Acheiving her "highest picture", Jayden Jones officially signs with Virginia Tech

GAYLORD ― As Gaylord's Jayden Jones got ready to sign her letter of intent to play college softball, her father Greg Jones took a moment to share something with the crowd of friends and family.

Years ago, a younger Jayden had laid out a lofty list of goals for herself, calling it "the highest picture" of what she set out to accomplish and some traits she hoped to carry with her as a softball player.

Since then, Jones has been accomplishing goal after goal she set for herself, no matter how lofty they may have been. And that night, Wednesday, Nov. 8, was a celebration of a few of those higher-picture goals being checked off the list.

"Play college softball? Check," said Greg Jones. "Get offered a full-ride scholarship? Check. Be the best teammate and leader I can be for the team I play for? Check and check."

Ignore the list of schools she chose as her dream schools (Florida, Washington, Tennessee, Arizona); the family says a 10-year-old Jayden didn't even know Virginia Tech existed. Now, however, she's a Hokie through and through, signing her Letter of Intent to join the Va Tech softball team on Wednesday.

"There's a lot of emotions," said Jones. "I think mostly, it's just a lot of gratefulness. I'm very humbled to get to have this opportunity. I've been dreaming of it since I was super little. Just to see it all work out after all that effort, so much sacrifice and hard work is a really, really great feeling and I'm just super thankful for the opportunity."

Jones has been one of the best softball players in the state for the past three seasons, backing that up with three straight all-state selections as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Usually stationed at shortstop or third base, she missed last year's playoffs with a broken hand but still ended the season as a team leader in batting average (.429), triples (4), home runs (7) and RBI (34).

She's also a phenomenal pitcher, finishing with a 9-1 record with 66 strikeouts and a 0.29 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched.

All-state: Gaylord-area softball players among all-state, all-BNC honorees after historic seasons

Commit: Gaylord softball's Jayden Jones commits to Virginia Tech

Jones has been a major part of the Gaylord softball program's rise to dominance. Since she arrived as a freshman in the 2020-21 season, the Blue Devils have accomplished a lot, winning the program's first MHSAA state championship, three straight Big North Conference titles, three straight district titles and two regional titles in three years.

Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has been on a similar rise under coach Pete D'Armour as it has become one of the top softball programs in the country. They fell a bit short of their preseason goals in 2023 but still finished with a 39-20 record, made the NCAA tournament for a fourth-consecutive season and spent the entire year ranked in the Top 25.

"The people there are really special," Jones said about VT. "I feel like they cared about the person before the player. They value a lot of the same things I do, and I just felt like the culture was a really good fit for me. I also felt I could grow as a person just as much as a player, which was a huge thing for me."

Those in Blacksburg might be happy to hear about the last unchecked box on Jones's "highest picture" list: win a National Championship.

"When I get there, the goal is to win a National Championship," said Jones. "They've never done that, and it would be so cool to be part of the first one."

Before moving on to Blacksburg and possibly Oklahoma City, however, Jones has one more year alongside the Gaylord Blue Devils as they look to defend their D2 state title in 2024. She is one of six Gaylord players committed to play softball at the college level, including her sister Aubrey Jones, an Oklahoma State pledge in the Class of 2025.

With Jayden back to full strength and a loaded roster returning, the goal of winning a state title remains at the forefront of her mind.

"I still have one year of high school so the goal stays the same, win another state title," said Jones.

If it's a goal Jayden Jones has on her list, it is a pretty safe bet she will get it checked off.

Contact Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord softball's Jayden Jones signs letter of intent to Virgina Tech