dominant pitching performance at Iowa this season,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said. “She’s a proven winner and will bring a great deal of high-level experience to our bullpen.”

That Adams is, as she went 25-6 this past year while leading the Hawkeyes. Her 20 complete games ranked second in the Big Ten Conference while her 198.2 innings were third. She also ranked fourth in the league with five solo shutouts, ninth with two saves, 11th with 130 strikeouts and her 25 wins placed her eighth in the nation.

Adams won 45 games and recorded 245 strikeouts in 518 innings pitched for Iowa over three seasons, quickly finding her spot as the ace of the staff. However, the Hawkeyes went through three coaches this past year, and Adams opted to enter the transfer portal following the season.

“It’s never easy to close a chapter that meant so much,” Adams posted on social media. “Iowa gave me some of my hardest battles and most beautiful friendships Now it’s time to chase my purpose and goals in Arizona.”

She was a five-year starter at Fort Dodge while playing for her mother, Andi Adams. At Iowa, Adams was a Big Ten All-Freshman team selection in 2023 and earned NFCA All-Midwest and All-Big Ten second team status this past season.

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