When speaking with Jala Wright of the Carolina Blaze, one thing that stands out is her positive mindset and ability to take the good with the bad. Wright’s first season in the AUSL hasn’t started the way she wanted it to, but through her unwavering faith and belief, she knows that better is coming.
Wright admits that it has been a bit pressure-packed, with everything that surrounds her story of pitching for the Blaze. She is back on the mound at Smith Family Stadium in Durham, where she starred for the Duke Blue Devils, and is now a coach on Marissa Young’s staff.
“I finally just got back to playing free and remembering I’m meant to be here,” Wright told Southeastern Softball Wire. “I got drafted for a reason. So honestly, everything happens for a reason. I needed those first two outings to get my feet under me, and then my last outing against the Talons really spoke to who I am.”
Wright looked more like her usual self at Durham Bulls Athletic Park against the Utah Talons. The righty tossed 3.0 innings of scoreless ball and struck out four. Her first inning was a bit shaky in command, but things quickly got on track.
Even though she is an accomplished pitcher, who was an All-American and ACC Pitcher of the Year at Duke in 2024 with professional experience, Wright still had to lean on her teammates.
“I don’t know if you saw, but Reese was tapping her head, just helping me find the zone a little bit,” Wright said.
Reese Atwood, who just came into the league right out of Texas, has quickly built chemistry with her pitchers. I asked Wright how challenging it can be to learn different catchers in a short amount of time, and off the field bonding is key. Also, just learning from each other makes things easier.
“Relationships are key off the field,” Wright said. “We talk about Love Island every day, and so just having that key moment of building bonds off the field I think helps propel what’s seen on the field.
“Reese is phenomenal. She just won a national championship. She’s an All-American. I want to learn from the best, she wants to learn from me. At this point, iron sharpens iron. We’re both pros for a reason, so just truly picking each other’s brains and leaning in, soaking up every word we pour into each other.”
Between Wright’s All-American career at Duke to now, she’s gained great experience in this game of softball. Wright spent her first professional seasons with the Atlanta Smoke, who is owned by Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Brandon Phillips. One of the major differences between the two experiences is the visibility, Wright mentioned. The competition is still top notch, and prepared her for the AUSL.
“I think the only thing is visibility,” Wright said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, so grateful, to be part of the AUSL, but the Smoke is doing amazing things, and hopefully they join the league one day, and we can all do amazing things together. But I think the only difference is honestly the visibility.”
Wright isn’t the only professional softball player that’s spoken about strengthening the professional game in that way. The more the better, and with the platform Athletes Unlimited has built, the pro softball game has a clear path to being successful for many years to come. The next generation and generations after can now look at this as a realistic option in their softball lives, but there’s more growth to be done.
For the next generation and for players that Wright coaches, she wants them to take what may seem like a simple lesson from her, but can be hard to accept at times.
“One outing doesn’t define you,” Wright said. “Every outing is just a piece of the puzzle. So, if you let one piece define who you are, your game’s going to suffer. And at the end of the day, you have to remember your why. You have to remember you are good enough. You are meant to be in the spaces that you walk into, and that all starts with your faith as well.
“The more confidence you have in your preparation and your work, if you believe in a higher power, it’s all gonna work out at the end of the day, but you can’t live and die by one performance.”
Faith is a major part in Wright’s life. It is her go to for peace and guidance, and a like-minded group of people that she is surrounded by also feel the same way.
“I’m surrounded by a group of girls who love God fearlessly,” Wright said. “We have Bible studies whenever we can. I sit and talk to my family and pray with them daily. I sit in my own prayer closet and pray to God and just thank him for the blessings and the struggles that I’ve experienced in my own life.
“And so I know without God, none of this is possible. I truly just lean on him and know that yes, you may want the results, you may want the big recognition, but at the end of the day, God loves me no matter what.”
In that recognition of faith, Wright knows that the good must come with the bad. No one lives a perfect life, and just because you believe in God or a higher power, that does not mean your life will be without struggle. It is all a part of the process. If life were easy, we would have it all, but in that, no lessons would really be learned. A tattoo that Wright has frames that mindset perfectly.
