Anjelica "Jelly" Selden is an African-American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, former All-American right-handed softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 from Vacaville, California

Vacaville, California

Vacaville, California is a city located in the northeastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Solano County. The city is nearly half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80. It sits approximately from Sacramento, and from San Francisco...

. She attended Vanden High School from 2001 to 2004. She was the starting

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 for 10-time NCAA Division I Softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 National Champions, the UCLA Bruins

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

 from 2005 to 2008.

Vanden High School

Selden was a standout player who eventually earned the 2004 Softball National Gatorade Player of The Year Award. She also owns high school national records for ERA (0.06; best mark ever) and shutouts (82). As a senior, her tally of 10 consecutive shutout victories is also an enduring record.

University of California-LA

Selden had a record breaking week from March 4-March 6, 2005. She started off registering a career best 23 strikeouts against the Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss Rebels

University of Mississippi sports teams, originally known as the "Mississippi Flood" , were re-named the Rebels in 1936 and compete in the twelve-member Southeastern Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The school's colors are cardinal red and navy blue , purposely chosen to mirror the school...

 in a 14-inning battle, the Bruins eventually lost 3-2 in that game. The single game total was a Bruin record, second only to Debbie Doom

Debbie Doom

Debbie Doom was a former All-American pitcher for, among others, UCLA Bruins and the United States' National Softball Team just prior to the major boom in the sport's popularity both in America and worldwide...

's total of 25, and fifth all-time in the NCAA Division I.

The next day Selden threw her first career no-hitter vs. the St. John's Red Storm

St. John's Red Storm

The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 16 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University. St. John's 16 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing and lacrosse teams, which compete in the ECAC...

. The day after she pitched her second no-hitter, defeating the Fresno St ate Bulldogs. Each game was only one batter away from a perfect game

Perfect game

A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

.

At the 2005 Women's College World Series

Women's College World Series

The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...

, Selden led her team to the championship game where they lost two in the newly established three-games title format to first-time winner, the Michigan Wolverines

Michigan Wolverines

The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...

. In game two, Selden struck out 13 to set a new championship game record in the three-games setup; UCLA Bruins

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

 great Debbie Doom

Debbie Doom

Debbie Doom was a former All-American pitcher for, among others, UCLA Bruins and the United States' National Softball Team just prior to the major boom in the sport's popularity both in America and worldwide...

 holds the ultimate record of 15 strikeouts in the 1984 championship. Selden also made the WCWS All-Tournament Team.

Selden ended her season with 485 strikeouts in 325.0 innings, both new school marks that remain tops for UCLA. Her 29 wins were good for the school top-10 and earned her All-American, All-Pac 10 and Pac 10 Newcomer of The Year honors.
Following up her freshman season, Selden repeated all-season honors including a First Team All-American selection. She bettered her own records with 35 wins and 16 shutouts to go along with 408 strikeouts in 282.2 innings, all top-10 season records for UCLA.
On April 29, 2007, she broke Keira Goerl's all-time career strikeouts record against the Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State Beavers

The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...

. Selden closed the season recording 1,106, having become only the fourth softball player of color to break into the NCAA Division I elite 1,000 Strikeouts Club.
In her senior year, Selden fanned 17 Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's Division I sports teams. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat...

 on February 24, 2008 for a 6-2 win and a career best for strikeouts in a regulation game.

Selden also pitched the Bruins to their third appearance at the Women's College World Series

Women's College World Series

The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...

 and a No. 2 seed after the Bruins nearly fell out of the top 20 the previous season. Selden would conclude her career with 1,441 strikeouts, which gave her ninth most

NCAA Division I Softball career strikeouts list

There are currently 64 pitchers and 59 records in the 1,000 Strikeout Club:-Progression:Shawn Andaya broke the original strikeout record by Amy Unterbrink during her 1987 campaign. Michele Granger struck out her 1,235th batter on February 22, 1993 shutting out the Northwestern Wildcats 8-0...

 in the NCAA Division I and at the top for the UCLA Bruins

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...

. Her strikeout ratio of 10 was second only to alum DeeDee Weiman and she was just the 13th player to average double digits and one of four graduating in 2008.

For a final time Selden earned all-season honors and was awarded with Team MVP on June 8, 2008.

Professional Career

In the 2008 National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...

 Senior Draft first round, Selden was selected fourth overall by the New England Riptide

New England Riptide

The New England Riptide is a dormant women's softball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. Operations were suspended in February 2009 . The NPF website does not list the Riptide as a current team.- 2004 :The 2004 season...

. She has yet to play professionally.

Selden served as an Undergraduate Assistant for the 2009 season at her alma mater.

UCLA Bruins

YEAR	W	L	GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...	GS Games started In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter...	CG Complete game In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...	Sh Shutout In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....	SV Save (sport) In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers...	IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	R	ER Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....	ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
2005	29	14	50	42	42	13	2	325.0	187	70	51	46	485	1.10
2006	35	7	44	37	37	16	1	282.2	153	55	43	80	408	1.06
2007	17	11	33	28	20	7	0	171.0	139	96	69	36	213	2.82
2008	29	5	40	35	28	8	2	233.2	119	51	32	40	335	0.96
TOTALS	110	37	167	145	127	44	5	1012.1	598	272	195	202	1441	1.35