2022 Softball Roster
Cuchran, Nikki
Jersey Number 31
Nikki Cuchran
- Position:
- IF
- Height:
- 5-6
- Class:
- Senior
- High School:
- Montini Catholic
- Hometown:
- Downers Grove, Illinois
Bio
Career Highlights
2023: Started all 55 games at first base ... First Team All-Big Ten ... Hit .314 with an .876 OPS ... Posted a team-high .420 batting average in Big Ten play ... Hit .455 (5-for-11) with five RBI in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against No. 7 Clemson and Notre Dame (2/17-19) ... Drove in three runs against Toledo (3/5) ... Went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored in a win over Minnesota (3/24) ... Crushed a two-run homer and roped a RBI-single against Minnesota (3/26) ... Went 3-for-4 and scored three runs in a win over DePaul (3/28) ... Went 6-for-11 (.545 average) with five RBI in a series win over Iowa (4/1-2) ... Homered, drove in two runs, and scored three times in a blowout win over Penn State (4/8) ... Went 3-for-3 and drove in a run against Illinois (4/12) ... Hit .375 (3-for-8) with two RBI and three runs scored in a three-game sweep of Nebraska (4/28-30) ... Smoked a two-run double to help beat Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament (5/12) ... Launched a game-tying, two-run homer to help clinch the Evanston Regional title against Miami (OH) (5/21).
2022: Made 56 starts at first base ... First Team All-Big Ten ... Posted career-highs with a .330 batting average, 59 hits, eight home runs, 50 RBI, 21 runs scored, and a .525 slugging percentage ... Recorded hits in four of the five games at the Northern Lights Invitational (2/11-13) ... HIt a two-run single in the first inning against Liberty (2/12) ... Doubled and ripped an RBI-single in a win over Texas Tech (2/18) ... Drove in a run to help beat No. 3 UCLA (2/18) ... Went 2-for-3 with two RBI against Oklahoma St. (2/20) ... Hit a career-high two doubles and homered, driving in three runs to help defeat San Diego St. (2/25) ... Singled, walked and drove in a run against Cal State Fullerton (2/26) ... Tallied eight hits in five games at the Southern Illinois Invitational (3/4-6) ... Went 2-for-3 and drove in a run against Northern Kentucky (3/5) ... Launched a home run against Murray State (3/5) ... Hit .583 (7-for-12) with a home run, double, and 10 RBI in four games at the Missouri Tournament (3/19-20) .... Homered, doubled, and drove in a career-high five RBI against Ball State (3/19) ... Roped a RBI-double to help beat Michigan (4/2) ... Homered against Michigan (4/3) ... Went 2-for-4 in back-to-back games against Ohio State (4/8-10) ... Homered to help beat Ohio State (4/10) ... Tallied two hits and two RBI to help beat Purdue (4/16) ... Went 5-for-12 with a home run, five RBI, and her first two triples of the season in a three-game sweep of Indiana (4/22-24) ... Hit a RBI-single and three-run homer against UIC (4/26) ... Went 2-for-3 with a RBI-double to help beat Iowa (4/30) ... Drove in two runs to help beat Iowa (5/1) ... Homered and singled in a regional win over McNeese (5/21) ... Roped an RBI single in the Evanston Regional championship game against McNeese (5/22).
2021: Started all 47 games at first base ... Hit .299 (40-for-134) with a .371 on-base percentage ... Went 2-for-4 with three RBI in a win over Rutgers (2/27) ... Belted a RBI-double as a part of a two-hit effort against Penn State (2/28) ... Picked up two hits and a RBI in a win over Indiana (3/11) ... Collected two hits and a RBI in back-to-back wins against Wisconsin (3/27-28) ... Recorded a hit in all four games against Maryland (4/2-4/4) ... Ripped a RBI-double against Illinois (5/1) ... Tallied two multi-hit games, recording her 100th career hit in the process, in four games against Purdue (5/7-5/8) ... Went 6-for-13 in a four-game series against Nebraska (5/14-5/16) ... Went 3-for-3 in the regional opener against Kentucky (5/21) ... Crushed a grand-slam to help defeat Miami (OH) in a regional game (5/22) ... Hit .667 (6-for-9) with four RBI, three runs scored, and a home run in the Lexington Regional (5/21-5/22).
2020: Started all 23 games of the season at first base or as the designated player … Finished with a .277 batting average (18-for-65), second-best on the team … Struck out just four times compared to nine walks, the third-best strikeout-to-walk ratio among Big Ten players … Tallied two home runs, 11 RBI and 31 total bases … Her .390 on-base percentage was third-best on the team … Tallied two walks in the season opener against Utah (2/7) … Singled and walked against Tennessee (2/8) … Collected a single in a win against Portland State (2/9) ... Hit a two-run double against Georgia (2/14) ... Batted .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles in the Mary Nutter Classic (2/21-2/23) ... Crushed a two-run home run to help defeat North Texas (2/28) ... Went 2-for-3 with a home run in a win over Abilene Christian (2/29) ... Doubled and tripled in her two at-bats against Oakland, collecting three RBI in the win (3/8).
