Feb. 21, 2025
Jadyn Joseph playing big role on resurgent Ferris State softball team
Expectations are high for an improving Ferris State University softball team, coming off a successful season-opening tournament in Hawaii and a third place pick in a preseason poll.
Jadyn Joseph has been a big part of the team’s steady improvement.
The Holt native began her Bulldog softball career with a bang, earning Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors as the five-foot-two junior packed a mighty punch in 54 games with 50 hits, including three doubles, four triples, a home run, and 23 runs batted in during the 2023 campaign. She batted .316.
Joseph's standout spring season made her the second Bulldog to earn GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors, following Amy Blumenstein, who earned it in 1992.
"It took me by surprise because it had been so long since someone at Ferris has won the award and since I was playing a new position that year," said Joseph, who has a .297 career batting average with 95 hits and 44 RBI through 106 games. "I was grateful and honored to receive it, but I think it could've just as well gone to Catherine O'Donohue. She was a big hitter and pitcher for us during our freshman year."
O'Donohue, a native of Pinckney who pitched and played first base, had 32 hits with four doubles and one triple with 17 RBI as a hitter. As a pitcher, she won six games and had three saves.
Joseph, a Dental Hygiene major, didn’t expect to play much as a freshman. The Bulldogs had an experienced player ahead of her at second base. But head coach Jake Schumann liked what he saw in Joseph and found a spot for her as a left fielder.
"I happily accepted that role," Joseph said.
In some ways, the GLIAC Freshman of the Year award could symbolize the young talent beginning the resurgence of Ferris State's softball program. One year after Joseph earned that honor, teammate and first baseman Alexis Kozlowski had a dynamite rookie season that lifted her to the honor of 2024 GLIAC Freshman of the Year. Kozlowski batted a team-best .361 and led the team with 61 hits and 48 runs batted in during 52 games.
Joseph and Kozlowski, an Elementary Education major, gave Ferris State back-to-back top rookie honors in the GLIAC.
"It was huge when Alexis followed it up with another GLIAC Freshman of the Year Award and went on to be a finalist for the National Freshman of the Year," said Joseph, who would return to the middle infield defensively.
The individual honors have translated into team success.
The Bulldogs won 23 games during Joseph's rookie season and 25 the following year, in 2024. Before 2023, Ferris State's win totals had been in the teens.
"Ferris softball has definitely grown in the last few years," Joseph said. "My freshman year, we had the most wins in seven years, and then last year we did even better with the most wins in nine years. It's exciting that Ferris softball is improving and competing more each year."
Joseph and her teammates have been excited about the success they see around Ferris State Athletics, including football winning the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship and volleyball winning the NCAA Division II Midwest Region championship. Last spring, the Ferris State men's and women's basketball teams won NCAA regional championships.
The team would love to return its program to a championship level. Expectations are rising, as the Bulldogs were picked third in the preseason GLIAC poll, behind first-place behind Saginaw Valley State University and second-place Grand Valley State University.
"Since Ferris athletics are so dominant, it's necessary for the softball team to start pulling its weight," Joseph said. "We've gotten better each year since Coach Schumann has taken over."
The Bulldogs began their season away from Michigan’s frigid February with six games in Honolulu, Hawaii, finishing with a 3-3 record, including victories in their final two games.
"We're really excited to travel to Hawaii to play some of the best teams in our region," Joseph said. "We have great chemistry this year. So, traveling and playing with each other will be a lot of fun."
Joseph sees a strong roster for the Bulldogs this season.
"There is talent at every position," she said. "We've had good players come in as freshmen and transfers, as well as another year under the belt for returners. I'm excited to see how things unfold during the preseason, GLIAC play, and postseason."
Though the team is practicing indoors these days with snow and cold temperatures, Joseph likes what she saw during their preseason workouts.
"The key to our success will be playing our game," she said. "We'll need to have a solid defense and score a good amount of runs every game. Keeping it fun is also important because everyone plays better when they're relaxed."
The Bulldogs are scheduled to return to the diamond on Feb. 20 with a doubleheader in the Rosemont Dome in Chicago to take on Tiffin University in a doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.