2023 Softball Roster
Jersey Number 39
Brianna Nykaza
- Position:
- Infielder
- Height:
- 5-3
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Chicago, Ill.
- High School:
- Whitney M. Young Magnet
- Prev School:
- NC State
 University of Illinois Graduate |
Senior - 2022
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Appeared in 21 games, making nine starts
- Slashed .200/.267/.314 for the yea
- Posted a pair of hits against Fordham (2/11/23)
- Logged a pair of doubles against the Rams (2/11/23)
- Scored a run at Houston (2/24/23)
- Earned a pair of walks against the Cougars (2/24/23)
- Recorded a stolen base at Houston (2/24/23)
Junior - 2022
- Academic All-Big Ten
- Appeared in four games for the Illini primarily as a pinch hitter
- Went 1-for-1 with two RBI vs. Minnesota (4/3/22)
- Competed for the Greek National team in the 2022 European championship in Barcelona, Spain
- Earned team MVP after batting .500 with 10 runs, 6 rbi, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 walks and 1 stolen base in 10 games
Sophomore - 2021
- Appeared in four games
- Pinch hit appearances against Michigan State, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio State
Freshman - 2020
- Played in two games in her first season with the Illini
- Made her Illini debut against NC State (2/15/20)
Freshman (at NC State) - Fall 2019
- Started collegiate career at NC State in fall 2019 before transferring to Illinois at the start of the spring semester
High School
- Was selected to play for the Greek National Team in 2018 in the U22 European Championship in Slovakia, where she compiled a .500 batting average, as well as the Super Six Tournament in Amsterdam and the 2019 European Championship in the Czech Republic
- A standout at Whitney Young Magnet High School, she finished her career as the single-season record holder for hits* (73), batting average* (.658), RBI* (65) and doubles* (27) from her sophomore season in 2017 and is the State of Illinois record holder for doubles (90). *does not hold these records anymore
- Finished her high school career with a .546 batting average with 249 hits, 90 doubles, 217 RBI and 194 runs
- Four-time Chicago Public League All-Conference honoree
- Three-time Illinois High School Association (IHSA) All-State, including first-team as a senior, second-team as a sophomore and third-team as a junior
- In addition to helping Whitney Young to its first-ever softball Chicago City Championship her freshman year, Nykaza helped lead WMYMHS to two more city championships in her sophomore and senior seasons, as well as Regional Championships during her freshman, junior and senior years and a Sectional Championship in her senior season – the farthest a Chicago Public School ever advanced in the state tournament
- Played club ball with the Chicago Batbusters during the 2018-19 year and the Taylor Made Titans in 2016-17
Illini Softball | Ava Moore Media Availability 1/29/2025
Wednesday, January 29
Illini Softball | Karley Yergler Media Availability 1/29/2025
Wednesday, January 29
Illini Softball | Head Coach Tyra Perry Availability 1/29/2025
Wednesday, January 29
ILLINI SB | Berkmeyer Catching Runners
Tuesday, June 11
