Trib HSSN softball player of the week – Adalina Bracco

School – Thomas Jefferson

Class – Senior

Position – Shortstop

#Earned – Adalina Bracco admits she had no idea what to expect before the season with a young Thomas Jefferson roster.

Her leadership role as the lone senior in the starting lineup most games and one of the few 12th graders on the roster would be tested after two groups of seniors had moved on from the 2024 Jaguars squad that won a PIAA Class 5A championship after losing in the WPIAL title game.

Thanks in part to her leadership on and off the field and the quick maturation of all the young Jags, TJ has been one of the great stories in the district this spring.

An opening day victory over 2025 PIAA champion Penn-Trafford got everybody’s attention, including Bracco’s, and set the tone for the season.

Thomas Jefferson beat out Baldwin by one game and Trinity by two to win the competitive Section 4-5A.

After a first round win over South Fayette and a shut out of Plum in the WPIAL quarterfinals, adversity hit the Jaguars, who watched as No. 11-seeded North Hills turned a 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 upset win in the semifinals.

Still reeling from that loss, Thomas Jefferson lost in the rubber game of their season series with Baldwin in the 5A consolation game, 3-1, to become the No. 4 seed out of the WPIAL in the state playoffs.

The PIAA postseason began for TJ with a trip to District 3 champion Northern York, and the young Jaguars devoured the Polar Bears, 10-0.

Bracco was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI in the win.

In a rematch against North Hills in the state quarterfinals, Thomas Jefferson flashed the leather and the long ball.

Sophia Janosko made a run-saving diving catch in center field, Zoie DeCostro started a huge 5-3 double play with some quick footwork, and Bracco got in on the defensive fun with a lunging catch after a long run of a pop fly in foul territory in shallow left field.

Bracco finished 2 for 2 at the plate, with a walk and got the offense rolling with a home run in the bottom of the first inning.

It was her first over-the-fence homer of the season as TJ avenged its district loss with a 4-0 whitewash of the Indians.

Thomas Jefferson will square off with WPIAL champion Shaler on Monday for a spot in the PIAA Class 5A championship game at Penn State on Thursday.

For the season, Bracco is batting .509 (29 for 57) with two home runs, a triple, eight doubles, 24 runs scored and a team high 33 RBIs.

Bracco has an on-base percentage of .580, a slugging percentage of .789 and a 1.369 OPS.

She will continue her career in the fall at Division I Tennessee Tech and plans to study pharmaceuticals.

2026 Trib HSSN Softball Players of the Week

Week 9 – Lauren Howard, Hempfield

Week 8 – Irelyn Fisher, Union

Week 7 – Abby Sutton, North Hills

Week 6 – Bria Bosiljevac, Shaler

Week 5 – Sydney Gonglik, Bentworth

Week 4 – Bailey Barnyak, Carmichaels

Week 3 – Sydney Sekely, South Park

Week 2 – Emma Herb, Shenango

Week 1 – Addyson Nigut, Elizabeth Forward