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The Amazing Journey of Lexi Vernon: Born Deaf, the 2026 Star Pitcher Can Now Hear & Is the Inspiration Behind an Impactful Mission

Lexi Vernon, seen here at the Ole Miss Camp last summer, has worked her way into consideration as one of the top players in the Class of 2026 after overcoming hearing impairment she was born with.

Lexi Vernon is an accomplished 15-year-old pitcher/utility player who today plays for Jason Wade’s Mojo – Wade 07 team and has shined all throughout her softball career with an impressive list of athletic accomplishments.

Lexi early in her softball career playing t-ball.

But it hasn’t been easy, by any means.

Born in Nashville, the current Tennessee resident has had to overcome a disability at the start of her life that made it seem like she’d never become the star fastpitch talent she is today.

Lexi’s list of athletic accomplishments is already notable—all before playing her first year of high school ball:

  • She has played in a PGF National Championship and was selected to the All-PGF team.
  • The teen had already traveled to California for PGF Nationals four times by the age of 14.
  • Lexi was ranked in the Top 20 of the 2026 Extra Elite 100 (published last Spring).
  • She also made the USA All-American team.
  • The current freshman played for Team Italy at Colorado Sparklers.
  • Lexi has played in Scenic City All-star games and won numerous tournament championships.
  • In her final year of middle school, the excellent all-round athlete led her softball team to a league-inning 10-0 record as she pitched 50 out of 51 innings averaging 2.54 K’s an inning with 130 strikeouts including 19 in the eight-inning championship game.
  • Batting .529 for her school as well, Lexi—who takes hitting instruction from former D1 player Libby Sugg—hit a ball off the fence in the to score the tying run and went on to earn the title win with her pitching arm.
  • Finally, she played basketball from age 5 until this year and has also developed into an excellent summer swimmer.

In this Extra Inning Softball exclusive, the athlete’s mother, Jaime Motes, recaps the amazing journey Lexi has made in life that has not only put her today as one of the top softball players in her class, but has also led her to becoming the inspiration behind an impactful movement for those who also have faced hearing challenges.

Over 460 million people worldwide live with a disabling hearing loss due to lack of access, understanding and support to hear and live a normal life.

Lexi’s story is the purpose behind Songs for Sound, a national 501c3 charity and movement that has provided over 31,000 people across the U.S. & Jamaica with free hearing services.

Here’s a 2-minute video in which Jaime shares the origins of the charity:

And, now, in her mother’s own words, is this inspiring story of perseverance by athlete and family alike…

*****

Alexis “Lexi” Vernon was born profoundly deaf.

Unfortunately, due to the gaps in hearing healthcare, her hearing loss was missed on multiple occasions to diagnose. Lexi was not given a newborn hearing screening and when she was tested at 10 weeks of age, she failed both years.

Lexi with friend and former teammate Ava Hodo, ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2026 Extra Elite 100.

We were told by doctors: “We think she’s fine… come back in six to nine months.” We left feeling great.

Our family would learn much later that the standard of care is 2-4 weeks for follow-up after a failed newborn hearing screening. Also, it’s state law that babies don’t leave the hospital without a hearing screening.

While the hospital routinely did them, Lexi was born six months prior to the “Claire’s Law” being signed, which required newborns receive a hearing screening before release from the hospital or before they turned one month old.

Side note: Claire Puryear—who the law was named after— and her family were our “host” family and walked us through the first year of implantation and learning speech.

Around 10-11 months old, Lexi wasn’t hearing loud sounds and wasn’t developing any speech. Lexi’s dad, Kevin, clapped loudly behind her head and she didn’t even flinch. Lexi, who also has an older brother, Jacob, should have been developing first words and sounds, but she was mute and didn’t utter anything.

By the time my daughter turned one year old, I headed back to the pediatrician seeking a referral to Vanderbilt for a full hearing evaluation, but, even to this day, the resistance we received from the pediatrician was shocking.

I was told:

“She heard the noise in the hallway and some kids don’t speak until they’re 18 months of age.”

I can honestly still hear those words like they were yesterday. This is the moment that changed her life and mine forever.

“You need to give me a referral,” I told the doctor and I insisted: “I won’t leave without it.”

Finally, reluctantly, he conceded.

When Lexi was nearly 14 months of age, I took her to Vanderbilt for her hearing test. I let the internet tell me it was fixable and was probably fluid and she’d need tubes.

Jaime holds Lexi after the cochlear implant surgery.

Never could I imagined that my child would have permanent hearing loss, but, on that day, Lexi’s audiologist said some of the most difficult words I’ve ever heard:

“Lexi is profoundly deaf. She has no natural sound hearing.”

