There’s an axiom in college recruiting–in all sports–that you don’t go to a school for the coach(es), because they can and do often leave.
We’ve seen recently the ugly side of this, when new coaching staffs have been brought in and once-committed players find they no longer have an offer extended. But there can be a positive too and this is the story of Jenna Laird!
Jenna is a talented 2020 shortstop who plays for East Meadow (New York) High and for her father, James, in the Team Long Island DeMarini club organization. A slapper with power, she led her team to the Long Island Class AA championship and the state semifinals after winning a New York state title in 2017.
The junior was the Newsday Nassau Player of the Year after batting .663 with 56 runs scored, 34 RBI and 23 stolen bases and only struck out once in 26 games.
Her recruiting story is interesting in that committed to Hofstra and Coach Larissa Anderson years ago; as, as her father explains: “Jenna had known Hofstra and Coach Anderson for as long as she has known softball. Once she left Hofstra (to take the head position at Missouri), Jenna decided to explore all options, especially because she holds Coach Anderson in the highest regard and we believe she’s a top coach in the sport.”
Below is an interview with Jenna on how she ended up following Anderson to Mizzou and her perspective on the recruiting process.
As James Laird admits, “It’s a little scary sending our daughter 1,000-plus miles away to play in the toughest conference, but she hasn’t wavered on this one bit.”
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Walk us through the recruiting process and how you ended up first committing to Hofstra and then Mizzou…
I had attended many college camps, showcases and combines and they all had opened my eyes to the best D1 schools in the Northeast.
I had gone to many camps and visited many schools during 8th grade such as Penn State, Syracuse, North Carolina and the one that was just one mile away from home, Hofstra University.
Hofstra was the one school that really caught my attention. I had visited there a couple more times and then, in January of my freshman year, I verbally committed to play for Coach Anderson at Hofstra. Over the next two years I had gotten closer and closer to Coach Anderson and was becoming more and more excited to play for her at the collegiate level.
