Sophomore - 2015

• Academic All-Big Ten
• Saw action in 41 games as a sophomore, making 39 pitching appearances and 26 in the batting lineup.
• Went 19-12 with a 4.86 ERA, allwing 195 hits, 158 runs (116 ER) and 105 walks with 118 strikeouts over 167.0 innings pitched.
• Made 26 starts, going 16 complete games with two shutouts.
• Ranked in the top 15 in the Big Ten in opponent batting average, innings pitched, strikeouts, called strikeouts, appearances starts relief appearances and triples allowed, ranking fifth in the Big Ten and 55th in the nation in wins.
• Hit her stride during Big Ten play, leading the conference in wins, with an Illini record 13, as well as appearances (21), ranking second in innings (100.0) and starts (16), fifth in strikeouts (74) and eighth in called strikeouts (15).
• Ranked fourth all time at Illinois in total strikeouts as well as strikeouts per seven innings during Big Ten play.
• Hit .250 with a .429 slugging percentage, totaling seven hits, two doubles, a home run, a walk and five RBIs in 28 at-bats.
• Went 17-3 over her final 22 appearances of the regular season, including a seven-game winning streak from April 4-15.
• Closed out the game against No. 12 Georgia, allowing just one hit in the final inning.
• Gave up just one hit, a home run, along with a walk over 2.1 innings of relief against Murray State.
• Hit a pinch hit home run against New Mexico (2/20) in her first at-bat of the season.
• Hurled her first career complete game against UC Davis (3/6), allowing three earned runs in her first victory of the year.
• Twirled a then-career-high seven strikeouts in a complete game vs. NDSU.
• Registered a team-season-high 10 strikeouts in a complete game vs. No. 15 Minnesota (3/22), allowing just three hits and no earned runs while going 1-for-3 at the plate.
• Earned three-straight victories over Indiana, and went 1-for-3 at the plate in the series opener.
• Sealed up her fourth-straight win against Illinois State, allowing runs in just one inning and retiring 12 of the final 13 batters in the complete-game victory.
• Did not allow an earned run in a complete-game victory in game two at Iowa (4/4).
• Captured her seventh win in eight appearances allowing three runs on just four hits with five strikeouts against Indiana State.
• Claimed three-straight wins (10th of 11) in leading the Illini to a sweep of Maryland. Tossed two complete games and 2.1 scoreless innings of one-hit relief, striking out eight in the weekend opener.
• Tossed her first career shutout, a 3-hitter, at DePaul, and drove in two runs at the plate.
• Captured two victories over Purdue, allowing just one run in the series opener then tossing her first-ever extra-innings complete game in the series finale.
• Hurled a two-hit shutout with no walks and five strikeouts against Western Illinois.

Freshman - 2014

• NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete
• Appeared in 31 games as a freshman, playing 28 games in the batting lineup and making 15 appearances in the circle.
• Batted .203 as a pitcher/designated player, tallying 13 hits, four doubles, four walks, seven runs and four RBI in 64 at bats, going 1-for-1 on the basepaths.
• Went 1-1 with a 4.65 ERA and a .283 opposing batting average as the Illini's primary reliever, making one start.
• Allowed 49 hits and 17 walks with 28 strikeouts in 43.2 innings pitched.
• Saw significant action in Big Ten play, ranking second in the conference in relief appearances and games finished, third in hits and doubles allowed, fourth in walks, seventh in earned runs and eighth in runs allowed, while ranking seventh in relief appearances and ninth in games finished over all games.
• Walked and singled in her first career appearance against UIC.
• Pitched a perfect 1-2-3 sixth inning with a strikeout to close out the Illini's 12-2 victory over Loyola.
• Was nearly perfect in relief against Binghamton, tossing two hitless innings and striking out four of the seven batters she faced. Allowed just one base runner on a hit by pitch.
• Tied the school record with two doubles against UMKC, adding a run and an RBI.
• Went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored against Creighton.
• Tossed four nearly-flawless innings against UT Arlington, picking up her first career victory by allowing just one unearned run on one hit with three strikeouts.
• Went 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate against FAU.
• Tossed 1.1 scoreless innings to close out the DH vs. No. 16 Missouri.
• Hurled a total of 10.2 innings of relief over the first two games against No. 15 Minnesota, coming in in the first inning and finishing out both games.
• Pitched five innings of relief against No. 20 Nebraska, and went 1-for-1 with a run at the plate.
• Walked and hit an RBI double while pitching 4.2 innings of relief in the second Wisconsin game.
• Pitched two innings of hitless, scoreless relief in game one against Purdue.
• Tossed four perfect innings of relief in game one against No. 25 Northwestern, retiring all 12 batters she faced.

High School

• 2012 MaxPreps All-American.
• 2013 MaxPreps Preseason All-American.
• Three-time first-team all-league (2011, 2012, 2013).
• Two-time League Most Valuable Pitcher (2012, 2013).
• 2013 First-Team All-CIF.
• Two-time first-team all-county (2012, 2013).
• 2012 first-team all-state.
• 2013 Orange Lutheran High School Female Athlete of the Year.
• 2010 County Top 10 Freshmen.
• Led the Orange Lutheran Lancers to back-to-back league championships, going undefeated in 2011, while advancing to the CIF Quarterfinals in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
• Played travel ball for the Explosion on Brett Denio.
• 12U ASA National Champions in 2008.
• 14U ASA Nationals Finalist in 2010.
• 16U Premier Top 10 (2010, 2011).
• 18U ASA Gold Nationals Top 10 in 2011.

Personal

• Born Jade Priscilla Vecvanags.
• Daughter of Joei and Peter Vecvanags.
• Has a younger sister, Johnna.
• National Honor Society.
• Three-time High Honor Roll.
• Majoring in Speech & Hearing Science.

Getting to Know Jade

Career Plans: Work with children.
Fun Fact: I did gymnastics when I was younger.
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
Movie you've seen in theatre that you've regretted seeing the most: Prom Night
What are you most proud of and why? Receiving a scholarship to play softball in college.
If you were to win $10 million, what would you buy? Shoes, shoes, shoes, and more shoes.
Book you've read in the past year: Looking for Alaska
Favorite Quote: "Good things come to those who go out and work for them."
Favorite Athlete: Mike Trout
Favorite TV Show: Anything on the Food Network
Favorite Musical Artist: Drake
If I could visit any place in the world, where would you choose and why? Latvia, because that is where my grandpa is from.