Adix-Zins Signs Nigey, Smith to Softball Program
7/15/2022 3:43:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Pair of right-handers join Blue Demons for 2023 season
CHICAGO — DePaul softball head coach Tracie Adix-Zins announced a pair of additions to the program on Friday afternoon. Right-handed pitchers Bella Nigey and Brenna Smith will join the program in the fall of 2022 with Nigey holding four years of eligibility and Smith with two. Â
"We are very excited to welcome Bella and Brenna to our program. Their breadth of experience in the circle will help us reach our goals and ultimately allow us to continue competing for BIG EAST Championships." said Adix-Zins. "Bella and Brenna are both high character individuals who will make an impact on and off the field and we're thrilled for them to join our Blue Demon family."Â
Nigey lands in Lincoln Park after a standout career at Davenport Assumption High School in Davenport, Iowa. A four year letterwinner in softball, Nigey was apart of a pair of state championship softball teams in 2019 and 2021 and has led her team back to the state tournament in 2022. In 2021, Nigey went 25-2 in the circle across 140.1 innings pitched en route to First Team All-MAC and First Team All-State honors. This season Nigey has recorded a 22-3 record with an opposing batting average of. 148. On her career, Nigey amassed 385 strikeouts and counting and boasts a .80 career ERA with the Knights. The Bettendorf native spent time with the Southeast Iowa All-Stars travel ball program and was high school teammates with DePaul rising sophomore and 2022 BIG EAST All-Conference player Anna Wohlers. Nigey plans to pursue a degree in Health and Human Sciences.Â
Smith joins the Blue Demons after three years on the pitching staff at Purdue. The Riverside, Calif. native threw 141.1 innings in a Boilermaker uniform in 59 appearances and 22 career starts. Smith compiled a 10-12 record and has thrown 67 strikeouts across a pair of full seasons in addition to the COVID shortened 2020 season. In 2022, Smith hurled 95.2 innings for the second most on the squad to go with a 4.17 ERA. Smith graduated from Martin Luther King Jr. High School in 2018 where she earned letters in volleyball and softball. In her senior season, Smith earned a 1.48 ERA and recorded 67 punch outs while the Wolves were the Southern Section DII runner ups. A three-time All-Big Ten Academic Team honoree, Smith is set to pursue a masters degree in Counseling in DePaul's College of Education.Â
Nigey and Smith join four incoming freshman who signed their National Letters of Intent last fall in addition to 11 returners from last year's squad that went 29-24 and 16-8 in league action en route to the program's 16th-straight BIG EAST Tournament appearance.Â
