Forrest’s Jenna Blanton became the first Lady Rockets’ softball player to sign with a Southeastern Conference program directly out of high school when she recently inked a Letter of Intent to attend the University of Kentucky next season.

Lady Rockets’ legend Katie Warrick was the first Forrest softball player who played in the SEC at the University of Arkansas after transferring from the University of Tennessee at Martin after her sophomore season.

“Katie did big things at UT Martin and then went SEC,” Forrest coach Shelby Lightfoot said. “Jenna is our first not only softball athlete, but female athlete at Forrest that went straight out of high school to the SEC.”

“Not only a huge accomplishment for our program, but for all females in the area and our county, that’s a big thing and we should be proud of it.”

Blanton, a five-year varsity player and four-year starter for the Lady Rockets, has dreamed of playing Divison I softball her entire life and now that dream has become a reality.

“This has been my dream since I was about eight years old, so this is unbelievable, it just doesn’t seem real to me right now,” Blanton said.

Blanton has traversed the country honing her skills as a member of the decorated Fury Platinum travel ball squad that won the 2015 United States Specialty Sports Association National Championship in Orlando, Florida, the Junior Olympic Cup title in Kansas City, Missouri, two Top 10 finishes at the Colorado Fireworks Tournament in Denver, and two Top 10 finishes at the Premier Girls Fastpitch Nationals in Huntington Beach, California.

“I have been playing with people I don’t know, so I have to get used to them and that’s the way it will be when I go to college, but doing that has created great friendships for me,” Blanton said. “I don’t have to stress about this anymore, it’s over and I’ve done it so I can just go out and play ball like I always do.”

Blanton was an eighth-grader on the 2016-2017 state runner-up squad, batting .500 and had a .500 on base percentage with 29 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.

In her freshman campaign, the Lady Rockets went 28-3, but were knocked by Creek Wood in a first-round region contest.

Blanton batted .543 with a .546 OBP and led the team in games played (35), runs scored (52), and stolen bases (11), and was named the District 12-AA Defensive Player of the Year at centerfield.

Before the start of her sophomore season, Blanton was moved to the shortstop position where she took her defensive prowess to a new level, solidifying the infield and making exciting play after play over the next two seasons.

“She is super athletic, I brag about her all the time,” Lightfoot said. “When we first went and told her we need you to play shortstop, it was a different role for her, being the boss in the outfield is one thing, but being the boss in the infield is a total different position and it was a role she took on tremendously.”

In the 2018-2019 season Blanton was again named to the All-District Team as she batted .418 with a .458 OBP while leading the state champion Lady Rockets with 42 games played (tied with six other players), runs scored (52), and stolen bases (36).

The Lady Rockets had a 2-1 record last year before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Whenever I was younger, I came to every single softball game and looked up to so many players and I just wanted to be like them and play like them,” Blanton said. “So being part of this school and this softball team is really a big deal for me and it means a lot to me to play for Forrest softball.”

Blanton and the defending Class 2A state champs are looking forward to a title defense this year and the talented senior shortstop will have plenty of help in a lock down infield that has seniors at third base (Karley Daughrity), second base (Laura Mealer), first base (Katelyn Helmick), and in the circle (Ashely Milligan).

“For us to go back-to-back would be huge,” Blanton said. “It would be a big deal for us to be the first team to go back-to-back, it would probably be the biggest thing that could happen to us.”

Blanton sports an excellent 3.9 GPA and plans to study elementary education at Kentucky.