CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Almost every night Jordan Best placed a call home to her mother, Melanie.
She needed her. More now than ever.
Best needed her father, Matt, too. These were trying times for the Clarion Area graduate who had known nothing but success at Clarion Area High School but was languishing on the bench for the Gannon University softball team, seemingly rudderless and needing to hear a reassuring voice.
(Picture above, newest Clarion University softball player Jordan Best/submitted photo)
“I had a pretty rough year,” said Best, a two-time all-state catcher during her playing days for the Bobcats, but no more than just a reserve at Gannon as a freshman this spring. “(My mom) helped me through it a lot. And so did my dad. I don’t know what I would have done without them … just telling me that it’s going to be fine and things are gonna work out.”
And things have worked out for Best, just not in the way she anticipated.
Not long into the season, Best knew she was in the wrong place. Nothing felt like it should.
Clarion Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Best played sparingly, going 6-for-33 (.182 average) with a double and two RBIs.
She needed to explore her options.
Best entered the transfer portal, unsure of her future.
And a bit scared.
“There was more stuff going on than just playing time,” Best said. “It all started kind of building up until I was ready to just say, ‘OK. This is not the place for me.’
“It’s so hard when you think that you found the place and you were excited and welcomed and then you just realize that it’s not where you want to be,” Best added. “It’s kind of scary because I did make friends up there. It’s hard to tell them, ‘Hey, I’m not coming back.’”
Best didn’t have to wait long this summer to find a new home, very close to where she was a three-sport star during her high school days.
Clarion University.
When she met with Golden Eagles’ softball coach Marissa Pullo, Best could hardly contain her excitement.
She made a simple pitch to the coach.
“I was like, ‘Coach, I want to be a part of the first Clarion team that even makes PSACs,’” Best said. “They never have. I was like, ‘I want to be a part of this team.’”
Pullo was sold.
Now Best has traded the Golden Knights for the Golden Eagles.
“I just wanted to come back closer to home, to be honest,” Best said. “Closer to my parents and my family. I’m excited because I have only three more years left to play, and I wanted it to be at a place where I was enjoying it and loving it.”
Best was a beast during her time at Clarion Area as one of the best catchers in Pennsylvania.
She made the all-state team twice. During her junior season, Best batted .432 with eight home runs, nine doubles, a triple and 35 RBIs for the Bobcats.
As a senior, she hit .333 with three homers and 19 RBIs.
Best made her mark in other sports, too, at Clarion Area.
She was an all-state libero and helped the Bobcat volleyball team win back-to-back PIAA Class A championships.
On the basketball court, she was the leading scorer as a guard for Clarion.
Her main task now after hitting the reset button on her collegiate career is regaining the swagger that made her such a lethal weapon.
“I honestly just need to build my confidence back up,” Best said. “That is definitely a big thing. There’s little things, skill-wise, I can improve, and you always want to improve that stuff, but mainly right now I’m building my confidence back up.”
She’s doing that in part by teaching hitting lessons this summer.
Best has a lengthy client list.
“Well, I knew I needed a job and I wanted it to be something fun and you can’t always get a job that’s going to be fun,” Best said, chuckling. “So I figured I might as well give lessons and give it a try. It’s been really successful.”
Working with young girls trying to improve their games and swings has given Best a chance to fall in love with softball again after her difficult year.
“I love it,” Best said. “I just love seeing the little girls and their love for the game and helping them build their skills and helping them build their love for the game. I love seeing them make the adjustments and corrections and then have a good hit or something. I’m so proud of them.”
Clarion Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
