Varnado’s Jaylan Jefferson is an all-state player.
Jefferson was named a Class 1A All-State Honorable Mention player by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Jefferson had a banner year to cap off his high school career on the mound and at the plate.
Offensively, Jefferson put up video game stats. The senior hit .658 with a .709 on base percentage and he tallied a 1.110 slugging percentage.
Jefferson, who was a District 8-1A first-team all-district first baseman, tallied 48 hits for the season with nearly half going for extra bases. Jefferson doubles 16 times, tripled four times and hit three homers. Jefferson, who was hit five times, drove in 37 runs, scored 20 runs and was successful in 15 of his 16 stolen base attempts.
Besides the robust stats listed above, one of his most impressive stats is that he struck out just once in 73 at bats that covered 86 plate appearances.
On the hill, the senior posted a 5-3 record with a 2.36 earned run average. Jefferson tallied 88 strikeouts and walked 43 (three intentional) over 50-2/3 innings of work in eight 13 games, eight of which were starts.
Jefferson is the first Varnado baseball player to be named an all-state player. Besides that, Jefferson is the answer to another trivia question. He was the pitcher when the Wildcats captured their first playoff win this season with an 11-1 five-inning victory over Kentwood. The Wildcats were the sixth-seeded team and had a bye in the first round.
Jefferson was solid as ever that evening. He pitched all five innings, allowing no earned runs on just one hit with 10 strikeouts, one hit batter and he walked nobody.
Varnado lost in the quarterfinal round of the Class 1A postseason, capping off the historic year.
Varnado coach Clay Tageant, who was the District 8-1A Coach of the Year, had plenty of praise for his all-state player.
“It’s definitely deserving,” Tageant said. “The guy’s worked extremely hard. He was extremely hungry and not taking anything away from anyone else on the team, but he was the heartbeat of our team. He batted three hole the whole year and struck out one time looking.”
Tageant said Jefferson was the guy that answered the call every single time.
“When you needed that clutch hit or you needed that clutch strikeout or that big time scoop at first base or big play, he always came through.”
Tageant said the best thing about Jefferson is the type of kid he is.
“He’s extremely humble. Quiet kid, and at first, I thought he was quiet and didn’t like me because he wasn’t really responsive in saying much, but that’s just the type of kid he is where he’s going to put his head down, he’s going to get to work and he’s not going to play around or mess around. H was there to work. We were like magnets when I took over the head job. It was every single day working with him. I could see the potential and he worked extremely hard. He’s definitely deserving of all-state, no doubt,” Tageant said.