Yesterday, we profiled Jolie Matthews, a 2026 outfielder with the Carolina Elite 18U team, who has a strong family history of softball and baseball, but a few years ago was looking more at a gymnastics career than one in fastpitch.

Originally a 2025 grad who reclassified to the Class of 2026 last summer, she is now following in the footsteps of older sister Leanne (“LA”) Matthews, a talented grad student playing her final year of college softball at Rutgers University.

Add to the athletic family mix her father Joel Matthews and uncle Jay Matthews—who between them have combined for more than 40 years as Major League Baseball scouts—plus the grandfather to the girls, John Matthews, who was a record-setting baseball coach with 601 high school wins at Independence High in Charlotte, N.C. and a state championship in 1984—and you’ll understand why the stick-and-ball sports are so important to the Matthews clan!

Line Drive Softball recently interviewed Jolie on topics such as what she does well on the softball field (and where she’d like to improve), her family’s strong athletic background, what she wants to do post-college and why she left gymnastics to play softball in the footsteps of big sister LA.

First, though, here are some bullet points on the impressive accomplishments of the high school junior, her older college-playing sister, her father and uncle who were accomplished baseball players themselves at the collegiate level and Grandpa Matthews, one of the greatest high school baseball coaches in North Carolina state history…

Click HERE to read Part 1

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The Matthews Family Athletic Tree

Jolie Matthews

• 2026 outfielder for Carolina Elite 18U – Fusetti after she joined the team in the fall of 2023 on her 16U team.
• She’s a triple threat. Primarily a hitter but will slap and bunt when the opportunity is there.
• She reclassified from a 2025 to 2026 in Summer 2024.
• Played t-ball baseball (2 years) and softball (4 years)
• Started playing again in 9th grade, 2021, after a four-year break to compete in gymnastics.
• Placed first in the State Vault Championship for her age group, first year of gymnastics. Placed in various competitions
• Broke her hand in her third year of gymnastics. Has a plate and 6 screws in left hand.
• Goes to High School at Cannon School in Concord, N.C. Cannon is an intense college preparatory institution where she carries a 3.8 GPA.
• Jolie has been in the State Championship Finals all three high school seasons, winning in 2023 and runner-up in 2022 and 2024.
• All State (2023 and 2024) and All Conference (2022, 2023, 2024).
• All Charlotte-Metro Team 2023 and 2024. Outfielder of the Year nominee 2023 & 2024.
• 51 for 53 stolen bases so far in high school play.

Leanne Matthews (Sister)

• Known as “LA” Matthews.
• Ranked by Line Drive Softball’s Brentt Eads as the 59th player in Class of 2019
• Referenced as the best pure hitter in the class.
• Started college career at Penn State (2020, 2021) and was the program’s highest ranked recruit
• Transferred to the Univ. of Houston and played 2022 and 2023 season.
• Graduated in 2023 from Houston.
• Played four summers in the Florida Gulf Coast League in Sarasota, Fla.
• Broke her left leg in her first summer league season 2020 and now has metal rod in left shin with eight screws.
• Won Florida Gulf Coast League Championship in 2022.
• Won Florida Gulf Coast League Humanitarian Award 2023.
• Currently plays for Rutgers University (2024 to present).
• Academic All-American 2024 (Rutgers) and 2022 (Univ. of Houston).

Joel Matthews (Father)

• Major League Baseball scout for 17 years including 15 with the Miami Marlins (2000-2015) and two years with the Kansas City Royals (2016-2017).
• World Series Champion (2003)
• 1987 High School Golden Diamond Player of the Year for North Carolina (now the Gatorade Player of the Year).
• Played baseball at Mississippi State 1989-1993 and was the second full-time African-American player to play baseball at MSU.
• SEC champion (1989).
• Financial advisor since 2018.

Jay Matthews (Uncle)

• Major League Baseball Scout, 26 years with the Colorado Rockies (1998-present).
• World Series Runner-Up 2007.
• Played baseball at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1981-1985).
• Two ACC championships (1983, 1984).
• Assistant Coach at UNC – Chapel Hill (1986-1989).
• Assistant Coach at UNC – Charlotte (1989-1998).

John Matthews (Grandfather) 

• Was playing at age 13 on traveling barnstorming teams against grown men. 
• Played against Jackie Robinson as a teenager. 
• Played football & baseball at Florida A&M before career ending knee injury. 
• College roommate was Bill Lucas who later became an Executive Vice President for the Atlanta Braves and Hank Aarons brother-in-law. 
• Coached for 34 years. 24 yrs at Independence HS in Charlotte, NC 
• 601 wins in the 24 years with State Championship in 1984. 
• New England Patriot quarterback Drake Maye’s father, Mark Maye, pitched for him at Independence. 
• In the top 5 of winningest baseball coaches in NC high school history. 

