
Jocelyn Briski has emerged as Alabama's ace in softball, overcoming her mother's cancer diagnosis and her own injury. She was named SEC Pitcher of the Year and is a finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year.
Jocelyn Briski has always liked having the ball in her hand.
In the Alabama softball circle, there is nowhere to hide. Every pitch starts with her. The momentum of the game runs through her hand, extends to her fingertips and whooshes through the throw before it reaches anyone else. It is part of what drew Briski to pitching in the first place.
She likes being in control. She likes being relied upon. She likes knowing that, for half the game, the responsibility belongs to her.
"I like the pressure situations," Briski told The Tuscaloosa News. "I liked everyone having to rely on me."
But long before Briski was unanimously named SEC Pitcher of the Year by the USA TODAY Sports Network and a top-25 USA Softball Player of the Year finalist in her comeback junior season, life taught the player from Phoenix that control can disappear quickly. Sometimes, no amount of preparation can stop it. Sometimes, the only thing she can control is how she responds.
That lesson came hardest when Briski was a high school sophomore.
In November 2020, as COVID-19 continued to reshape everyday life, Jocelyn's mother, Melissa, was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. A contained treatment plan became more aggressive after doctors found the cancer had reached four lymph nodes.
The timing made an already frightening diagnosis even more isolating. Melissa was going through chemotherapy before COVID-19 vaccines were readily available. Their normal suddenly became possibly life-threatening. Jocelyn going to school and playing softball, as she had for five years, could mean compromising her mother's immune system.
The family made a painful decision. For Jocelyn and her younger sister (and now-Alabama softball commit) Ava, to keep living some version of a normal life, they had to live away from home.
Jocelyn Briski faced her mother's cancer diagnosis and her own injury, which she overcame to excel in softball.
Jocelyn Briski was named SEC Pitcher of the Year and is a top-25 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year.
Her experiences taught her that while control can be lost, she can control her response and thrive under pressure.
Jocelyn Briski plays as a pitcher for the Alabama softball team.

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April 30, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama’s Jocelyn Briski pitches at Rhoads Stadium as the Crimson Tide hosted South Carolina.
"Are we all just going to stand around here and stare at each other all day, or go be? Go play the game. Mom's going to be fine," Melissa would tell her daughters.
Jocelyn stayed with teammates and their families. She went to school. She distanced. She went to practice. She tried to keep moving through the days like any other high school sophomore, but how could she?
"Seeing her without her hair for the first time and all that was a reality check," Jocelyn said. "Like, wow. My mom actually has cancer."
March 15, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama pitcher Jocelyn Briski celebrates an inning-ending strikeout at Rhoads Stadium. Alabama defeated Arkansas 4-1 to claim the series.
During Melissa’s treatment, Paul Briski remembers Jocelyn stepping into responsibilities no one had assigned her. She organized all the Christmas shopping. She handled thank-you cards.
"It’s one of the proudest moments I’ve ever had as a dad," Paul said. "I’m not worried about her and what she’s going to do the rest of her life, because she’s already making the right decisions and her heart’s in the right place."
That had always been part of who Jocelyn was.
She had learned that lesson years before. When she was about 10 years old, a rec league coach told her she would "never pitch, ever." Jocelyn, determined, next tried out for one of the top club teams, the Arizona Storm Brun. The roster back then included some names that became notable:
Jocelyn Briski poses with her travel ball team, the Arizona Storm Brun.
Jocelyn made the team, but only as a practice player.
There was no guarantee she'd ever play, but Jocelyn accepted the role. Being around better players was a chance to improve. Paul, a former pitcher for Butler baseball, made sure she knew how to be gritty and earn her part from when she first picked up a ball.
"I like to tell people that I'm good at everything until I'm literally proven that I'm not," Jocelyn said. "If you can go into everything with confidence that you're good at everything, you're going to do better than you think that you will."
Eventually, she earned her way into games; first as a hitter and then as a pitcher. When an opportunity came, she was ready. By the time she reached Alabama, Jocelyn had already learned how to keep working when the situation was not what she wanted.
At Alabama, those lessons continued. The demands of pitching, extra hitting work and school made doing both difficult. After getting hit on her right hand multiple times early into Crimson Tide practices, Jocelyn chose the path where she could stay in control: pitching.
Then came more setbacks.
As a freshman, an injury sidelined her for several weeks. As a sophomore, the results did not match the standard she held for herself, and she came away believing the issue was not just physical and mechanical, but mental too.
Jocelyn Briski prepares to play with the Arizona Storm Brun.
Jocelyn spent the offseason trying to take control back. She worked on her mechanics. She focused on spin. She built her speed. Her parents saw a stronger, more confident daughter who was eager to take control of her career once again.
Then another piece of control disappeared.
While back squatting at home during winter break, Jocelyn felt something wrong in her knee: a torn patellar tendon. She had a PRP injection and entered the season knowing she would have to, once again, accept losing control.
The timing could have been crushing. She was not expected to be fully ready right away, and early in the season, she had to work through limitations.
But this time, Jocelyn knew the choice in front of her. Like when she learned her mother's diagnosis, she could dwell on the frustration or adjust. She could let the injury define the season or wait for her chance and make the most of what her body allowed.
"She doesn’t want to let her coaches and her teammates down," Paul said, "so she’ll push through things, even sometimes that she shouldn’t."
April 2, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama pitcher Jocelyn Briski pitches at Rhoads Stadium as Number 1 Texas and Number 4 Alabama play an SEC series.
Jocelyn may not be 100% healthy, but she's having the season she's worked for. Alabama is near the top of the SEC heading into the league tournament. She's near the top of the SEC leaderboard in multiple categories.
"She is such a power," Alabama softball utility player Alexis Pupillo said. "She is such a force to be reckoned with, and it's just been so cool to watch her do her thing."
Jocelyn's perspective matters as Alabama moves into the postseason. The pressure will only build. But pressure has never been the part that scared her.
It is part of why she wanted the ball in the first place.
Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Jocelyn Briski takes control for Alabama softball heading into postseason