2019: Started 58 games as a designated player during her first-year season ... Finished second on the team in hits (56), batting average (.320), runs batted in (35) and tied for the team lead with 13 doubles ... Led the Wildcats with 17 multi-hit games throughout the season ... Kicked off her collegiate career by going 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and a run scored to help the Wildcats defeat Utah State (2/8) ... Drove in the game-tying run to cap off a five-run rally in the seventh inning in an eventual win against Louisville (2/15)... Went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI to help defeat North Carolina (2/15) ... Went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI against Utah (2/23) ... Reached base in all three of her plate appearances against North Dakota State, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored (3/2) ... Collected her first-career three-hit game, going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a 4-0 win over Montana (3/3) ... Hit a walk-off single in the eighth inning to defeat Drake (3/8) ... Launched a two-run homer in the third inning vs. Tulsa (3/9) ... Clobbered a three-run homer to open the scoring in a win over Toledo (3/16) ... Hit her first-career grand slam in the Wildcats' home-opener vs. Rutgers (3/22) ... Collected two hits and two RBI to help finish off a sweep of Rutgers (3/23) ... Filled the box score with three hits, two RBI and two runs in a win at Iowa (3/30) ... Reached base three times and scored in the series opener at Nebraska (4/5) ... Belted her second grand slam of the season with two outs to open the scoring in the second game of the series at Nebraska (4/6) ... Hit a two-RBI double in an eventual 10-1 win at Michigan State (4/27) ... Doubled in the seventh inning to move the eventual game-winning run to third base in a 1-0 victory at No. 8 Minnesota (5/3) ... Went 2-for-3 with an RBI at Indiana to open the Big Ten Tournament (5/10) ... Recorded three-straight multi-hit performances when the Wildcats were facing elimination in the NCAA Evanston Regionals, including coming up with the go-ahead two-run single in the fifth inning of the Regional Final vs. Louisville (5/19) ... Notched a hit in both of the Wildcats' Super Regional matchups at Oklahoma (5/24-5/25) ... Closed the season on a six-game hitting streak, her longest of the season.
Career Highs:
At-Bats.......................................5 (5x), vs. Iowa (4/1/23)
Hits.........................................3 (8x), vs. Illinois (4/12/23)
Runs.................................3 (2x), vs. Penn State (4/8/23)
RBI...........................................5, vs. Ball State (3/19/22)
Doubles............................2 (2x), vs. Minnesota (3/24/23)
Triples...................................1 (4x), vs. Indiana (4/24/22)
Home Runs......................1 (18x), vs. Penn State (4/8/23)
Total Bases........................8, vs. San Diego St. (2/25/22)
Walks......................................2 (6x), vs. Illinois (5/13/23)
Stolen Bases..............................................................N/A High School: A powerful left-handed bat, is ranked as the nation's 30th overall recruit in the 2018 class by FloSoftball … Never batted below .600 in a high school season … As a senior, batted .711 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs, 86 RBIs and an .800+ OBP … In her four-year high school career, collected 298 RBIs, bashed 61 home runs and 70 doubles … In four full years of high school competition, struck out a grand total of seven (7) times … Four-time All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honoree … Two-time Daily Herald Player of the Year … 2018 Suburban Life Player of the Year … Max-Prep All-American … PGF Regional All-American in 2017-18 … Led her high school to the 2016 and 2018 3A Illinois state championships, hitting a game-winning sacrifice fly in 2016 and crushing a home run in the 2018 state title game … Grew into such a feared hitter, she was intentionally walked twice in the seventh inning during a 12-run rally that gave Montini Catholic a come-from-behind win in the 2018 Class 3A state championship game … Played four years of Club with the Beverly Bandits, winning the 2016 and 2017 PGF National titles … Four-time Academic All-Conference and High Honor Roll for four years … IHSA Scholastic Recognition Award.
Personal: Born Nicole Alexa Cuchran … Daughter of Don and Claudine Cuchran … Father played baseball at Illinois, winning three Big Ten titles while playing under legendary coach Augie Garrido … An uncle, Jack Cuchran, earned a master's degree from Northwestern … Anticipated major is undeclared.
