Yavapai College freshman Jaydee Boursaw is more than happy to call herself a late bloomer, especially when that means leading NJCAA Division I in home runs and sitting second in the nation in RBIs.

During high school, the power-hitting catcher watched in agony as many of her teammates committed to four-year universities, while she still searched for the right playing destination. After eventually being welcomed at Yavapai College, Boursaw has flourished in her first year with the team and has seen several doors open to Division I schools.

Jaydee Boursaw

Hometown: Vallejo, CA
NJCAA DI: Yavapai College
Year: Freshman
Position: Catcher
AVG: .483
HR: 26 (NJCAA No. 1)
RBI: 80 (NJCAA No. 2)
Awards: ACC Player of the Week, NJCAA Player of the Week

How did you end up at Yavapai? I ended at Yavapai, because an old teammate of mine was recruited. The coaches said that they were in need of another catcher for this year. She knew that I wasn't committed to a school at that point. She showed the coaches my skills video and stats, and they got ahold of me from there.

Can you tell me a little bit about your recruiting experience during high school? During high school it was really stressful, because I wasn't necessarily in a great spot with my softball. It took a long time to develop into the player that I am now. I had a lot of issues with fundamentals that weren't picked up on right away.

It was really rough because I saw a lot of my teammates going to all these big schools and committing to their dream schools and I was still trying to figure out what where I wanted to go.

While you were in high school, did you go to college camps and clinics? I attended quite a few college camps. It was kind of rough with my travel schedule to make it out to so many camps. We tried to make it out to as many as we could.

Emotionally, what is it like to put your time, money, energy into doing these camps and not have things pan out the way you hoped? It's really stressful. I think the first camps that I did attend when I started serious about going to college playing softball, it was really stressful because you see a lot of people who are at those camps just to show up because they're already committed. You see people who are on the verge of committing to these schools. And then you see these people like me at the time who are just trying to get the exposure.

It's really stressful going to the camps thinking, well, this college may not want me. It's really intense trying to get through the camp and know what the coaches are thinking the whole time. A lot of people they'll make one mistake and they'll get really upset about it, because they think that's going to be the determining factor.

But it's pretty stressful. It was a lot easier as I got older when I realized that many of the coaches won't give you their flat-out opinion right there and some of them will. Some of them will tell you that you're not exactly what they're looking for or they have that position filled.

It was definitely a rough experience trying to go to camps and trying to get your name out there. Because you have so much stress to try to be the best you can be and sometimes you have an off day.

What's your experience been like at Yavapai? It's been amazing. I have some of the best teammates that I could ask for. The coaches are really easy to talk to. They're like family here. I know it sounds pretty cliche to say. It's really easy for me to go to the coaches if I have something that I need to talk about or if I'm having an issue even if it's not softball related.



It's really nice to have a coach who's like a father figure. Our assistant coach who is just like a sister to us, I can talk to them about just about anything.

Do you think you made the right decision to go to Yavapai? I definitely do think I made the right decision to go to Yavapai. I've definitely gotten a lot of exposure being here. I've gotten a lot of help from my coach that I don't think I would have.

What was the turning point for you offensively? Offensively, I've always been a pretty strong player. I've never really struggled too much when it comes to offense. Since being here at Yavapai, my coaches worked with me a lot on rotating my lower half of my body and getting my legs more into my swing. That's definitely contributed a lot to my success.

He got me on a flatter bat path, which has definitely helped me to level out a lot of the balls that I've hit out so far.

Have you been attracting attention from DI schools? That I'm aware of, there's been a few schools my coach is kind of holding out right now to see what the best offer I can get is. He only has the best interest in mind for all of his players.

It's kind of exciting to seeing these offers from schools that I never thought I would go to and now starting to look at me and seeing my numbers that are now saying that's someone we could use on the team.

What would you say to people who may not be committed and considering going to a junior college? I think my skill came out really late. A lot of schools are recruiting fairly early now. And my skill set didn't really develop until my junior year.

I think that going to a junior college is a great option. We have girls on our team going to some of the top DI schools in the country right now. It's not a bad option. Sure you won't get four years at a Division I college, but it's not like you can't get two years, one year, or even three years if you decide to leave after your first.

It's not as taboo as people make it seem.  A lot of people think that going to a junior college means that you don't have what it takes to make it to a four year. For some cases, that might be it. There a lot of people that have other reasons why they couldn't go to a four year.



Where are some of your teammates transferring to? Most of our sophomores are committed. Amy Robinson is our starting pitcher she is going to University of South Carolina Upstate. Shortstop Andrea Sotelo is going to CSU San Marcos.

What motivates you? My motivation comes from people who have told me that I wouldn't amount to being the softball player that I am today. I have taken a lot of harsh criticism to my work and being able to prove that I'm better than that definitely motivated me to do better. 

You said you've been through some hard times with softball, what are those hard times? I've been on teams where I haven't played for multiple games in a row in tournaments, and I would sit the whole weekend.

My mom motivates me. My mom is a single mom, and she's raised me to be an independent strong person and to always be able to trust myself.

I've had a lot of rough experiences with softball and with life in general. She's definitely pushed me to be the best I can be. When I've considered giving up, she's always pushed me to go further.

My grandfather is a very big influence on me, because he and my grandmother took care of me while my mom was working. He took me to all of my practices even though they were really far or he would bring me tournaments when my mom had to work.

On one occasion, I've had a coach tell me that I wasn't good enough to make it into college softball. I think that was probably the one of the toughest times I've had in softball.

How old were you? I was 14. It was really hard for me to grow from that, because at that age I wasn't sure that I was going to play college softball at that point. So having a coach tell me that I wasn't good enough to make it really hurt me at the time, but once I left that team I got coaches that really did believe in me and they thought that I could make it somewhere.

What is your greatest strength as a player? My greatest strength as a player is definitely my hitting. I don't ever have a moment when I look at a pitcher and think I don't I can hit off of her.

Most home runs you've hit in a game? Three

What was the last song you listened to? "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars

Dream car: '67 Impala

Pre-game or in-game rituals? Before every game I have to always listen to "Remember the Name." I've been doing it since high school.

If you could have super power, what would it be? Invisibility.

Dream vacation: Hawaii.

If you could have dinner with anybody dead or alive, who would it be? Elvis.

Country or rap? Country.

Favorite country artist: Chris Stapleton.

If you could describe yourself in one word, on the field and off the field, what would it be?
On the field: Loud.
Off the field: Outgoing.

Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that you live by? Teamwork makes the dream work.