Today we go a different route… the JC route as we present a case as to why going junior college may be a viable option for a softball player looking to compete at the next level.  Next, we profile a Gatorade State Player of the Year who’s SEC bound and, frankly, is one of the best interviews we’ve ever had.  We also spotlight a Tennessee standout who explains why she won’t be going far from home…

 

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RECRUITING FEATURE: CONSIDER THE JUNIOR COLLEGE ROUTE

In an exclusive to StudentSportsSoftball, a successful college coach has submitted the following article to help young players and their families consider various recruiting options when looking to play past high school including the junior college (JUCO) possibility. To keep the focus on the issue and not him/herself, the coach has asked to remain anonymous.

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Question: What do you do when all the Division I scholarship money is gone for your class?

With the increase in early verbals, more and more talented student-athletes and parents are hearing, “Sorry, we are out of scholarship money in your class.”

That’s no reason, however, that you have to give up on the dream of playing for a BCS, Top 25 or mid-major Division I program.  There are a few options to still achieve the dream as long as the talent is there and you do your homework.

 

 

Option 1: Invited Walk-On

Just because a school is out of money doesn’t necessarily mean that they are truly finished with recruiting for that class.  Every year, most schools have several players on their roster who are Invited Walk-Ons.  IWO’s are just like any other player, but not receiving any athletic scholarship dollars—their college expenses are being paid by academic scholarships, grants, family, loans, etc.  But you are still treated just like other players.

Option 2: Redshirt

Many Division I programs who are finished with your recruiting class or maybe don’t need your particular position specialty in your class, would love to have you if you were a year younger.  Sometimes this is a good opportunity for a player to redshirt their freshman year and still have four years eligibility and athletic scholarship.

 

 

Option 3: Junior College Route

A lot of people have the misconception that JUCO is only for those student athletes with bad grades.  This is probably the fastest growing Division in softball based on the early verbals.  Baseball has used the JUCO system for years and now more and more softball athletes are figuring out that it can be a great option.

Let’s look more at the JUCO Route.  The Top JUCO programs in the nation can defeat many four-year programs, even at the mid-major Division I levels.  They are made up more like a “Minor League” or “Development” team full of several future Division I players.

By going JUCO first and then transferring to a Division I, the degree you receive will say “University of Oklahoma,” “Alabama,” “Arizona,” etc. and says nothing about the junior college.  Yes, even the top programs in the Nation recruit JUCO players.

In the 2013 signing class, WCWS Champion Oklahoma Sooners signed Maggie Ham, a right-handed pitcher from Butler Community College, which is a powerhouse Division I JUCO in Kansas that’s known for producing many Division I players in all sports.

You can get bigger, stronger, and quicker, all of which may impress a DI coach who may not have recruited you initially. A player also has a much better chance of improving if they are continually playing and working hard. Going to a four-year university and sitting your first couple of years will not help your development as a player, it is the game-type scenarios that define a player and help the player to truly mature.

Here are four situations where the JUCO route might be the better choice for you:

1. You dream of playing for a BCS, Top 25 or mid-major Division I program, but are in your Junior year in high school and realizing all the scholarship money is gone for those schools at the top of your list.  By going to the right JUCO and proving yourself you may still get the opportunity to play at the big Division I college or university you really wanted to play at since they will probably have scholarship money available for the next year or year after.
2. You have smaller athletic offers to Division I programs, but even with the amount you would receive from athletic and academic funding, you would have to take out student loans.  Going JUCO route could save you a lot of money. Two years on scholarship at JUCO and then two years at 50% at a Division I is the equivalent of four years at 75%. That 25% per year can easily save you $20,000 or more during your college career.
3. You have offers to Division I programs, but realize you would probably not play much the first year or two or may even have to redshirt a year due to the talent that is ahead of you at your positions. Attending the right JUCO would allow you to continue to work on improving your skills.
4. You are not a great student in high school.  Even if you are a qualifier for four-year admissions, many students find the transition by going JUCO first is much easier.