- 2x First Team All-Big Ten
- Eighth in program history with 222 career hits
- Hit over .315 in three seasons (2019, 2022, 2023)
2023: Started all 55 games at first base ... First Team All-Big Ten ... Hit .314 with an .876 OPS ... Posted a team-high .420 batting average in Big Ten play ... Hit .455 (5-for-11) with five RBI in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against No. 7 Clemson and Notre Dame (2/17-19) ... Drove in three runs against Toledo (3/5) ... Went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored in a win over Minnesota (3/24) ... Crushed a two-run homer and roped a RBI-single against Minnesota (3/26) ... Went 3-for-4 and scored three runs in a win over DePaul (3/28) ... Went 6-for-11 (.545 average) with five RBI in a series win over Iowa (4/1-2) ... Homered, drove in two runs, and scored three times in a blowout win over Penn State (4/8) ... Went 3-for-3 and drove in a run against Illinois (4/12) ... Hit .375 (3-for-8) with two RBI and three runs scored in a three-game sweep of Nebraska (4/28-30) ... Smoked a two-run double to help beat Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament (5/12) ... Launched a game-tying, two-run homer to help clinch the Evanston Regional title against Miami (OH) (5/21).
2022: Made 56 starts at first base ... First Team All-Big Ten ... Posted career-highs with a .330 batting average, 59 hits, eight home runs, 50 RBI, 21 runs scored, and a .525 slugging percentage ... Recorded hits in four of the five games at the Northern Lights Invitational (2/11-13) ... HIt a two-run single in the first inning against Liberty (2/12) ... Doubled and ripped an RBI-single in a win over Texas Tech (2/18) ... Drove in a run to help beat No. 3 UCLA (2/18) ... Went 2-for-3 with two RBI against Oklahoma St. (2/20) ... Hit a career-high two doubles and homered, driving in three runs to help defeat San Diego St. (2/25) ... Singled, walked and drove in a run against Cal State Fullerton (2/26) ... Tallied eight hits in five games at the Southern Illinois Invitational (3/4-6) ... Went 2-for-3 and drove in a run against Northern Kentucky (3/5) ... Launched a home run against Murray State (3/5) ... Hit .583 (7-for-12) with a home run, double, and 10 RBI in four games at the Missouri Tournament (3/19-20) .... Homered, doubled, and drove in a career-high five RBI against Ball State (3/19) ... Roped a RBI-double to help beat Michigan (4/2) ... Homered against Michigan (4/3) ... Went 2-for-4 in back-to-back games against Ohio State (4/8-10) ... Homered to help beat Ohio State (4/10) ... Tallied two hits and two RBI to help beat Purdue (4/16) ... Went 5-for-12 with a home run, five RBI, and her first two triples of the season in a three-game sweep of Indiana (4/22-24) ... Hit a RBI-single and three-run homer against UIC (4/26) ... Went 2-for-3 with a RBI-double to help beat Iowa (4/30) ... Drove in two runs to help beat Iowa (5/1) ... Homered and singled in a regional win over McNeese (5/21) ... Roped an RBI single in the Evanston Regional championship game against McNeese (5/22).
2021: Started all 47 games at first base ... Hit .299 (40-for-134) with a .371 on-base percentage ... Went 2-for-4 with three RBI in a win over Rutgers (2/27) ... Belted a RBI-double as a part of a two-hit effort against Penn State (2/28) ... Picked up two hits and a RBI in a win over Indiana (3/11) ... Collected two hits and a RBI in back-to-back wins against Wisconsin (3/27-28) ... Recorded a hit in all four games against Maryland (4/2-4/4) ... Ripped a RBI-double against Illinois (5/1) ... Tallied two multi-hit games, recording her 100th career hit in the process, in four games against Purdue (5/7-5/8) ... Went 6-for-13 in a four-game series against Nebraska (5/14-5/16) ... Went 3-for-3 in the regional opener against Kentucky (5/21) ... Crushed a grand-slam to help defeat Miami (OH) in a regional game (5/22) ... Hit .667 (6-for-9) with four RBI, three runs scored, and a home run in the Lexington Regional (5/21-5/22).
2020: Started all 23 games of the season at first base or as the designated player … Finished with a .277 batting average (18-for-65), second-best on the team … Struck out just four times compared to nine walks, the third-best strikeout-to-walk ratio among Big Ten players … Tallied two home runs, 11 RBI and 31 total bases … Her .390 on-base percentage was third-best on the team … Tallied two walks in the season opener against Utah (2/7) … Singled and walked against Tennessee (2/8) … Collected a single in a win against Portland State (2/9) ... Hit a two-run double against Georgia (2/14) ... Batted .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles in the Mary Nutter Classic (2/21-2/23) ... Crushed a two-run home run to help defeat North Texas (2/28) ... Went 2-for-3 with a home run in a win over Abilene Christian (2/29) ... Doubled and tripled in her two at-bats against Oakland, collecting three RBI in the win (3/8).
