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Jadyn Burney’s illustrious high school career led to nearly 10 offers from distinguished Division I programs like Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and LSU.

But she instead took her talents to junior college at Chipola College.

When Burney thought of Chipola, winning the Panhandle Conference excited her. The Lady Indians won an NJCAA D-I Softball Championship in 2019 and Florida’s state championship in 2021. Her father, Maurice, also pushed for a two-year school, and Chipola stood out because of her former club teammate Marley Sims playing for the program.

So, during her senior year of high school in 2021, Burney passed up D-I offers to play in Marianna, Florida, nearly four hours from her hometown of Gulfport, Mississippi.

“If it would’ve been any type of JUCO, I probably would’ve thought about it, but I went to one of the top JUCOs in the nation at the time,” Burney said. “I knew the coaching staff and knew … if I played there, I could play just about anywhere.”

In her two seasons at Chipola, the maximum amount of time an athlete can spend at a junior college, Burney thrived, batting .320 with 97 hits and 41 stolen bases. The shortstop then transferred to Mississippi State for the 2024 season, but she received just five at-bats before transferring to Syracuse. In her first year with the Orange, she’s emerged as their starting shortstop while batting .311 with a team-high 24 runs and 11 stolen bases.

Burney always dreamed of playing D-I, yet Maurice knew she wasn’t ready. Burney had only traveled through playing club softball with the Mississippi Sound and Marucci Patriots, so he wanted her to play closer to home. The two agreed she’d also become more mature at a junior college while maintaining four years of D-I eligibility.

“Jadyn did whatever she could to make her dreams come true.  We were just a stepping stone to help her get there,” Chipola head coach Kelly Brookins said.

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Before her collegiate career, Burney starred for Harrison Central High School in Mississippi. After being called up to the Red Rebels’ varsity team in eighth grade, Burney became their starting shortstop as a sophomore. She learned to hit from the left side after starting as a righty, using her speed to notch a .547 batting average and Sun Herald Player of the Year honors as a senior.

Burney’s performance transitioned her to Chipola’s intense environment. Before her freshman year, Chipola assistant coach Jimmy Hendrix often told Burney about his aggressive, but fair, coaching style. He didn’t sugarcoat things. Upon arrival, Hendrix immediately tasked Burney with 4 a.m. workouts and 2 p.m. practices, jampacking her fall schedule alongside her classes.

“Chipola is an absolutely no-quitting (school) at all,” Burney said. “You really get thrown into it, and you just gotta deal with it. You just gotta know what you signed up for after high school.”

Burney initially had trouble handling the workload, but she found her groove over time. At 8 a.m., she’d make the short walk from her dorm to class, spending nearly every hour before practice away from her room.

As soon as class ended, Burney drove to the softball field with her roommate and teammate Kamari Strozier. They’d practice for four hours until 6 p.m., participating in “hyper-paced” sessions with no stoppage, Brookins said. Burney said she thought of it as military training.

Burney also participated in morning swimming and afternoon plyometrics sessions before completing Chipola’s intense seven-minute infield-outfield drill, including behind-the-back throws and quick-hands drills where players fielded multiple balls at a time.

Jadyn Burney thrived at Chipola College, batting .320 with 97 hits and 41 stolen bases across two seasons. Courtesy of Jadyn Burney

Burney’s teammates struggled to keep up, but she cruised through each workout despite Strozier saying it was the hardest thing the two had ever done.

“Jadyn has a lot of grit,” Strozier said. “She has a lot of love for the sport, so she really put her all into it. And when she gets on the field, she’s a different person.”

While Chipola’s regular season didn’t start until January, Burney considered August through December as the time to prove herself. With the Lady Indians’ prior success, D-I programs across the country scrimmaged them in the offseason to scout for future commits. Despite the extra eyes on her, Burney stayed calm, often reminding herself it was a blessing.

“We try to emphasize that it’s just another game. They put their pants on the same way we put our pants on,” Brookins said.

Chipola faced schools Burney once dreamed of attending, including Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Baylor. Each time, Chipola entered the contests expected to win due to being filled with future D-I talent, Burney said.

Each time, Burney rose to the occasion, even collecting three hits and multiple stolen bases in a game against Ole Miss during her freshman fall, Brookins said.

“In those games (against D-I opponents), I had to make sure I did really well, and that’s exactly what I did,” Burney said.

“The bigger the game was, the bigger she showed up for the moment,” Maurice added.

Burney’s stock rose throughout her freshman year, as D-I coaches approached her after games to exchange contact information for when her JUCO career concluded.

In her sophomore year, Burney seamlessly became Chipola’s “field general,” Brookins said, after Sims — Chipola’s previous shortstop — left for the University of South Alabama. Burney often led infield drills and team meetings alongside Strozier and Charity Bibbs, preparing freshmen to adapt to college sports.

Meanwhile, she improved as Chipola’s leadoff hitter, using her sophomore year to prepare for what would come post-Chipola. Brookins felt Burney advanced to a “triple threat” ballplayer who could slap, hit and lay down a bunt.

But Burney’s mindset shifted. The pressure to plan her future grew, and she began prioritizing her own path.

“In this game of softball, you have to be selfish sometimes. I know that sounds bad, but at the same time, we all knew that being sophomores, we had to go play somewhere else,” Burney said.

After hitting .313, coaches nationwide reached out for her to visit. She spoke closely with numerous top programs, eventually choosing Mississippi State, which was also four hours from Gulfport.

While Burney’s Chipola career ended, her goal to play D-I had come true. However, she received minimal playing time with the Bulldogs in 2024, starkly contrasting her initial hopes to not “sit in the back seat,” Maurice said.

So, after one season at Mississippi State, Burney transferred north to Syracuse. Her star status is shining through with the Orange thus far, yet Burney’s stint in Chipola is what molded her to reach her potential.

“I’m grateful to say that I’ve played at the lowest level, JUCO, and I played at the highest level, SEC, and now I’m playing in the ACC,” Burney said. “I think (Chipola’s) exactly where I was supposed to be.”

Published on April 8, 2025 at 10:42 pm
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_