Gaylord's Jayden Jones wins MHSSCA Miss Softball award as top position player

GAYLORD — The softball world continues to revolve around Gaylord; at least in the state of Michigan.

Fresh of the Blue Devils second straight MHSAA Division 2 state championship victory on Saturday, June 15, the GHS softball team has begun to pull in the postseason accolades that come with winning back-to-back state titles. Junior Aubrey Jones was already named the Gatorade Softball Player of the Year earlier in the postseason, also being named the MaxPreps Michigan Player of the Year following the championship win.

Now, her older sister is getting in on the award-winning fun.

Senior Jayden Jones wrapped up her tremendous high school career with the state title win, logging two big hits in the title game including one that plated the eventual winning run. Now, she's going out on top individually as well, being named Miss Softball for 2024 by the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association on Wednesday, June 19.

"I haven’t seen anyone more deserving than Jayden for this award," coach Ron Moeggenberg said. "She can play anywhere you put her on the field and her numbers speak for themselves."

Jones, a Virginia Tech signee for the Class of 2024, has played a big part in Gaylord's rise to elite status in the past four years. She earned all-state honors for all of her seasons in a GHS uniform while helping the team win four straight conference titles, four district titles, three regional titles and two state titles.

This season, however, was a bit more special for Jones; after missing the team's first run to a state championship with a fractured hand, she played a pivotal role in the quest for back-to-back titles, including a clutch hit in the eighth inning of the state championship game that plated the eventual winning run.

"I really was trying to do anything I could for my team, it didn't matter what it was. I was just trying to find a way on base, trying to fight and compete as much as I could to get the job done," said Jones. "I was not going home not number one."

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As Coach said, her numbers speak for themselves; Jones led a loaded GHS roster with a .496 batting average, 65 hits, 18 doubles and 6 triples. She was also a dominant pitcher despite working through complications with her fractured hand early in the year, finishing the season with a 13-2 record, a 1.36 earned-run average and 89 strikeouts.

Jones is off to Virginia Tech, one of six college-committed seniors leaving the back-to-back state champion's roster this year. It is bittersweet for many, especially Jones, leaving behind a team she's played with for over 10 years and a team coached by her father Greg, managed by her mother Dawn and, maybe now more than ever, under the leadership of her younger sister Aubrey.

Still, she's going out on top, both with her team and individually.

More postseason softball awards coverage to come.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord's Jayden Jones wins MHSSCA 2024 Miss Softball award