Janae Jefferson, former Texas Longhorn second baseman has made her way back to Austin. Jefferson will play professional softball for the Texas Smoke, a new professional fastpitch softball team.
Only a year after leaving Texas due to her college career coming to an end, former Texas Longhorn second baseman powerhouse Janae Jefferson made her return to Austin to embark on a professional softball career.
When Jefferson received an offer to play professional ball for the Texas Smoke, a new professional fastpitch softball team in Austin, she never second-guessed her decision.
Part of the reason she accepted the opportunity was to enlarge the viewership and recognition of women’s sports, but the other half was so she could be an inspiration to all young female athletes.
“I feel like softball, in general, is growing, so I’m just glad to be a part of that growth,” Jefferson said to the Austin-American Statesman. “I think, in a way, women’s (professional) sports don’t really get as much recognition as we should and the marketing of women’s sports is not really out there. So I’m just doing this for the next generation that comes in, the little girls that look up to me now. I’m doing it for them.”
Jefferson was a decorated player during her time on the Forty Acres. At UT, Jefferson was a four-time All-American infielder who set the school record for both career hits and batting average (.415).
Brandon Phillips, the Co-Owner of the Texas Smoke, said that Jefferson’s qualities were exactly what he was looking for when recruiting his athletes.
“That was my first thing to do,” Phillips said to Fox 7. “I had to get the most popular person from Texas. And I feel like Janae Jefferson is that person. It’s her swag. Her demeanor and the way she approaches the game. That just says champion.”