Finally, here are questions to ponder when choosing a Junior College:

1. What division does the school play in?  Yes, there are Division I, II and III JUCO programs.
2. What is the history of program?
3. What is the percentage of players that move on to four-year schools?
4. How are the academics?
5. What about scholarships?  It’s different based on Division I, II or III and also based on conference rules and the institution’s own athletic budget.

So if you don’t find the door open as you’d like to head to the four-year university of your choice, consider all your options, especially the possibility of playing junior college ball if the scenario is the best fit for you.

 

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PLAYER PROFILE: JESSICA ADELL

Grad Year: 2014
Pos: outfield
High School: Ballard (Louisville, Ky.)
GPA/SAT or ACT (optional):
Club: Tennessee Fury
Stats: hit .461 with 32 RBI, 33 steals and a 20-10 pitching record with a 1.10 ERA, eight shutouts and 210 K’s in 197.2 innings.
Honors: Gatorade Kentucky Softball Player of the Year (2012-13); two-time all-state and all-region honoree
College: Tennessee

 

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: How did you find out you were the state softball Gatorade Player of the Year?
Jessica Adell: I was in an airport traveling to Chattanooga, Tenn. for a softball tournament with Tennessee Fury 96.  One of my friends sent me text with a screen shot of a local reporter’s twitter that said I was this year’s winner.  I could not believe it and I immediately called my Dad at work to confirm.  He did some checking and called me back in five minutes and told me that it was true.  Wow, was that a great day!

 

SSS.com: Did that validate your success as a high school player and all you’ve accomplished?
JA: No, to tell the truth Coach Ralph and Coach Karen (Weekly) validated all of my hard work. They saw something in me and my game that projects on the next level.  That is enough to make me work as hard as I possibly can.  My validation as a player is being a good teammate and helping my team win any way I can.

 

SSS.com: You’re listed as an outfielder, but you did a good amount of pitching last year… do you have much experience in the circle?
JA: I am a natural outfielder and slapper.  However, since I was nine-years-old I have pitched. It is something that I can and will do if my coaches and team needs me.  My high school team has an awesome senior pitcher this year, Savannah Mercer, and several young pitchers including our freshman Sarah Brill.  We have an unbelievable pitching coaching, Tori Collins Heyman, who was an All-American pitcher at the University of Louisville.  She has made these girls so good this off season, so I think my pitching days are over and I look forward to just running the outfield and making plays.

 

SSS.com: Describe how the relationship with Tennessee and the Weeklys began… where did they find out about you and how long was it after that before you were offered?
JA: My relationship with the Weeklys and Tennessee softball started way before they met me.  I would watch them on TV and think how I would love to go and be a Lady Vol softball player.  So when I had the opportunity to meet Coach Ralph and Coach Karen it was absolutely a dream come true.

My slapping coach and mentor is India Chiles who was an All-American at Tennessee and attended Ballard High School.   She was coached in high school by my current high school coach Alan Jones and he knows the Weeklys very well.  My freshman year I went to their speed camp and it started from there.

 

SSS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
JA: I knew the first time I met Coach Karen that if I had a chance to play for her, I would.  I was at her camp my freshman year and something about how she spoke and what she said just made me want to try harder.  It is difficult to describe but she absolutely brings the best out in me.  My decision was pretty easy from the start.  You just know where home is.   My softball home is with Coach Ralph and Coach Karen at the University of Tennessee.

 

SSS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
JA: It was fall of my sophomore year and the recruiting process was heating up.  I went to the University of Michigan’s High School Elite Camp on that Friday and then Saturday morning my dad and I flew to Knoxville for the UT speed camp.  It was a great weekend.  After the speed camp Coach Ralph asked for me and my family to stay around.  We sat and talked for a few minutes and then he asked if I would like to be a Lady Vol.  It was my mom, dad, my younger brother Jordon, Coach Ralph and Coach Karen.  I said yes on the spot and we all got up and hugged.  It was the best day of my life.

 

SSS.com: Did you visit or check out other universities too?
JA: I did, I went to South Carolina, Michigan, and I had planned on visiting Georgia Southern, Louisville, and Kentucky.

SSS.com: How far away from home will be?  Was distance a factor?
JA: I am about a 3.5 hour drive away.  Distance did not play a role.