I remember my world stopped. I had five seconds to collect myself. In my mind’s eye, I saw a black and white sketch of a school in my head. There were no leaves on the trees, and I imagined Lexi was all alone playing by herself.

Isolation.

These next words, however, were words of hope that would change the course and trajectory of my young daughter’s life.

“We think Lexi is an excellent candidate for a cochlear implant. It’s a medically implanted device that can restore sound to the deaf.”

“Restore sound to the deaf?”… a miracle cure, if there ever was one.

In a well-written profile article written last Spring by Tyler Palmateer of Main Street Preps, he described the situation perfectly:

“In order for humans to hear,” Tyler wrote, “each sound must make its own dizzying journey. Sound waves travel through the ear canal to the eardrum, which vibrates the waves before sending them along to the middle ear, where vibrations are amplified and funneled into the snail-shaped cochlea.”

“When vibrations cause the fluid inside the cochlea to ripple, there are two sets of hair cells on each end of the cochlea that distinguish high-pitched or low-pitched noises. The hair cells move, enabling even smaller cells perched on top of the hair to bend, which causes the opening of microscopic channels and a subsequent chemical rush to the brain, through the auditory nerve, for processing.”

“Vernon’s hair cells do not work,” the author concluded. “At 14-months-old, a doctor recommended she undergo surgery for cochlear implants, which use a transmitter to send sound signals to a device implanted under the skin, which then stimulates the auditory nerve with electrodes that have been threaded into the cochlea.”

A touching photo of Lexi hearing for the first time with her cochlear implants.

Four months later, at the age of 19 months, Lexi was implanted bilaterally with her cochlear implants.

It’s a surgery where they cut through her muscle and drill through her mastoid bone, implant each cochlea very meticulously with image guided tools with the cochlear implant. Her surgeon, Dr. David Haynes at Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, is a world-renowned surgeon and he is considered Lexi’s “hearing healer.”

Three weeks after surgery, Lexi’s implants were turned on for the very first time. We call that “activation day.”

And also her “hearing birthday.”

This is the day when the external part called the “processor” is programmed, and both the implant and the processor are turned on for the very first time. There’s a magnet underneath Lexi’s skin at the end of her implant, and then there’s a magnet at the end of her external processor, to keep it attached to her head.

That’s also how signals are transmitted into the implant—it reads those signals and sends those to the hearing nerve, which then sends them to the brain.

Lexi doesn’t hear naturally.

While we receive sound waves, she does, in fact, hear signals.

Lexi had never heard a sound. She had never heard the lullabies that I sang to her every single night as she squirmed and turned and cried because she didn’t hear me. For 14 months I had no idea why.

Also, Lexi was born one year after I lost my mom to breast cancer and was the first granddaughter, so all I wanted to do was connect with her as I connected with my mom.

For the first 14 months of her life, I wondered:

“Why can’t Lexi connect with me?”

On July 31, 2010, my sweet young daughter went from total silence to hearing a whisper. That day, she heard a bird chirping. She heard her brother’s giggles and she heard laughter.

Here’s the beautiful video clip of Lexi interacting with her family and doctors:

The first day that Lexi heard sound, I recall being cautioned about restaurant noise, etc. as we celebrated. I remember looking at Lexi and thinking:

“I’m going to let Lexi determine what’s too much for her.”

The days, weeks, months that came after this, all I wanted as her mom was for her to put her head on my shoulder because she could hear my lullaby—a moment most moms have every single night.

Lexi (right) with former travel softball player and fellow cochlear implant recipient Amanda Bricker when both were on Lady Lightning Gold. Amanda is now at California Baptist.

When someone with hearing issues is implanted, it is a process. Lexi had to learn language from scratch. She had to know, first of all, what a sound was, then learn words spoken to her (receptive language). Then, she had to be trained to speak it (expressive language).

I was told to be a “radio commentator” all day, every day, and we also had to teach Lexi to wear devices on her ears.

At 21-months-old, Lexi finally heard my lullaby!

Her head fell on my shoulder and we connected. At that point, I knew she would enjoy one of the most joyful gifts life has to offer: hearing music… for the rest of her life.

She would get to hear her break up song. Her wedding song. Her warm-up songs. Her “I threw a perfect game today” song. Her “I hit a home run song.”

And, one day, when she experiences heartache, her “I need to connect with my Lord” song.

Imagine that for a minute:

This tough little girl meant to be an athlete with devices on her ears hears sound for the very first time. Honestly, though, hearing with a cochlear implant is a miracle, but it’s also a bit exhausting each day. I can’t tell you how many times Lexi threw her cochlear implant processors (the external part) at me!