“It says, ‘It’s happening for you, not to you.’ And so I think that leans into my faith,” Wright said. “God makes no mistakes, and so, yes, you may go through hardship, but at the end of the day, what is this hardship teaching me in this moment? What is this valley showing me that may become recognized when I make it to the light at the end of the tunnel?
“Struggle is necessary. If things were easy, we would all have a million dollars, or we would all be the best athletes in the world. But that’s just not how the world works. That’s not how God works. You have to have the perspective that I’m going through something because God wants to teach me a lesson in this moment, and it’s only gonna set me up in the long run.”
It was no mistake that Wright ended up at Duke University after spending one season at Michigan State. Wright was like many that had lost love for the game, and wondered if it was for her. Those stories sometimes come with a great next step for the fortunate ones. When asked the importance of Duke head coach Marissa Young, there was nothing but love and admiration poured out.
The first time I spoke with Young, for whatever reason, I was a little intimidated. I’d talked to other coaches before her, but something about Young was different. It eased off once we actually started talking. Apparently, I’m not the only one.
“Don’t get me wrong, Coach Young still intimidates me too,” Wright said, laughing. “That lady is, she’s a little scary. But no, Coach Young is a sweetheart. She’s definitely been one of my mentors. She’s a motherly figure to me as well. She’s just seen me in all facets of life beyond softball.
“When I walked into Duke as a 19-year-old who didn’t know anything about herself, didn’t have any confidence, wanted to quit softball, to now I’m working alongside her as her coworker, as her assistant, and she helped me become an All-American. She’s seen me in moments on and off the field where she’s just poured into me every step of the way.”
Young was called upon to start the program at Duke and has done a tremendous job. Not only does she guide the Blue Devils to winning seasons, but she gives people of color someone to look up to in the game of softball. Being the first and only head coach at a prestigious university is something that should be talked about more.
“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to join the program,” Wright said. “One, Coach Young looks like me. She’s a testament to girls of color. If you have a dream and you aspire, then you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, and she’s only continued to pass the torch. She’s instilled in me that it’s tough at the end of the day when you don’t look like the typical cookie cutter coach, or just fit the mold in general.
“So she just continues to know we always have to be a step ahead. We always just have to have a strong head over our shoulders, good, bad, ugly, and different. I hope only now with those tools instilled in me that people see that in my game, and you see that in my character off the field as well.”
Wright and Young alike take their places seriously. They show the world that they are qualified and capable of doing great things as well. One key thing is that they do it with class, and are role models for those coming up that aspire to do what they are doing.
“If you have aspirations of, especially if you look like me, then it’s possible,” Wright said. “You just have to put your mind to it, and work hard, and be dedicated, and be passionate as well.”
With the season moving quickly, Wright has her eyes set on more than just personal growth. She wants to see the Blaze finish what they started.
“I just wanna continue trusting God, continue trusting in his plan for my career,” Wright said. “I wanna continue to just improve in any aspect, get one percent better in every outing. And I think at the end of it all, I’m gonna be proud of myself no matter what. It’s already a blessing being here.
“But hopefully, if I can predict the future, I do predict that we have a championship over our head, as the Blaze is hoisting the trophy up. So I think we’re getting our momentum, and we’re on a good track.”
Monday night was a momentum-building win. The Blaze trailed for most of the game before pulling off a comeback win over the Oklahoma City Spark, that kind of result that can carry a team into the stretch run. Wright watched it unfold and saw something bigger than one box score.
“You just have to stay true to yourself,” Wright said.” You don’t have to be anybody else, any other team. I think that’s what we do so well as a unit, as a Blaze team. We just continue to pour into each other, and we tap into each other’s skills, personalities, and use it in the right way and elevate it when needed. But we do it as a group.
“That comeback win was definitely a team effort. We never wavered in our belief. We never wavered in, can we do this? We just put our minds to it and got the job done.”
