All-American Flashback: Jackie McClain (2001-04)
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
In honor of Alabama softball's 20th anniversary, rolltide.com will be catching up with our 20 former All-Americans in a series of features. Our sixth feature is with Jackie McClain (2001-04), the Tide's second four-time All-American.
By the time Jackie McClain arrived at Alabama, the Crimson Tide had already established itself as a Southeastern Conference and national contender. Alabama won an SEC tournament title in 1998 followed by its first NCAA Regional title and Women's College World Series appearance in 2000. McClain, who arrived as a freshman for the 2001 season, was part of a second wave of Alabama athletes that would carry the Tide forward into the new millennium.
"When I started in high school, that's when a lot of the SEC schools started to get programs," McClain said. "It was my goal to play softball for an SEC school. The year before I went to Alabama, they made the World Series and I saw that they had already established themselves as a national program and not just within the SEC. It was neat to be there when all that was starting and it was a good time to go."
A native of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., just outside of Chattanooga, McClain was firmly planted in SEC territory growing up and the idea of playing within the conference appealed to her. Alabama ended up making a lasting first impression.
"I was at the 16U nationals in Michigan and [former Alabama assistant coach] Karen Johns was in the stands wearing her Alabama stuff," McClain said. "A number of schools had watched me play but Alabama was the first to send me anything in the mail after that tournament. I remember thinking that was so cool that I got a hand-written letter from the University of Alabama. As time went on, Coach [Patrick] Murphy and Coach Aly[son Habetz] came and watched me play and when I was able to talk to them, I remember thinking how great they were as people and how great of a coaching staff this was. That's what really stood out to me. A lot of schools have great coaches but I could tell Alabama had a sense of family and they really cared about the team and what was best for the team.
"My other choices were staying home at UT-Chattanooga or going to Georgia or Florida. The way that the Alabama coaches and team made me feel with the family atmosphere made me want to be a part of that. I didn't want to go too far away from home so it was always a goal of mine to go to an SEC school. I committed to Alabama my junior year because I felt like I wanted to be a part of the Alabama softball family."
The first half of McClain's career at Alabama overlapped with the final half of many other All-American hitters such as Kelly Kretschman and Ginger Jones. Similar to how they pushed each other in the early years of the program, the upperclassmen made sure to set the standard for newcomers like McClain.
"They were all very welcoming, but they all pushed me to be better," McClain said. "I remember during weights working out with Ginger Jones, who was very strong and in-shape as an upperclassmen. When you worked with a partner, you always wanted to compete with them so she'd always leave the weights on after she was done and try and make me do them. I felt like she really pushed me to be better and set the bar really high. In practice, we'd have hitting groups and I was always in the group with Ginger and Kelly Kretschman. That was always really intimidating because they hit it over the fence every time but I wanted to do as well as they did so that really helped raise the bar and help me be the best I can be."
McClain took those lessons to heart immediately, earning NFCA Second Team All-America honors as a freshman with a career-best .417 average, 78 hits and 59 RBI. She was just the second player in program history at that point to hit above .400 in a season and her 59 RBI was the fourth highest single-season total in the program's five-year history.
"It was just the way that we practiced," McClain said. "Coach Murphy threw live batting practice and I think we really got pushed hard in practice and that helped me a lot. We worked so hard and I had those seniors to help push me along as well."
As the quality of SEC softball increased across the league, the long-standing rivalries that existed in other sports started to carry over to softball. It wasn't long before battles between All-America caliber pitchers and hitters were a weekly occurrence.
"I remember going to LSU my freshman year and Britni Sneed was their pitcher; she was awesome," McClain said. "I remember striking out quite a bit, which I didn't do very often, and I remember thinking, 'Wow, this is a really high level.' That was always a huge rivalry. Going to Baton Rouge was really hard because they have some tough fans.
"Georgia was a really big rival as well and it was really hard to play there. My junior year, we competed with them for the SEC regular season championship. It came down to our series against them and they ended up winning. It was so heartbreaking."
Alabama ended up losing two out of its three games against the Bulldogs in the final weekend of the 2003 regular season, but an opportunity to make the Women's College World Series remained with the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Regionals in the following weeks.
"The SEC Tournament was in Plant City, Fla., and was probably the hottest place I've ever played," McClain said. "It was a really neat experience though. We won every game and then ended up hosting the NCAA Regionals and won all our games there. Winning that regional at home to advance to the World Series is one of my favorite memories."
Alabama had only hosted an NCAA Regional round once before, losing in 2001. This time, the Crimson Tide swept its four games, outscoring its opponents 23-7, en route to its second Women's College World Series appearance in program history.
"Making the World Series is like a dream," McClain said. "That's what you hope to do as a softball player. You know that you're there with the best of the best. It's the top eight teams in the country and we were just in awe the whole time. You know that you've worked so hard and all the coaches believed in us so it was such a cool feeling knowing you were there among the greatest in the country. I'll never forget it."
McClain was Alabama's second four-time All-American, finishing her stellar career with a .387 batting average and 181 RBI, just 10 RBI behind the Tide's first four-time All-American, Kelly Kretschman. Kretschman and McClain would sit atop the career RBI list for six years until Charlotte Morgan and Whitney Larsen topped their totals in successive years in 2010 and 2011.
Alabama has a strong tradition in All-Americans but has an equally strong tradition of Academic All-Americans. Kelly Kretschman and Ginger Jones were the first to earn All-America and Academic All-America honors in the same season and McClain became the third during her 2004 senior season.
"There were only a few people before me that had earned an All-American award and Academic All-American award in the same season, so I always thought that would be a great feat to accomplish," McClain said. "Grades were something that were very valued for our entire team. Before every season, we have a one-on-one meeting with the coaches and they gave us their expectations. Every time, it wasn't just about being a good player. There was always something about shooting for a certain GPA or grades. That was something that we all valued."
Some of McClain's most cherished off-the-field memories include class dinners with the Alabama coaching staff.
"Each class had their own dinner at one of the coaches' house," McClain said. "You ate together as a group when you were freshmen, sophomores, etc., and I thought it was really neat because it got you together with the coaches in an off-the-field setting. It was a lot more personal. I always thought those were so neat that you could go to their house and they'd make dinner, we'd bring a side dish and you could just see them in a different atmosphere than practice or a game.
"We always had a Christmas party and did 'Secret Santa' and other things like that. That was always neat that they made it more like a family and it wasn't just about how we did at practice or in a game. They really cared about us as people, not just as players."
McClain now has an opportunity to impact future generations in the same way Alabama impacted her as an eighth grade social studies teacher back in her hometown of Soddy Daisy, Tenn. The children at Soddy Daisy Middle School, the girls on the high school softball team she coaches as well as her own daughter, four-year-old McClain Freeland, are all benefiting from McClain's experience at Alabama.
"I teach and I coach, so I've taken a lot of the things that they taught me and I really try and pass those on to the kids," McClain said. "One of the biggest lessons I learned was that you should have an attitude of gratitude. You should always be thankful for all the things you have, you should be a servant-leader and you should always lead by example. The lessons you learn are about more than just a game. All these things are really good life skills. Little things like a thank-you note and a good handshake can go a long way."