Looking back, those first six months of hearing were challenging!

Still, today, we know that her entire journey is by God’s design. Early on when she learned to hear and learned speech, Lexi was put at a table where she had to do critical thinking exercises and add steps every time she did therapy.

It’s called “learning to listen.”

Lexi Vernon and pitching coach Jonathan Hon of Tincher Chicago, the Pitching Lab.

We covered our mouths, so Lexi had to work hard to learn to talk and sound like normal hearing children. We made her work hard to hear on her own and then say words/use spoken language by what she heard, not by what she sees (lipreading).

Today, lipreading validates what she hears in a noisy environment and hand signals are critical when being given information on the field at a distance. However, that therapy was critical to her success as pitcher.

It’s so similar to Tincher pitching and Lexi is a Tincher pitcher. She trains with Jonathan Hon in Chicago. The Tincher approach is very systematic and it’s amazing because they’re building blocks for her to be successful.

What’s so great is how God prepared Lexi for a platform, one that tells others:

“You can. You will. You are!

Her story was given to her to tell others with challenges or disabilities that they can overcome obstacles and do great things. I always tell Lexi, “God only gives those He can really trust these tough circumstances. He must really trust you to overcome this, Lex.”

Lexi’s growth in softball took off under former Mojo coach Brandon Clark—now with Unity 2025—who coached the athlete at 10U on the Mojo 07 team. Today, she will still pick-up with him occasionally—the relationship is that strong.

“I have lots of stories on Lexi!” Brandon shares with me.

“The one that sticks out the most is one game she was pitching, and we were in a tight game. I had to wear a lapel microphone so she could hear what I was saying if I had to tell her something. She walked a batter and it appeared she was getting tired.”

“I told my assistant coach ‘I’m going to have to pull her if she walks another batter.’ I forgot that I had the mic on and Lexi could hear me! Her head snapped around with a death stare, as if to say: ‘You ain’t pulling me out!’ She found another gear and we went on to win the game and she didn’t walk another batter.”

Today, Lexi joyfully plays for Mojo – Wade 07 and Jason Wade is an amazing coach.

After a shoulder injury from overuse in middle school, Lexi had to overcome being out for 10 months and clawing her way back to being on top. It hasn’t been easy, but her faith in God’s plan for her life, her relationship with Jesus Christ and perseverance is getting her through. She loves her teammates and coaches.

The Mojo – Wade team today.

Coach Wade and Michelle Leighty provide a safe environment where she can work through the good and bad days of being a pitcher. Where she can grow.

Says her club head coach:

“Lexi is a wonderful young lady who adds to any environment she is a part of.  We work to provide Lexi and her teammates an environment to grow and develop while pushing for greatness.  Lexi has utilized her disability as a super power and her personality is contagious.  We are grateful to have her.”

Lexi isn’t afraid to make mistakes, she is allowed to work through them and grow. No one expects her to be her best every game at the age of 15. They let her fail, let her learn and let her character and perseverance develop.

The face mask softball coach Tim Horton made for Lexi, welding additional side pieces on to protect her implants in case of her taking a shot to the side of her head.

After what seems like a lifetime in private school, Lexi transferred to Franklin (Tenn.) High School in Williamson County known for its academic success and excellent programs for students with unique learning challenges and disabilities.

She’s pumped to take the stage as a freshman this spring and help Coach Karen Whidby and her teammates make a run at state.

It’s been an amazing journey for Lexi and her former club coach from 10U says he’s grateful to have been part of it.

“Lexi is an unbelievable player and an even better person,” Coach Clark begins. “She has not let her impairment define who she is or effect what she can achieve.  I have no doubt that Lexi will not only achieve great things in softball but in life as well. I have been truly blessed by having her in my life and fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach her.”

Jaime Motes for Extra Inning Softball

*****

From the Athlete… a Brief Q&A with Lexi

What do you love most about softball?
The friendships I make & getting to compete around people who are like-minded from all over the country.

How do you feel your hearing loss has affected you as a softball player?
Without going through adversity being deaf with cochlear implants, I wouldn’t be able to overcome the adversity that comes with being a pitcher.

What do you love most about ballparks?
Cheese fries and cheeseburgers!

Jaime and Lexi Vernon met with members of Congress – including Congressman McKinley of West Virginia – to discuss hearing loss reform.

What is your favorite song to hear with your teammates?
Life is a Highway (inside joke).

What are your best pitches?
Rise and curve.

Who’s your favorite college softball player? 
Lexi Handley at Ohio State.

Who’s your favorite MLB player? 
The Houston Astro’s pitcher Framber Valdez.

What’s your fav thing to do outside of softball? 
Hunt and shop.

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