Alabama Softball Ace a Game-Time Decision for Opening Weekend

The Crimson Tide opens the season against Villanova on Thursday in Atlanta, and junior pitcher Jocelyn Briski has been dealing with a leg injury.

May 6, 2025; Athens, GA, USA; Alabama starting pitcher Jocelyn Briski (23) pitches during a game against Auburn at Jack Turner Softball Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama softball's young pitchers will be tested right away as junior ace Jocelyn Briski could be unavaible for the season-opening tournament at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta according to head coach Patrick Murphy.

"Not sure about Briski," Murphy said before Tuesday's practice. "Got a little bit of a leg thing. She pitched yesterday and hit 68 [mph] on the gun several times. So, it's probably going to be game-time. I'm sure she would love to do it, but we'll see. Everybody else is good to go."

Briski appeared in 44 games with 26 starts for Alabama last season, finishing with a 2.99 ERA and 17-13 record. She led the team with 117 strikeouts. Briski shared the load in the circle with Catelyn Riley last season, but Riley is out of eligibility. Briksi also got a lot of experience during her freshman campaign in 2024 pitching behind Kayla Beaver. In her freshman season, Briski appeared in 25 games with 15 starts and had a 2.20 ERA with a 10-6 record.

The Crimson Tide's pitching staff this season runs five deep with all five throwing from the right side: senior Alea Johnson, Briski, sophomore Braya Hodges and two freshmen in Vic Moten and Kaitlyn Pallozzi. Johnson has mainly been used as a reliever in her two seasons at Alabama since transferring over from LSU. Hodges only appeared in 10 games last year during her freshman season with one start.

Pitching is one of the biggest unknowns about the 2026 Crimson Tide team, especially if Briski is unavailable.

"They're really unproven, other than Briski," Murphy said. "Alea pitched quite a bit for us, but the other three, nobody really knows much about them. It's a good thing on one side, but we're not sure what we're going to get on the other side."

If Briski isn't cleared to pitch opening weekend, it will give the young pitchers an opportunity to prove themselves right away.

"We've told them since last October when we started team ball in the fall, I've told them, 'You don't have to pitch seven inning,'" Murphy said. "Give us one time through the lineup, maybe two, and then somebody will finish it in the last inning or two innings–– whatever it takes.

No. 16 Alabama will open the season on Thursday at 2 p.m. against Villanova in Atlanta before playing two games each on Friday (Eastern Carolina and Georgia Tech) and Saturday (Villanova and Georgia Tech.)