Emiley Kennedy ’25
How Aggie Softball's ace found her path and purpose in the circle
By Matt Simon ’98
Just before a mid-January practice at Davis Diamond, head coach Trisha Ford glanced across the field and noticed something.
Turning to her staff in the bullpen, she pointed and said, “Look at the way Emiley Kennedy is walking right now. She's walking with a purpose. She has a little strut about her like, 'I'm it. I'm the dog. I'm the face of the program.'”
Indeed, she is.
Kennedy, a 6-foot-2 left-handed senior pitcher from The Woodlands, leads a Texas A&M Softball team that opened the 2025 season as a consensus top-10 pick and earned its first No. 1 national ranking in program history. In critical moments that define a program and its ability to be successful, the Aggies find comfort knowing their ace stands ready in the circle.
Every preseason list had Kennedy's name near the top — and rightfully so. One of the nation's premier pitchers, her ascent is the product of as much mental growth as it is physical development.
“For Emiley, it was more about proving to herself that she can have some goals that are really hard, be vulnerable with it and then go out and achieve it,” said Ford, now in her third season leading the Aggies. “They're hard to say out loud sometimes, but you also have to live with the consequences of that. Every day do you live up to that standard?
“It was really cool to see her earn that and for her to understand, 'Okay, I did X, Y and Z in order for me to get there and help our team get to the final game in Super Regionals last season.' What I'm most excited about is it made her hungry for more.”
Kennedy's journey to the circle is relatively recent. In fact, softball was the last of the many sports she played while growing up — and she played them all.
Her father, Pat, is a longtime football coach (currently the athletic coordinator and head football coach at Lake Creek High School). Her brother, Cole, played football. Her sister, Ashley, played basketball. Kennedy jokes that nearly every childhood memory took place in a gym.
Even with all that exposure, sports were not always her first choice.
“Emiley is prepared for the world, and that's really what our jobs are. Obviously, we are expected to win at a high rate, but ultimately, we prepare our student-athletes for life. I hope the world for her, honestly.”
“My dad likes to remind everyone that I wanted to be a dancer,” Kennedy said. “My high school had a team called the Highsteppers — kind of like the Rockettes. I wanted to be one so bad. I went to camp and everything. Then I got good at softball and I grew five inches in fifth grade. That's when I kind of outgrew the dancing stage of life.”
Kennedy first picked up a softball at age 12, urged by her mother Christine — a former player herself — to give it a shot.
“It was in the backyard,” Kennedy recalled. “Mom made me. She said, 'You've got to try it.'” She tried, and she did. She started out playing first base, where she was a pretty good fielder and hitter, too. But not good enough to make the local All-Star team. That is when the All-American pitcher was born.
“I went home and thought, 'You know, I could be a pitcher. Then they would need me,' she said. “So, I started throwing in my backyard. I haven't turned back since.”
Kennedy joined a club softball team in eighth grade and quickly found herself competing with and against future Division I talent. She received her first scholarship offer as soon as she joined the team — an experience she describes as “an eye-opening moment.” Many more offers followed soon after.
Texas A&M checked all the boxes for Kennedy. She wanted to play in a high-level environment like the SEC and stay close to home.
“I visited it, loved it and that kind of locked it in for me,” Kennedy said. “I don't think it sunk in at first — my little freshman self — that I committed to a four-year school, earned a scholarship and that my dream was coming true. To this day, I am still extremely thankful.”
After a coaching change following her freshman year at A&M, Kennedy faced a big decision. When Ford was hired as head coach, she made Kennedy her first call. Kennedy, who had fallen in love with Aggieland, chose to stay.
Kennedy's sophomore and junior seasons were marked by significant growth, both in her abilities on the field and in her trust in the process. As a sophomore, she threw 119 innings, finishing with a 12-5 record and a solid 2.47 ERA. The Aggies advanced to the regional finals in Ford's first season, setting the stage for what was to come.
In 2024, however, it became clear that Kennedy was the go-to arm in the circle. She pitched a remarkable 202 innings as a junior, while showcasing strong improvement across the board. She won 24 games and posted a sub-two ERA — an outstanding feat in a league as competitive as the SEC. Her performance helped lead the Aggies to their best SEC finish and earned the program the coveted distinction of hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2018.
After sweeping through the College Station Regional, it was off to Austin to face Texas, the tournament's No. 1 seed.
The Aggies threw punch after punch at the Longhorns, pushing the best-of-three series to the brink in front of a huge national television audience. In the end, A&M fell just shy of advancing to the Women's College World Series, dropping the decisive game, 6-5.
“I still think about it,” Kennedy said. “We were four outs away from the World Series, as a 16 seed, beating the No. 1 seed. It was a great three games, and we were only four outs away.”
Last year's grit evolved into dominance for the 2025 season. The maroon and white stormed to unprecedented heights, being named a 2025 SEC Tournament Co-Champion and making history as the program's first-ever No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA softball tournament.
Regardless of how the 2025 season ends, Ford has found it a joy to watch the transformation of Emiley Kennedy — both as a student-athlete and as a person.
“It's been so cool to see her evolve from where she was previously to where she is today,” Ford said. “Emiley is prepared for the world, and that's really what our jobs are. Obviously, we are expected to win at a high rate, but ultimately, we prepare our student-athletes for life. I hope the world for her, honestly.”