BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. - A day after the NCAA opened its initial fall signing period, Jenna Greene became the third Richmond County softball player within the last week to sign her National Letter of Intent to play collegiate softball.
Greene, a senior who attends Marlboro Academy in Bennettsville, inked her name Friday morning as the newest member of the Presbyterian College softball program. A native of Hamlet, Greene will join the Blue Hose as a pitcher and a member of the graduating class of 2023 in Clinton, S.C.
She joins fellow Richmond County natives and Richmond Senior High School players Savannah Lampley (UNC-Wilmington) and Greyson Way (UNC-Greensboro) as the newest members in the Division I softball circuit. Taylor Parrish, also of RSHS, signed her commitment letter to play Division III softball at Pfeiffer University.
Surrounded by her parents, Jeff and Jennifer Greene, siblings Brooke Simmons and Jackson Greene, her grandfather Tom Smart and her first pitching coach Ralph Grant in Marlboro Academy’s gymnasium, Greene made the next four years of her life official.
Also joining her were Marlboro Academy head softball coach Boyd McLaurin, assistant coaches Kevin Birchfield and James Weaver, and several of her teammates.
“It was really exciting because this has been my dream since I started pitching,” Greene said of her signing day. “It was such a surreal moment to sign to a Division I school.
“It was awesome to have all the support,” she added. “My sister lives in Charleston, S.C., and she surprised me. My teammates being there made it really special.”
Also signing her NLI Friday was senior teammate Samantha Bryant, who will also be going to Presbyterian. Bryant has been Greene’s catcher since the two were in seventh grade, and Greene added that “it’s pretty cool” to have her longtime battery mate joining her at the collegiate level.
Jenna Greene pitching for Marlboro Academy.
A member of the Lady Dragons’ softball program since her eighth-grade year, Greene has been McLaurin’s go-to starter in the circle. As a junior last spring, Greene helped guide Marlboro Academy to a 28-5 overall record, and the Lady Dragons’ to another SCISA-AA Region III championship (5-1).
From the circle, she struckout 231 batters in 125 innings, which according to Maxpreps, put her first in the state in the SCISA-AA classification. She finished last season with a 0.56 earned run average, compiled a 19-4 record and struck out 49 percent of the total batters she faced. Entering her senior season, Greene has 773 career strikeouts.
As a sophomore in 2017, Greene was an integral part of Marlboro Academy winning the AA South Carolina Independent School Association state championship. The Lady Dragons swept Pee Dee Academy (Mullins, S.C.) in two games, with Greene pitching from the circle in both contests.
Other accolades she’s earned through her eighth and 11th grade seasons include being named the AA All-Region Player of the Year twice (2016 and 2017), Marlboro Academy’s MVP four times (2015-2018), and Greene also earned recognition as the High School Sports Report SCISA Girls Player of the Year in 2017.
Greene will join a Presbyterian program that finished last in the Big South Conference last season, but is now under the direction of first-year head coach David Williams. Prior to taking over as the Blue Hose’s ninth all-time head coach in June, Williams spent the previous seven years at Morehead State (Morehead, Ky.), where he led the Eagles to at least 22 wins in five of those seasons.
Since the end of the summer in 2017, Greene was actually verbally committed to play for Williams at Morehead State. But once the coach switched schools, he asked if she would transfer with him, and the senior ace agreed ahead of the school year this year. Greene noted the change was welcomed for many reasons, including staying closer to home.
“I’m most excited about hopefully getting to be a starting pitcher as a freshman,” Greene explained. “I want to make an impact there and hopefully break some records.”
In preparation for her senior season at Marlboro Academy and joining the Blue Hose next fall, Greene has been playing travel softball for the Lady Lightning Gold and head coach John Corn. The team is comprised of players from all over North Carolina and Virginia, and is based out of Clemmons, N.C.
The Lady Lightning Gold traveled to Los Angeles, Calif., in July and competed in the 2018 Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championships. There, Greene and company finished 13th out of 80 teams, and she pitched 17 innings in the final day of the tournament.
Greene visited Presbyterian’s campus in late August, and will attend a softball camp in the spring. She plans to pursue a career as an occupational therapist.
