Shayla Jackson

Classroom

Jackson shows a cumulative grade point average of 3.063 as a criminology major and computer science minor. She achieved Dean’s List status for the spring 2011 semester while in the playing season with a 3.563 GPA. Jackson has performed extremely well in her summer classes, showing a 4.0 GPA heading into her sophomore year and a 3.75 GPA going into her senior year. She also has recorded GPAs of 3.25 in two semesters and 3.1 in a separate semester.

Character

Jackson rightfully earned a spot as one of the three team captains by showing excellent leadership qualities throughout her career and especially during this past offseason. She played the 2011 ACC Championship with a heavy heart after the passing of her grandfather the week before, yet persevered by helping lead the Seminoles to a conference title. She endured the loss of her grandmother a month later during the offseason and looks to finish her career on a strong note in their honor. Jackson has developed a reputation for being an excellent, team-oriented student-athlete who maintains a strong level of composure no matter what circumstances exist. In a pre-season questionnaire, Jackson wrote that the biggest thing she has learned from sports is “Being part of a team and being a leader.” Jackson is also a two-time member of the Seminole Softball Leadership Council.

Community

FSU Softball is known throughout the Big Bend area for its tremendous community service, and Jackson plays an enormous role. In the 2010-11 academic year, she completed over 30 hours in community service activities that included National Student-Athlete Day, a ‘Relay For Life’ bake sale, a dog wash, softball lessons and clinics, a canned food drive, literacy week festivities that include reading to children, a charity softball game and even a dance marathon. Jackson also participated in the ‘Let Us Play’ event to fundraise for women’s scholarships and was a second harvest volunteer where she sorted canned food. In the 2011-12 academic year she has already participated with ‘Relay for Life’ and ‘Let Us Play’, and did a clinic with the University of Alabama-Mobile. On Nov. 21, 2011, Jackson spent nine hours at the Canned Food Drive in pursuit of providing impoverished families with plenty of food for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Jackson was part of an FSU squad that was honored at the school’s 17th annual Golden Nole banquet that recognizes community service work, as the team won the SemiGnome Award for outstanding work in the community.

Competition

Jackson has enjoyed a tremendous career thus far at FSU, showing career numbers of a .332 batting average, 185 base hits, 24 doubles, nine triples, and only 37 strikeouts in 589 plate appearances. Jackson has struck out at an average of once every 16 plate appearances, and was ranked as the 18th toughest student-athlete to strike out in the nation last season. Jackson is fifth on FSU’s single-season doubles list with 15 in 2011. She has been a consistent performer since coming to FSU in 2009, hitting .315 as a freshman, .338 as a sophomore and .337 as a junior. Jackson was named to the All-ACC Team in 2011 after finishing second in the conference in doubles and triples (4), while leading FSU with 93 total bases. She earned ACC Player of the Week honors in her junior season after going 15-for-23 with one home run, 13 RBIs, four doubles and five runs scored in six games played. Included in the tremendous week was a doubleheader at Boston College where she finished 7-for-8 with eight RBIs that included a grand slam and a double. In 2010, Jackson led FSU with 213 at-bats and finished second on the club with 72 base hits and did not commit an error all season in right field. By the time her career ends, Jackson is in reasonable striking distance of earning Top 10 spots on FSU’s career marks of base hits, doubles and triples.