Alyssa Denham

Personal: Denham graduated from Arizona in 2021 with a degree in Literacy, Learning, and Leadership with an emphasis on Community Education. She has three older sisters, Stephenie, Jessica, and Tiffany, who all played softball at McNeese. Denham owns two dogs named Cinch and Ellie. She credits former Arizona head softball coach Mike Candrea and former Louisiana head softball coach Mike Lotief as people who have made a difference in her life. If she was not playing softball, Denham says she would be a dentist. As a child, she participated in art, band, and sports. Her hobbies include reading, going on adventures, and spending time with friends and family.

2024 AUX Season: Denham collected 910 leaderboard points during the second Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX campaign. She secured 690 win points with 180 stat points and 40 MVP points. Denham made seven appearances in the circle with three starts. She compiled a 2-3 record with a 3.36 earned run average and struck out 11 hitters over 25.0 innings. Denham was one of three pitchers to post a complete game effort during the 2024 season. She earned the MVP 2 distinction after securing a victory over Team Clark with three strikeouts in a complete game performance. Denham notched her first win of the season on June 13 against Team Leach, throwing 3.1 innings of relief and scattering two runs on two hits. She opened the season by hurling 5.0 innings against Team Leach with three strikeouts.

2023 Championship Season: Denham became the first player in AU Pro Softball history to earn medalist honors in back-to-back years after placing second in the league with 1,980 leaderboard points. She compiled a 12-3 record and shared the league lead for win points (600) with Odicci Alexander and Gwen Svekis. She also tied for second in the circuit with 750 inning win points. Denham earned a share of second place in the league rankings with Danielle Gibson after collecting 220 MVP points and five Game MVP awards. She earned Game MVP accolades in each of her final four appearances. She ranked third in the league with 410 stat points and fashioned a 5-1 record as a team captain, including a perfect 3-0 mark during the final week of the season. She led the league with a 7-1 record over 12 appearances, including nine starts. She also paced the league with 1.51 earned run average after giving up nine earned runs over 41.2 innings. Denham limited opponents to a .216 batting average. She won her final seven decisions after opening the season with a loss against Team McCleney on July 28. She allowed just four earned runs over her last 11 appearances after giving up five earned runs in the season-opening setback. Denham allowed one run on five hits over a season-long 6.0 innings in an August 27 victory over Team Flippen, securing MVP 1 distinction. She opened Week Five by giving up one earned run with just four hits in 5.0 innings against Team Alexander to earn MVP 2 notice. She conceded just one hit over 4.0 innings with three strikeouts to finish Week Four against Team Nickles for MVP 3 recognition. Denham threw 5.0 scoreless innings in a winning effort against Team Davidson in the Week Four opener on August 18 to earn MVP 1 commendation. She garnered victories in back-to-back outings during Week One, allowing just one combined hit over 7.0 innings against Team Rhodes (July 29) and Team Mulipola (July 30). 

2022 Championship Season:  Denham earned 1,720 leaderboard points, finishing second in the league standings. Denham ranked fifth in the league with 1,140 win points and added 400 stat points. She tied for fourth in Athletes Unlimited with 180 MVP points. Denham led the league in wins with six and had an earned run average of 1.94. She made 11 appearances and tallied 27 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. Denham pitched back-to-back complete games against Team Mulipola and Team Jaquish, allowing just two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in those two outings. She also had two five-strikeout performances against Team Jaquish. Denham had a season-high 264 leaderboard points in the Week Four finale against Team Jaquish after recording a shutout performance. 

2022 AUX Season: Denham accumulated 638 leaderboard points. She made nine appearances in the circle, including a league-high five starts. Denham posted 16 strikeouts against just four walks in 24.2 innings. Her season-high was throwing 4.1 innings against Team Fischer on June 20. She also had 4.0 innings in the season finale against Team Zerkle with three strikeouts. Denham had three strikeouts against Team Zerkle on June 24.

2021 Championship Season: Denham tied for 18th place on the leaderboard with 1,320 points. It was her professional debut, and she tied for fifth in the league with 140 MVP points. Denham started five games out of her eight appearances and had a 2-1 record with a 3.71 earned run average in 28.0 innings. She tied for sixth in the league with 17 strikeouts. Denham was one of 12 players selected in the Athletes Unlimited Softball College Draft.

Other Professional Experience: Denham also played for the Toda Medics in the Japan Diamond League during the 2023 season alongside fellow Athletes Unlimited player Gwen Svekis. 

International Experience: In international play, Denham helped Team USA win the Gold medal at the 2022 WBSC Pan American Championships. Denham had a 1-0 record with five strikeouts over 4.0 innings in round-robin play.

At Arizona: Denham played four years at Arizona after her freshman season at Louisiana. She had a 52-18 record in 93 appearances with the Wildcats and a career earned run average of 1.92 with 367 strikeouts in 438.0 innings pitched. Denham ranks ninth on Arizona's career earned run average list. In her fifth-year senior season, she was a Third-Team NFCA All-America performer with a 19-8 record, a 1.95 earned run average, and seven shutouts. Denham ranked eighth in the Pac-12 with 107 strikeouts during the 2021 season. In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, she had a 9-1 record with a 1.92 earned run average and 76 strikeouts. Denham was a two-time Third-Team All-Pac-12 performer in 2018 and 2019 and pitched three no-hitters in her career. In 2017, she was a finalist for the NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year at Louisiana, with a 15-2 record and a 2.27 earned run average in 28 appearances.