Tele Jennings has always embraced who she is on the softball field.

Early on, she was a speedy, lefty slapper.

After a growth spurt when she was a sophomore at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, CA, she became a power hitter.

One constant through every adjustment is that Jennings has always focused on being “a hard worker and a great teammate in whatever my role was in that moment.”

And this is exactly what has propelled the Arizona standout from a reserve to a starter hitting in the four spot in her junior season.

That’s no easy feat in a lineup like Arizona’s; one that is full of great hitters. And it took a while for Jennings to get there.

The outfielder, who spends most of her time in the designated player role, secured the starting spot at the end of March during the Baylor series. Prior to that, she found her way into the lineup for one or two at-bats in 11 games out of the 33 that Arizona had played.

“She continued to put in the work and get better every single day and stay emotionally ready,” said UA Assistant Coach Lauren Lappin. "She was emotionally invested in other people’s at-bats, especially hitters that are similar to her, so that when her opportunity came, she was able to produce the way she was."

She stayed patient through limited playing time, kept working to improve and was ready when her opportunity came.

“What we are not surprised by is her ability to stay even keeled throughout the entire process. You feel energy in the dugout when a kid’s next to you every game, and you feel how present they are throughout a game. You know that they’re dialed and ready," Lappin said. "She hasn’t taken a pitch off all season. Even though she didn’t play the first two-thirds of the season, she was still dialed in, in a competitive mindset, and I think that has allowed her to come in from the way she comes.”

The Arizona coaches knew early on what they were getting in Jennings, a transfer from the University of San Diego. While many players would have gotten discouraged not being in the lineup from the get-go, Jennings just went to work.

She calls this her “little underdog story” going from a reserve to the starting lineup.

When her number was called, she made the most of it. During that three-game matchup with Baylor, Jennings smashed a double to right center field to drive in three runs, leading Arizona to take the series. She was inserted into the lineup in the eighth spot. Two weeks later, she moved up and was batting fourth behind Big 12 Player of the Year and Batting Champ, Sydney Stewart.

It seems like she was always meant to be there.

She landed on the All-Big 12 second team, hitting .352, with a .535 slugging percentage and 19 runs batted in.

“I truly cannot say enough about Tele and the job that she’s been able to do, just the composure that she’s had, just to step in there and be super confident,” said Head Coach Caitlin Lowe.“And really, it doesn’t look like she’s hitting behind Stew. It looks like she’s having her own Tele at bats. It’s the at bat she takes in practice every day; not making the moment too big, I think it’s excellent.”

It’s a family thing

Softball runs in Jennings’ family. Her cousin, Keiliani, played softball at UC Santa Barbara. Her sister, Tiare, a four-time All-American, led Oklahoma to four National Championships (2021-24) and is now playing professionally in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

While the sisters came into the game as different types of players, Tiare was a righty power hitter, who played in the infield, while Tele was the lefty slapper in the outfield, the one thing that remains constant is the how they were raised by their parents, Maria and Ignacio.

“Our family is very much put our head down and work and don’t expect anything,” Tele Jennings said. “You have to work for it. So go after it, and each day is a new day. So just keep going.”

Almost everything has changed: her mindset, her confidence and her stance at the plate. The adjustments have unleashed untapped power.

There’s one other important ingredient: rediscovering the love of the game.

“I think coming from San Diego, I hit the sophomore slump pretty hard, so it really took out a lot of the love of for the game for me,” Jennings said. “Coming here, I knew I wanted an environment where everyone had the same mindset and was on the same wavelength. And just falling back in love with softball. All the girls are so amazing. I have nothing but love for them, and we just play with joy and play with freedom. I think you can really see it throughout the way our defense is and our offense is. It’s just so free.”

PJ Brown is the founder of The Undercovered, a Substack newsletter covering untold stories in women's college, professional and Olympic sports. Find more of her work at theundercovered.substack.com.

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