NEW PALESTINE — Jaylin Calvert is used to playing big-time softball.
As the starting center fielder for two powerhouse programs — the New Palestine Dragons and the Beverly Bandits — she’s played in big games and has won plenty of them. She’s played with and against big-time players.
In just over a month, things will kick up another notch. Calvert will pack her bags and head to college on Aug. 15 as she becomes a student-athlete at Auburn University.
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“I’m super, super excited,” Calvert said. “I had a tournament in Colorado (last) week and my coaches were there. Getting to see them made me even more excited.”
Auburn head coach Mickey Dean made a big impact on Calvert during her early high school years. Calvert committed to play for Dean while he was coaching at James Madison, where he had guided that program to prominence with a pair of 50-plus-win seasons.
When Dean left for Auburn after the 2016 season, Calvert had a choice to make.
She de-committed from James Madison and made the decision to attend Auburn during her junior year. It’s a decision she hasn’t second-guessed since.
“My coach left and went to Auburn, and he wanted me to come with him,” Calvert said. “I went and visited the school, and I just absolutely love it. It’s such a beautiful campus. And I love the coaching staff — I followed my coach there.”
After playing her freshman year in the New Palestine softball program, Calvert made the difficult decision to step away from her high school team and focus on travel ball.
She was starting to feel a bit of pressure to figure out her future, and she knew the kinds of opportunities she would have with the Bandits. She decided to focus on the travel team, knowing she had big college exposure tournaments coming up that would help with the recruiting process.
She was surrounded by teammates that were committed to major Division 1 programs — every member of the Bandits team is committed to a big program, with players going everywhere from Notre Dame, to the SEC, to the Big 12 and the Big Ten.
The decision to focus on travel ball paid off, and Calvert added her name to the list of Bandits players going to major college programs.
“I went to a team where all of the girls were super ahead of me in the committing process, the recruiting process,” she said. “It was stressful on me because I felt the pressure that I needed to be committed, too. When I committed, it’s such a relief. You can just play softball again and have fun.”
With her future set, she returned to the New Palestine program her junior year.
“I realized how much I missed getting to play with my local friends and my friends back home,” she said.
That was another decision that paid big dividends.
The Dragons won state championships in both her junior and senior seasons. She was named first team all-state both years, and was named a third team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association this spring.
Calvert played center field and led off for the Dragons in both her junior and senior seasons, hitting .450 with nine home runs, 43 RBIs and 59 runs as a junior and hitting .505 with 15 home runs, 51 RBIs and 46 runs as a senior.
“I’m really glad that she decided to come back,” New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said. “She’s just a great team leader and somebody that’s fun to be around. She’s obviously very talented. She’s a great example to the rest of her teammates. She gives it everything she can in practice, as well as the games. She really solidified our leadoff spot, where she stepped into that. Not necessarily your prototypical leadoff hitter, because of the power she has. The last several games in this (2019) state tournament, she really stepped it up. That’s what big-time players do.”
Calvert got to share the high school field with more than just her hometown friends. She also got to make memories as a Dragon with her younger sister, Kendal, winning two state titles together.
Looking back, she said she couldn’t be happier with how her high school years turned out.
“It was so special to me and it was really awesome,” she said. “I’m just thankful for all the lessons that I’ve learned and the friendships that I’ve made. Softball was awesome. Great memories there. It’s going to be sad leaving. I love our little town and my friends, but I’m excited to see how successful everyone will be.”
As she prepares to trade in her Dragons and Bandits jerseys for a Tigers uniform, she is excited about the opportunity ahead.
Auburn graduated some outfielders. There are spots potentially open. Her high school coach knows she’ll be ready to put in the work to earn some playing time.
“To me, Jaylin is very business-like. She’s not going to be out there messing around. She works hard, she is very focused,” Marcum said. “I think what she’ll do when she gets there is the same thing she’s done — go out there, work hard, do the best she can. To play in the SEC, you’ve got to be a great athlete as well as a great softball player. She’ll have to come in, be ready to just do anything the coach asks her to do.”
That’s the plan.
Calvert doesn’t expect to be an every-game starter as soon as she steps on the college field as a freshman. While it’s still the same game, it is another level. The game does speed up some.
She is confident in her abilities and how she’ll adapt, and she hopes she to earn the chance to contribute to her new team right away.
“My main goal is to at least start in some games. We just lost some players and some outfielders, so they will be looking for outfield positions,” she said. “I’m going to try to take the opportunity given and work hard to earn my spot.”