FSU softball Jaysoni Beachum has had a record-breaking freshman season. Could she do more?
FSU softball (41-13, 19-5) third baseman Jaysoni Beachum is a freshman ahead of her time.
Even head coach Lonni Alameda admitted she plays like a junior after the game against the Florida Gators on May 1. Her mindset is the Seminoles' mindset, which is to play one-pitch softball, meaning to focus on what is in front of her.
"I wasn't looking too far ahead in the future," Beachum said. "I was just trying to stay present but overall, just continuing to trust my training in the games to stay competitive."
So, where does Beachum go from here?
According to Alameda, she can always improve physically and mentally. She challenged Beachum to be vocal as a leader, which would complement her 15 home runs and 63 RBI season.
“I think that sometimes there are physical improvements and then there are mental improvements," Alameda said. "And so I think one thing that Jaysoni really tried to get better at is leading and finding her voice as a freshman, and she's done a really good job of that halfway through the season.”
For Beachum, the key to leadership is to simply be herself. The freshman slugger lets her plays do all the talking, which has always been her persona going back to her high school years at Florida High School. It also helps when she has an experienced senior group around her.
“I figured if I try to be anybody else or try to copy anybody else, it's not going to work out too well, so just trying to stay true to who I am, lead by action and just continuing to stay in their hip pockets," Beachum said.
'Records are meant to be broken': Jaysoni Beachum carries on Sydney Sherrill's legacy
Beachum already broke one freshman record and is on pace to break some more as FSU enters as the No. 2 seed in the ACC Softball Championship.
She recently surpassed 59 RBIs, a freshman RBI record held by former FSU great Sydney Sherrill. Before the Seminoles played North Carolina, Sherrill handed Beachum the record-breaking ball.
Beachum looked up to Sherrill and connected with her over the years before she joined FSU. It was a moment she would never forget.
“It was definitely emotional for sure,” Beachum said. "Growing up, I watched Sydney a lot (and) got to work with her at camps as I came to a lot of camps here, so just having that cool moment there with her was pretty cool."
She is 20 RBIs away from breaking Maddie O'Brien's single-season record and could finish the year with the highest batting average in program history since Danielle Cox (.432) in 1999.
After her talk with Sherrill, Beachum wants to keep building a legacy for the softball program like the former players in the past.
"She just said that records are meant to be broken, but I just hope that as I continue to go along and after a couple of years when I graduate, someone can come in and continue to do the same thing," Beachum said. "So that they can leave the legacy how they found it and so that's what I'm just trying to do, leave my legacy and keep going from there.”
Jaysoni Beachum stats, accomplishments
All-ACC Freshman team
First-Team All-ACC team
Top 25 Finalist for the 2024 USA Softball National Player of the Year (only freshman finalist)
Top 25 TUCCI/NFCA National Freshman of the Year award finalist
Softball America's Freshman of the Month for the third consecutive month
Ranks in the Top 20 nationally in batting average (.443), hits (74), RBI (63), on-base percentage ( .528) and total bases (128)
Holds the freshman record for most RBIs in a season in FSU history
Has 15 home runs this season.
.966 fielding percentage and only five errors
What's next for FSU softball in ACC softball tournament
Thursday: FSU vs. Notre Dame
Where/When: Duke Softball Stadium, 5 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: What Jaysoni Beachum must do to be FSU softball's leader
