Three-time all-region infielder Jasmine Staley will keep her softball career rolling at the next level.
Staley is a 2021 Gilmer High School honor graduate and will take the field for the Wesleyan University Wolves next season. Staley said she received interest from about five schools and other in-state suitors included Brewton Parker College and Emory University.
Staley discussed what made Wesleyan her top choice over other local options.
“Definitely the coach (Penny Siqueiros) and where the school is located in Macon,” Staley said. “It’s really pretty and the campus is really nice. I got to walk around the school and see where the softball field is and got to watch them practice. I got to see the school, too, and talk to the coach and meet a couple players.”
Staley has played softball since she was 4 years old and set her sights on the college game as she was entering high school.
“When I was about 14 coming into my freshman year is when I knew,” Staley said. “I knew I could push myself to go more than high school. I just really love the game and that made me want to play longer.”
This is also the time she hit the travel scene to sharpen her game outside of the school season. Staley started playing for Team Easton and her last team was the Marucci Patriots. She also bounced around to multiple teams toward the end of her travel career.
The travel schedule included games during the week while weekends were reserved for showcases where players were able to play in front of college scouts.
“Usually in a lot of weekend tournaments there are six games,” she said. “We’d normally play two weekends in a row then get a weekend off then play the next two.
“Playing travel ball definitely helped my mindset and helped me to know the game more. With travel there is a big difference from high school ball. When COVID hit, it kind of threw things off with recruiting so it was harder to get coaches to come out and look.”
Staley earned four varsity letters at GHS and was a full-time starter by her sophomore season, which concluded with a spot on the all-region second team. Staley had a .354 batting average, smacked 23 hits, scored 16 runs and notched 13 RBIs.
After missing the state tournament Staley’s freshman and sophomore seasons, the Lady Cats returned to state in 2019 when they finished fourth in the region. Gilmer took on region champion Madison County in the opening round and lost the first two games of the best-of-three series.
Staley earned another selection to the all-region second team. She was Gilmer’s hits leader with 23, and also led the Cats with 19 RBIs. She posted a .329 batting average and scored 10 runs.
Gilmer returned a talented squad in 2020 while Staley made a position change from third base to second.
“I was really happy with the change because I do like second base. I’m a utility player so I do like moving to different positions in the field instead of being stuck at one spot. I’m happy I did get to change,” Staley said.
She took the relocation in stride as Gilmer won the region championship. The Cats posted a 17-1 record versus region opponents and drew defending state champion Ringgold in the opening round. The Tigers swept the Cats out of the state tournament and went on to win the next four series to repeat as state champions.
“I’m happy we made it to state, especially with all the girls that we had and how hard we worked,” Staley said. “With getting a new coach and everything and just trying to work with everybody ... we came together as a team. Making it to state was really good for us, and we worked our butts off just to do that.”
GHS finished the season with a 19-6 overall record, and Staley secured a spot on the all-region first team. She continued to be a menace offensively and turned in a .461 batting average while leading the team with 34 runs scored. She also tallied 35 hits, 22 RBIs, nine doubles and one homer.
“It was good to finally hit my first home run,” Staley said. “Our field is much bigger than other teams’ fields, and I finally hit one my senior year so I was really happy about that.”
Staley will move on to the college ranks with a bit of uncertainty as Wesleyan coaches have not indicated where they want her to play defensively.
“I think I will be at maybe second, third or the outfield. I really have no clue, and I’m anxious to find out,” she said.
Staley noted that she is looking forward to growing up, moving on and accomplishing more over the next four years. She credits parents Drexell and Misty for helping her reach this point of her academic and athletic careers.
“I plan to major in psychology and eventually become a psychologist,” Staley said. “In high school, we had a project where we had to choose jobs we were interested in, and I talked to a psychologist. I’d like to be able to help people and talk to them about what they’re going through.”
Wesleyan is a private women’s college. The Wolves compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division III as members of the USA South Athletic Conference.