Ankeny Centennial softball star Jordyn Kennedy has been named a first-team all-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Kennedy, a senior third baseman, was one of 13 players across the nation to earn first-team honors. She was the only Iowan named to any of the three all-American teams.
Kennedy was also selected to the Region I first team, while Centennial senior outfielder Mady Ott was a second-team all-region selection. They were the only Iowans honored.
Kennedy and Ott have helped Centennial to a 38-3 record and a third trip to the Class 5A state tournament in the last five seasons. The CIML Conference champion Jaguars will face league rival Dowling Catholic in the opening round of the tournament on Monday at 4:15 p.m. at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.
Kennedy is batting .472 with 18 home runs, 11 doubles and a career-high 63 RBIs. The Minnesota recruit is tied for fourth in the entire state in home runs and ranks seventh in RBIs.
Ott leads Centennial and ranks fourth in Class 5A with a .554 batting average. The Drake commit has hit 14 home runs and 13 doubles while driving in 55 runs.
Kennedy became a starter at Centennial as an eighth grader in 2022, when she helped the Jaguars to a 25-13 record. Ott joined her in the starting lineup as a freshman, and the duo led the Jaguars to the Class 5A crown.
Centennial has posted a 137-28 mark over the last four seasons. The Jaguars placed third in Class 5A in 2025, when Kennedy nearly won the Class 5A Triple Crown by batting .547 with 21 homers and 61 RBIs.
For her career, Kennedy is batting .474 with 67 homers, 45 doubles and 239 RBIs. She needs four more homers to tie the all-time Ankeny record of 71 that was set by Kendyl Lindaman, who starred at both Ankeny and Centennial during her five-year career.
Lindaman held the state’s all-time record until earlier this season, when she was passed by Dubuque Wahlert standout Julia Roth. Roth has 18 homers on the year and now has 75 for her career.
Ott is batting .440 with 48 homers, 41 doubles and 193 RBIs for her career. She has set career-highs this season in batting average and doubles, and she could also set career-highs in homers and RBIs.
The all-American teams were comprised of players from 26 different schools. First-time Kentucky state champion South Warren High School led all programs with four all-Americans, including two on the first team.
Two juniors from Ohio, outfielder Jessica Conner of Elyria Catholic and outfielder Kaliana Ray of Austintown Fitch, earned all-American honors for the third time. Nine others were two-time honorees.
Voted by member head coaches, the awards honor student-athletes from the 10 NFCA high school regions. All players who received first team all-region status this year appeared on the all-America ballot.
In order to be eligible for all-region, student-athletes had to have been nominated by their NFCA-member head coach. All-region honorees were chosen by a vote of member head coaches in their respective region.