University of South Dakota Athletics

The calendar has flipped to February and Coyote softball is officially a week away from kicking off its 2019 season at a tournament hosted by Charleston Southern in South Carolina. Players are ready to get outside, get away from freezing temperatures and trade the turf they have been practicing on for some good old-fashioned dirt.
 
Perhaps no group is as anxious as the USD freshmen. They are an eclectic group that spans South Dakota to Texas and from California to Illinois. Grace Garcia, a pitcher, is from the Kansas City area. Courtney Wilson, an outfielder, is from Grand Island, Nebraska, a town 100 miles west of Lincoln.
 
One who turned in especially impressive numbers in the fall is Jadyn DeWitte, a first baseman who hit .400 in 25 fall at bats with two home runs. DeWitte has been playing softball since she was three and grew up a mere 1,000 miles south of Vermillion in Spring, Texas (where the high today is expected to reach 66 degrees). She has three brothers and played softball year round in Texas except when she took time out for high school volleyball.
 
She had her sights on playing collegiately at Arizona State, a powerhouse program set in (arguably) a nice college town in Tempe, Arizona. So how did she arrive in South Dakota?
 
"Coach Wagner moved here and I was following him no matter where he went," said DeWitte. "I think we relate a lot. His attitude towards the game and how he handles things is what I needed, and my mom agreed.
 
"I came on a visit and I really liked it here, a small town and a tight community."
 
DeWitte's travel ball team had a recruiting coordinator who knew Robert Wagner, the Coyotes' third-year coach following eight years at Arizona State where he helped the Sun Devils win national titles in 2008 and 2011. DeWitte sent in videos and Wagner started responding more as her resume grew. DeWitte earned all-state honors in 2016 after hitting .532 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs for the Lions.
 
"Jadyn has the potential to be very special," said Wagner. "We had an eye on her for a few years prior to coming to USD. She is an explosive and dynamic athlete, a gifted player with tremendous upside.
 
"It is difficult for freshmen players to come in and contribute right away at our level. It is a steep learning curve. Jadyn will be as good as she wants to be, and she has the ability to be an impact player."
 
DeWitte rooms with Gabbi Holbert, a two-time all-state honoree at Sioux Falls O'Gorman High School who is vying for a spot in the outfield. Their other two roommates are on the Coyote soccer team, but it seems the split isn't exactly 50-50.
 
"The freshmen softball players all hang out in our room," said DeWitte. "We are just a huge family, honestly. We all got here and clicked right off the bat. We get along well, we hang out 24-7, we are together at practice, during workouts and even outside of school.
 
"We rely on each other and it helped us through fall when it can be nerve racking, and again when we went through that first tough week back from break. We had a Secret Santa all seven of us. We went to Old Lumber Company, ate dinner and traded gifts. It was cute."
 
DeWitte is studying kinesiology at USD. Her inspiration for the profession came when she tore her labrum when she was 13 and needed surgery to repair it. She underwent physical therapy and appreciated the lengths people would go to help her get back to full health. She hopes to make a career returning the favor.
 
As for the group as a whole, they are off to great start. Collectively, the seven achieved a 3.68 GPA for the first semester with four 4.0s.
 
Through fall ball and an entire month of "in-season" practice time, seven days are all that remain from the first pitch of 2019. Just one question remains – now that DeWitte is here, is Wagner the same coach from the recruiting trail?
 
DeWitte laughed.
 
"He didn't yell at me during the recruiting process, but he is the same. He knows what he is doing."