 

SSS.com:  What do you think (or have others said) make you an SEC-caliber softball player?
JA: I have played the last two years with Fury 96 which is one of the best softball teams and programs in the country.  This year we were in California at the ASA Nationals where we finished third.  I saw some great players at that tournament.

I was also already playing with some of the most talented players in the country on my own team, players like CJ McClain and Scarlet McSwain, who are going to be my Lady Vol teammates, Holly Ward, who is going to Mississippi State, and Caroline Hardy going to Alabama, Lauren Lewis, who’s going to Kentucky, and even my high school team with Lex Hull who may be one of the best 2015 catchers in the country and going to South Carolina.    I see every day and up close what SEC caliber talent looks like.  I think I will fit in nicely.

 

SSS.com: What’s been the highlight of your athletic career to date?
JA: The highlight of my softball career had to be this summer in an elimination game in the ASA Nationals against the SoCal A’s.  I hit a walk-off double that scored tworuns.  The place went crazy and Coach Kirk Lewis picked me up and swung me around with big hug. All my Fury 96 teammates gave me a high five and hug.  It’s just a really great feeling when you can help your team win.

 

Quick Hitters

 

Who inspires you the most in life?
My Parents.  They both work hard and never allow me to make an excuse.  It is clear to me that I must go get what I want out of life.

Fill in the blank… Once you get to know me I’m: ________________
Funny with a witty sense of humor.

What one thing will always bring a tear to your eye?
My dad spoke about how I was everything in a daughter that a dad could ask for at my signing party.  It just brings a tear to my eye.

Favorite color:
Pastels.

Favorite food:
Pineapple.

Favorite motto/phrase:
Time eases all things.

Who or what makes you laugh?
Family and Friends just having fun.

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I think most people see me as an outgoing, fun-loving person and I am that.  However, most do not realize that I enjoy just a little quiet time where everything is just chill.

If you could meet any person, dead or alive, who would it be (and why)?
My grandmother Aneta who passed before I was born.  I am said to resemble her and have her fiery spirit so I wish that I could have met her.

If you were an astronaut and went into space for six months, what one thing would have to go up with you?
I need music.

What was the highlight of your Christmas?
I receive Christmas letters from my dad and my younger brother Jordon.  They were very touching and we also received a TRX for our home gym.

What’s your No. 1 goal/New Year’s resolution for 2014?
I have two real goals: to work extremely hard to be a better teammate and to be in the absolute best shape in my life at the beginning of the season.

Other than family, who’s your hero or someone you look up to most?
I really have 3:

1. India Chiles is my slapping coach and role model for me.  She is everything I want to grow into.  She is a great friend, wonderful coach, All-American at Tennessee, is career focused, close with her family, etc.
2. Alan Jones is more than my high school coach.  He is like a second father to me.  I will never be able to thank him enough for helping me see my potential.  He is a huge reason that things are falling into place for me.
3. Raven Chavanne is probably the best softball player that I have ever seen play.  I try to model my game after her with speed and underestimated power. 
   

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RECRUIT SPOTLIGHT: ALLI FULCHER

High school: Station Camp
City: Gallatin
State: 
Tenn.
Grad year: 2015
Club: Germantown Red Devils 16U
Height: 5-5
Position(s):  SS/2B
College Position: MIF/OF
Stats: high school – hit .463 as a sophomore, led team in walks 23 (six intentional); club – hit .409 with nine home runs, only six strikeouts.
College: Tennessee-Martin
Other College Interest Shown: Alabama, Kentucky, Lipscomb, Mississippi State, MTSU, Memphis
Why Tennessee-Martin: “I would say definitely Coach [Donley] Canary and his assistant Coach [Sarah] Dawes. Both are terrific and seem to care so much about the team and the sport and have a proven success record in the Ohio Valley Conference. The campus was beautiful and not too far from my hometown where my family can still come and watch me play.”
Scouting Report: small in size but surprising power and a solid contact hitter. Has good speed at 2.7-type home-to-first time.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Braxton Burnside, a 2016 shortstop with the Germantown Red Devils, has committed to Missouri.

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Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

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If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.