Ella Whitney

Photo by: Kat Hostetler

Ella Whitney vs. Akron in MAC Softball Championship

Photo by: Owen Main - Owen Main Photography

Photo by: Owen Main - Owen Main Photography

Position:
Infield / Right-Handed Pitcher
Height:
5-11
Class:
Senior
High School:
Martinsville
Hometown:
Martinsville, Ind.

BALL STATE CAREER NOTES ENTERING 2026 SEASON
- 2025 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team
- Two-Time MAC Pitcher of the Week (March 4, 2025 & March 11, 2025)
- 2025 CSC Academic All-District Softball Team
- 2024-25 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete
- Played in 50 of a possible 51 games over her Ball State career, earning 50 starts
- Made 27 starts at pitcher, 16 as the designated player and seven at first base
- Has two career complete game shutouts, while combining for another
- Became just the seventh player in program history to earn 20 pitching wins in a season with a 20-8 record in 2025
- Scored two game-winning runs and drove in eight game-winning RBI over her Ball State career

2025 (Jr.): Earned first letter at Ball State ... named to the NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team ... Two-time MAC Pitcher of the Week ... CSC Academic All-District Softball Team selection and Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete ... played in 50 of a possible 51 games, making 50 starts ... made 27 starts at pitcher, 16 as the designated player and seven at first base ... was dominant in the circle, finishing tied for 29th nationally with 20 wins, becoming just the seventh pitcher in program history to reach the milestone in a single season ... led all MAC pitchers with a .231 opponents' batting average and ranked second in the conference with a 2.84 ERA ... also paced the league with a 1.23 WHIP, allowing only 156 hits and 56 walks across 172.2 innings ... recorded two complete-game shutouts, including a standout performance against MAC regular-season and tournament champion Miami in a 5-0 win on April 12 ... helped combine for another shutout while striking out 83 batters on the year ... her first Ball State win came in the season-opener when she limited Oregon State (Feb. 7) to six hits and one run ... her first complete game shutout of the season came in the 2-0 win versus Lehigh (Feb. 21) in which she allowed just two hits and a walk ... combined for the shutout in Ball State’s 6-0 victory versus Stonehill (March 9) in which she allowed just four hits over her 6.0 innings of work ... held the RedHawks to two hits, while tying her season high with six strikeouts in the April 12 shutout ... recorded at least one strikeout in five appearances, including four-or-more in 10 outings ... at the plate, Whitney ranked second in the MAC and 126th nationally with 50 RBI ... boasted a .299 batting average, finished second on the team with 10 home runs ... her 11 doubles rank third on the squad ... also recorded Ball State's first triple of the season ... ranked third among Ball State's regular starters in slugging percentage (.573) and fourth in on-base percentage (.389) ... scored a pair of game-winning runs, while driving in eight game-winning RBI ... registered 13 multiple hit games and 12 multiple RBI games ... her first Ball State hit was a triple at Cal Poly (Feb. 7) ... credited with a season-high three hits in the 7-0 win at Butler (March 18) ... drove in her first game-winning RBI on a first-inning error versus Albany (Feb. 21) ... used a two-run, third-inning single to drive home the winning run in the 12-1 (5) victory over Albany (Feb. 23) ... used another first-inning RBI error to drive in the eventual game-winning run versus Evansville (March 8) ... blasted a three-run home run in the fifth to drive in herself for what stood at the game-winning run in the 14-5 victory at Bowling Green (March 29) ... also picked up two more RBI on a seventh-inning double in the game for her first of two five RBI games ... used an RBI ground out in the first to drive in what stood as the game-winning run in the 14-1 (5) victory at Kent State, while adding an RBI double in the second and a three-run home run in the third for her second five-RBI game of the season ... in addition to picking up the complete game shutout, drove herself in for the game-winning run with a second-inning lead off home run in the 5-0 shutout of Miami (April 12) ... used a third-inning RBI single to drive in the game-winning run in the 3-0 victory over Central Michigan (May 3) ... her third-inning RBI single drove in what stood as the game-winner in the 9-1 (6) victory over Akron in the MAC tournament opener ... defensively, she earned a .991 fielding percentage with just one error in 110 chances, contributing to five double plays ... limited opponents to four stolen bases.

