Jada Cecil enters her first season on staff at Utah State as an assistant coach in 2026.
In 2026, the Aggies excelled in extra-base hits, slugging the second most doubles in the Mountain West (82). Among their 48 home runs, they belted four grand slams across three separate players. They accumulated 53 hit by pitches, ranking 14th in the NCAA and setting a program record.
Cecil fostered Utah State’s largest ever graduating class of 10 seniors, including five among the pitching staff, and offensive standouts in Kya Pratt and Grace Matej. Thompson guided Pratt to her second-straight Mountain West All-Conference team selection, setting program top 10s in doubles (T-4th - 16), total bases (9th - 100), and hits (T-10th - 61) over the course of the season while Matej also jumped into the single-season leaderboards in home runs (T-4th - 12), RBIs (T-8th - 41), and total bases (T-8 - 101).
Cecil joined the Aggies following a decorated college playing career as a right-handed pitcher. Cecil began her career and played two seasons at UC San Diego, before transferring to UCLA for her final two years.
While at UC San Diego, Cecil was twice named to the all-Big West first team and NFCA all-West Region teams, and was named the 2022 Big West Pitcher of the Year. She went 31-15 in the circle with a 1.92 ERA and 405 strikeouts over 335.0 innings pitched in a Tritons uniform, including a 20-5 record with a 1.88 ERA and a program-record 234 strikeouts as a true freshman.
Cecil transferred to UCLA prior to the 2024 season. She then helped the Bruins to back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances, finishing both seasons ranked No. 5 in the nation. Across her two seasons with the team, Cecil made 19 appearances and 10 starts, going 7-1 in the pitching circle. She pitched 48.2 innings with a 4.46 ERA, striking out 55 batters with just 32 walks.
A native of Temecula, California, Cecil prepped at Temecula Valley High School where she was named the Southwestern League Pitcher of the Year her senior season in 2021. She recorded a 1.23 ERA with 169 strikeouts and a 0.60 WHIP over 93.0 innings her senior year.
Cecil graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in biology.