With just a few days remaining until the start of the 2025 LSU softball season, head coach Beth Torina once again has her roster ready to compete with the best in the country. While it will largely be thanks to some returning veteran presence, new faces like that of star freshman pitcher Jayden Heavener could end up playing a major role in just how far the Tigers can go later this spring.
Freshman pitcher Jayden Heavener has the potential to make an immediate impact during her first season with the purple and gold
The 2025 LSU softball season is officially just days away, and while there are plenty of familiar faces returning for the purple and gold, there’s also some incredible talent that will be making their debut for the Tigers over the course of this coming season.
Among said talent is none other than that of star freshman pitcher Jayden Heavener, who has the potential to make quite the name for herself throughout the 2025 season.
For starters, she’s already coming to be known as something of a rare commodity for the Tigers. Entering the program as the first left-handed pitcher since 1997, her presence alone is somewhat astonishing, as far as the LSU softball program is concerned.
“It’s only rare at LSU. It’s not rare anywhere else, and I’m not sure why,” head coach Beth Torina said when asked about her star freshman. “She is the first left-hander to take the field since 1997 here at LSU, so it is going to be a different look for us, and we’re really excited.”
Outside of her handedness, we would be remiss if we didn’t at the very least mention the overall ability of the Pace, FL, product at such a young age.
Entering her true freshman season, Heavener joins LSU softball as one of the top recruits in the entire class of 2024, being named the 2024 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as the 2024 Max Prep National Player of the Year.
“She’s really special. She enters a long line of great pitching that’s been here at LSU, even before my time.” Torina continued during the 2025 LSU softball media days.
“I’ll tell you, I think she’s thrown about 10 innings so far in scrimmages, and our team has two hits. So, she’s doing a really good job, she’s really special. She does a lot of really cool things with a softball, and I think, too, the nice thing about her is, she’s such a different look from the rest of our staff, that it’s gonna be even harder to prepare for us.”
Important to note, as good as she is on the mound, it might be her overall versatility that makes her so exciting as a prospect ahead of this weekend’s season opener.
She’ll get her time as a pitcher for the purple and gold. She’s simply too good to not utilize in that department. However, on the days she’s resting that pitching arm of hers, don’t be surprised if she happens to make an appearance at DP, or even first base, where she spent plenty of time at during her high school years.
As a senior in 2024, Jayden Heavener played a pivotal role in helping her team to the Florida Class 6A State Championship, logging a record of 25-2, to go alongside a 0.44 ERA, 322 strikeouts and just 31 allowed hits.
As a batter, there was little to no drop off, as she totaled a .434 batting average, with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .898, all while being listed as a primary pitcher.
Now, as a part of the Tiger softball program, expect the 5-foot-6 left-hander to make an immediate impact as a true freshman in 2025. If her high school accolades are any indication at all, Jayden Heavener should be a household name throughout the Baton Rouge area, before long.
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