Jessica Owens is the 2010 All Sports Association Amateur Athlete of the Year. Following her senior year at Samford University Jessica was selected by Coach Michael Bastian (former Ohio State Softball, USA National and Chinese National Team Head Coach) to play on the 2009 Team TFS International in the 16th Canada Cup International Women’s Fastpitch Tournament. The Canada Cup is an invitational elite level senior women’s international fastpitch tournament that has grown to be one of the premier competitive tournaments in the world. Team TFS finished the competition with 7 wins and 3 losses. Jessica played left and center field during the tournament and finished with a .303 batting average.
Jessica participated as an amateur following high school playing softball for High Intensity in the 18 and under Gold division. The Gold division is the most elite division of travel softball. In 2005 the team qualified for and went to the Gold Nationals in Silenas, Ca. The following summer High Intensity qualified again for the Gold National Tournament in Okahoma City at the Hall of Fame park. The team placed 16th overall out of more than 60 competing teams, which was an exceptional accomplishment for a Panhandle of Florida team.
In 2009 Jessica finished her senior season at Samford with an overall batting average of .430, with 107 at bats and 46 hits with only 14 strikeouts. After returning from an injury that sidelined her for a portion of the 2009 season, she hit .611 with 11 hits during the month of May. The senior also chipped in four RBIs, four stolen bases, three runs and one double against only one strikeout in leading the Bulldogs to a semifinal appearance in the Southern Conference Softball Championship after being a No. 7 seed entering the tournament. She was named to the 10-member Southern Conference All-Tournament Team.zips. She finished her outstanding career as Samford’s all-time leader in batting average (.325), all-time leader in hits (190), runs (103), and stolen bases (62). Her 20 steals in 2008 is a Samford single-season record.
Jessica is a graduate of Fort Walton Beach High School where she was a four-year starter on the softball team, leading the team to the regional finals her junior year. As a three-year starter in basketball Jessica played in three regional championships and three final four appearances. She earned first-team All-Area honors as a senior in softball and second-team All-Area honors in basketball. Jessica is a member of Fort Walton Beach High School’s Hall of Fame.
Jessica is currently a student assistant coach at Samford and hopes to continue her softball career playing professionally in Europe. Jessica is the daughter of Mike and Kelly Owens of Fort Walton Beach and is the proud sister of Sarah and John Michael Owens.
