LSU softball freshman and former No. 1 overall recruit Jayden Heavener has come as advertised, and it’s been years in the making.
Heavener, pitcher and utility for LSU, lived up to the large preseason accolades she came in with. In her career debut, Heavener threw a perfect game against Charlotte, being the first LSU softball player to do so.
Head coach Beth Torina spoke highly of Heavener in preseason press conferences. Torina said that the Tigers only had two hits off of Heavener throughout the whole preseason, so she’s not shocked by getting this kind of outcome.
“A big part of Jayden’s game is her confidence, so she can believe everything she wants to believe, and she’s proven it right,” Torina said.
Heavener’s teammates weren’t shocked either.
“Oh, it was incredible,” first baseman Tori Edwards said. “I’ve been telling a lot of people this, I could have told anyone, I wasn’t surprised. It could have went like that, just facing her in practice. It’s just some great stuff. I’m really happy she’s on our team.”
Heavener was the 2024 Softball Florida Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2024 Max Prep National Player of the Year.
“Works hard, throws hard, tries to work in every pitch, I guess, to throw as hard as she can, like she’s going to compete, and I think that’s going to take her a long way,” Torina said at a preseason press conference. “She’s tough, and there’s something to be said for that.”
Heavener has been coming to camps since around 2022, and she learned a lot about college softball in the process.
The Tigers’ coaching staff had been trying to recruit Heavener for years. She said her first football game was during her junior year, and she got to see what LSU was really like.
She spoke highly about the family aspect of LSU, from the coaches, to the players, to the workers.
“I’m really grateful to have her and just be able to talk to her,” Heavener said of Torina. “I can tell her exactly how I’m feeling, she knows, or I can just talk to her one-on-one and not be uncomfortable.”
Heavener said she tries to take it play by play, and softball is a game of failure, so nobody ever knows what is going to happen.
She experienced a bit of nerves going through the game, but after the first or second inning she was more comfortable.
“It’s good to step out there for my first time and just let people know that I am who I am, and be grateful for the opportunity that I got,” Heavener said. “To know that if I do have a bad game, it is what it is.”
Heavener said she might have been a nervous freshman in the circle against Charlotte, but everyone has helped her a lot throughout the preseason. On the field, fifth-year senior Danieca Coffey particularly aided her in her debut game, especially calming nerves.
“[Heavener] wants to make history,” Torina said. “That’s been her goal her whole life, is just stand out, make history and be in this first left hander in a long time. She has some opportunity to do that, and she’s on her way.”
As an SEC team, the Tigers have their work cut out for them. Despite a historic performance in her first appearance, Heavener is unsatisfied.
“I guess I just take pieces from the game that I could do better on,” Heavener said. “You can always get better, new pitches, new form, whatever it is, and just finding little pieces that I can take.”
