2021 Chicago Jamboree

After a year’s absence, we were excited to get back to Chicago this year. The Chicago Jamboree has always been one of our favorite events for many reasons. First, two of our best friends in the game, Bill Conroy (Beverly Bandits) and Gerry Quinn (Illinois Chill), run this event, and we couldn’t wait to see them again. Second, this tournament is a lot of fun. Finally, we have personally witnessed the growth of softball in the upper Midwest, and we couldn’t wait to see the newest group of future stars.

It didn’t take long for one of this year’s great stories to begin developing. Orland Park A’s 2023 UT Katie Stewart burst upon the scene in live BP and proceeded to launch bomb after bomb deep over the OF fence. She followed that up with a great performance with her ODM® testing and her defensive work. And at that point we had a star in the making. 

Several others put on great performances as well. 2022 C/UT Emily Bojan (Sparks) showed the coaches in attendance that she deserves all the hype she started generating last year. Emily can hit it deep. Is very athletic. And is a solid defender.

2023 middle infielders Makenzie Foster and Addie Martin were very good both offensively and defensively. Both these athletes can run, throw, defend, and swing it. They have all the tools that college coaches look for and should be highly recruited by Power 5s in the Midwest.

2024 Pitcher Ava Bradshaw was excellent in the circle and will be a high level recruit. Ava has excellent velocity combined with good movement and solid command. She will be one of her class’ best prospects

And finally 2025s Tru Medina (MI) and Kailey Janda (P) flashed the potential of being highly regarded future recruits. Tru is a solid hitting prospect. And Kailey scored good numbers in the Rapsodo.

There were many others who also performed very well. We will be anxious to follow all these athletes over the course of the next year. 

One final note that I would be remiss in not mentioning. Ackerman Park in Glen Ellyn underwent an incredible transformation during the year away from the game. Wow! When we walked up, we knew we were at Ackerman, but we couldn’t believe the changes. The park is beautiful and has excellent playing surfaces. We will be excited to get back there again next year.