2019: Started 58 games as a designated player during her first-year season ... Finished second on the team in hits (56), batting average (.320), runs batted in (35) and tied for the team lead with 13 doubles ... Led the Wildcats with 17 multi-hit games throughout the season ... Kicked off her collegiate career by going 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and a run scored to help the Wildcats defeat Utah State (2/8) ... Drove in the game-tying run to cap off a five-run rally in the seventh inning in an eventual win against Louisville (2/15)... Went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI to help defeat North Carolina (2/15) ... Went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI against Utah (2/23) ... Reached base in all three of her plate appearances against North Dakota State, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored (3/2) ... Collected her first-career three-hit game, going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a 4-0 win over Montana (3/3) ... Hit a walk-off single in the eighth inning to defeat Drake (3/8) ... Launched a two-run homer in the third inning vs. Tulsa (3/9) ... Clobbered a three-run homer to open the scoring in a win over Toledo (3/16) ... Hit her first-career grand slam in the Wildcats' home-opener vs. Rutgers (3/22) ... Collected two hits and two RBI to help finish off a sweep of Rutgers (3/23) ... Filled the box score with three hits, two RBI and two runs in a win at Iowa (3/30) ... Reached base three times and scored in the series opener at Nebraska (4/5) ... Belted her second grand slam of the season with two outs to open the scoring in the second game of the series at Nebraska (4/6) ... Hit a two-RBI double in an eventual 10-1 win at Michigan State (4/27) ... Doubled in the seventh inning to move the eventual game-winning run to third base in a 1-0 victory at No. 8 Minnesota (5/3) ... Went 2-for-3 with an RBI at Indiana to open the Big Ten Tournament (5/10) ... Recorded three-straight multi-hit performances when the Wildcats were facing elimination in the NCAA Evanston Regionals, including coming up with the go-ahead two-run single in the fifth inning of the Regional Final vs. Louisville (5/19) ... Notched a hit in both of the Wildcats' Super Regional matchups at Oklahoma (5/24-5/25) ... Closed the season on a six-game hitting streak, her longest of the season.
Career Highs:
At-Bats.......................................5 (5x), vs. Iowa (4/1/23)
Hits.........................................3 (8x), vs. Illinois (4/12/23)
Runs.................................3 (2x), vs. Penn State (4/8/23)
RBI...........................................5, vs. Ball State (3/19/22)
Doubles............................2 (2x), vs. Minnesota (3/24/23)
Triples...................................1 (4x), vs. Indiana (4/24/22)
Home Runs......................1 (18x), vs. Penn State (4/8/23)
Total Bases........................8, vs. San Diego St. (2/25/22)
Walks......................................2 (6x), vs. Illinois (5/13/23)
Stolen Bases..............................................................N/A High School: A powerful left-handed bat, is ranked as the nation's 30th overall recruit in the 2018 class by FloSoftball … Never batted below .600 in a high school season … As a senior, batted .711 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs, 86 RBIs and an .800+ OBP … In her four-year high school career, collected 298 RBIs, bashed 61 home runs and 70 doubles … In four full years of high school competition, struck out a grand total of seven (7) times … Four-time All-State, All-Area and All-Conference honoree … Two-time Daily Herald Player of the Year … 2018 Suburban Life Player of the Year … Max-Prep All-American … PGF Regional All-American in 2017-18 … Led her high school to the 2016 and 2018 3A Illinois state championships, hitting a game-winning sacrifice fly in 2016 and crushing a home run in the 2018 state title game … Grew into such a feared hitter, she was intentionally walked twice in the seventh inning during a 12-run rally that gave Montini Catholic a come-from-behind win in the 2018 Class 3A state championship game … Played four years of Club with the Beverly Bandits, winning the 2016 and 2017 PGF National titles … Four-time Academic All-Conference and High Honor Roll for four years … IHSA Scholastic Recognition Award.
Personal: Born Nicole Alexa Cuchran … Daughter of Don and Claudine Cuchran … Father played baseball at Illinois, winning three Big Ten titles while playing under legendary coach Augie Garrido … An uncle, Jack Cuchran, earned a master's degree from Northwestern … Anticipated major is undeclared.
Softball - Lauren Boyd Tosses Complete Game Shutout, 'Cats Blank Kentucky in NCAA Regional (5/16/25)
Friday, May 16
Softball - 'Cats Storm Back, Secure Series Victory at No. 8 UCLA (5/4/25)
Sunday, May 04
Softball - 'Cats Earn 8-0 Run-Rule Win at No. 8 UCLA (5/2/25)
Saturday, May 03
Softball - Kaylie Avvisato Hits Walk-Off Home Run, 'Cats Take Series vs. Wisconsin (4/27/25)
Sunday, April 27