Prior To Ball State: Played the 2023 and 2024 seasons at FIU.

FIU (Sophomore - 2024): Played in 41 games, earning 36 starts … finished the season with a .228 average, collecting four doubles and a home run … credited with 12 RBI and 12 runs scored … turned in three hits and three RBI in the 5-0 victory over UIC (March 1), starting with a RBI single to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run, and closing the scoring with a two-run double … credited with a pair of RBI in three games … closed the season with a solo home run in the sixth inning to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run in a 3-2 victory at Louisiana Tech (May 4) … appeared in 14 games in the circle, including 10 starts, producing a 5.25 ERA over 38.2 innings of work … struck out 10 batters on the season … earned her first victory of the season at Middle Tennessee (March 29), scattering 10 hits and three runs, only two of which were earned, over the first 6.0 innings of the 6-3 win … picked up her second victory of the season by allowing just six hits and one earned run over 4.2 innings of work in the 11-9 win over UTEP (April 5) … credited with a save after throwing the final 2.0 innings and allowing one run in the 6-4 win over Sam Houston (April 27).

FIU (Freshman - 2023): Played in 46 games, earning 40 starts … led the Panthers with a .349 batting average, which ranked 10th among Conference USA players … earned Second Team All-CUSA honors and was named to the CUSA All-Freshman Team … of her 37 hits on the year, six were doubles and four were home runs … set an FIU record with hits in eight consecutive at bats, with four hits in games at Charlott (March 11) and at Louisiana Tech (March 17) … her first collegiate hit game versus Pittsburgh (Feb. 17) … her first RBI came on her first collegiate home run in the 6-1 win over Valparaiso (Feb. 24) … drove in a pair of RBI versus Notre Dame (Feb. 26) … smashed a three-run double versus Stonehill (March 3) for her first of a trifecta of three RBI games on the year … along with her four hits she collected three RBI in the 5-3 win at Charlotte … her second home run of the season came versus Middle Tennessee State (April 22), while she tallied home runs in back-to-back wins at UTEP (March 6 and March 7), the second of which was a three-run blast … made 22 appearances in the circle, including nine starts, producing a 6.32 ERA over 68.1 innings of work … struck out 24 batter on the year, with at least one in 14 appearances … earned her first career win with a versus Stetson (Feb. 15), allowing just four hits and one run over 7.0 innings of work in the 6-3 win … earned a complete game victory at Butler (Feb. 19), limiting the Bulldogs to just four hits and two runs in the 3-2 victory … picked up her first collegiate save after pitching the final 3.0 innings and allowing just two hits and no runs in the 9-2 victory over Kansas City (Feb. 11).

High School: Earned four letters at Martinsville High School … team captain as a junior and senior … third team all-state as a senior and a 2022 Indiana All State … finished her career with a .440 batting average, a .887 slugging percentage, 28 home runs, 95 RBIs and 58 runs scored … her .887 slugging percentage and 28 home runs were Martinsville career records … also set the program's single season records for slugging percentage (1.160), on base percentage (.569), RBIs (44), and home runs (15) as a senior … two-time Mid-State All-Conference honoree … in the circle, she boasted a 3.25 career ERA, 245 strikeouts, and 19 career wins over 62 appearances … struck out 113 batters as a senior, while producing a 2.66 ERA and 11 wins … credited with 89 strikeouts and five wins as a junior and 43 strikeouts and three wins as a freshman … was the No. 50 ranked player and the No. 19 ranked pitcher/duo in the 2022 class according to Extra Innings Softball.

Why Ball State: I chose Ball State because it's closer to home and my family can watch me play. It's a great school academically, the softball program is very competitive, and I connected with the coaches.