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Line Drive’s Q&A with Jolie Matthews

Line Drive Softball: Of all the skills you bring to the softball field, which one are you most proud of?
Jolie Matthews: Out of all the skills that I could bring to the softball field, I think my proudest skill would be my offensive game. I am a triple threat. I can bunt, slap, and hit when I’m up to bat and can do any one of them at any time. I’ve had coaches tell their defense that I don’t slap, then I prove them wrong and slap.

I’ve also had games where the defense said, “Where do we position?” to their teammates, and they replied, “I don’t know.” I am also a speedster on the bases and will steal at any time. With my speed, my teammates who are up to bat just need to put it in play and most of the time I’ve already scored before we get 3 outs.

LDS: And which area of the game do you want most to work on and improve?
JM: I would want to work more on my defense. I am an outfielder who can play all outfield positions, which come with different expectations. I particularly want to be a dominant centerfielder and improve in that position.

LDS: You were a standout in gymnastics as well, including placing 1^st in the State Vault Championship… what did you love about being in gymnastics and why leave that sport to focus on softball?
JM: Doing gymnastics, I loved being flexible and flipping all the time. I wanted to be a college gymnast, but after realizing that I started late, age 10, and would have to become a homeschooler to get there, I decided to try softball again. When I moved schools from 7th to 8th grade, I decided to play middle school softball to see if I still had love for the game.

After the season ended, I talked with my Mom and Dad about going back to travel ball. So, I did gymnastics and softball for a year to make sure which sport I wanted to go to 100 percent. I stopped gymnastics when I was 14 and have been playing softball since.

LDS: In gymnastics, you broke your left hand and now have a plate and six screws in it… does that bother you at all in regular life or when playing softball?
JM: When playing softball, I don’t have any issues with my hand. But in everyday life, I would have to say yes. Sometimes holding or carrying things too heavy is uncomfortable.

LDS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
JM: In five years, hopefully finishing up my last year playing Division 1 softball. And in 10 years, hopefully playing professional softball and working in the sports industry.

LDS: Academically you’re also impressive with a 3.8 GPA… do you know what you’d like to major in and eventually do job-wise?
JM: I want to major in communications, and I would love to become a sports broadcaster on SportsCenter, the MLB network, or any sports-related network.

My uncle thinks I would be a really good MLB scout like him or my dad because of how good my knowledge of the game is. So maybe something in the MLB world if I don’t become a broadcaster.

LDS: What’s it been like, good and bad, to have your father and uncle so experienced in baseball and Leanne (“LA”) in softball?
JM: With my sister, I would say the good thing about her is that she helps me in softball all the time. She also has transferred twice and has gone through the recruiting process already, so I’m able to get the inside of how things work out and playing in college can be my reality too!

The bad thing about her being my sister in the same sport is that growing up we both played in the same organization under the same coach, so I was always compared to her by my coach and other players who knew who she was, which caused me to overthink.

With my Dad and Uncle, the good thing about them is that they work out with me, teaching me the most minor details that can make a difference in my game.

They have taught me how to recognize when I do something wrong. Like I can feel when my swing is off without my dad telling me what I did wrong. I don’t think there is anything bad about them being experienced and helping me because it’s all beneficial to me!

LDS: What is something unusual or different about you most people don’t know?
JM: My love for sports cars and Legos! I currently have 13 Lego cars, and I plan to have every Lego car eventually.

I love Fast and Furious so much! I started watching the series at a young age. I begged my parents for a sports car since I was 13 and they got me a 2024 Ford Mustang when I was 16. I also love Batman so much that I consider my car the Batmobile because its black and cool.

LDS: Having changed grad years, how has that impacted you being recruited?
JM: I would say that I get an extra year of exposure to help my recruiting process. Being a year older allows me to become physically and mentally stronger, more experienced on the field, and ready to contribute as a freshman. Coaches get more time to see me develop and get better with the extra year to compete at the national level.

LDS: Who is your hero or role model?
JM: I would say my sister is my role model because she is very supportive of me, and she’s been through a lot through the years. In the summer of 2020, my sister broke her leg and now has a metal rod in her shin. She had to overcome many obstacles to get to where she is now.

She’s gone from Penn State to the University of Houston, where she graduated, and now at Rutgers as a graduate student for her last year of college softball. In her freshman year of high school, L.A. (Leanne) got a concussion that still affects her to this day. She‘s gone through so much and she’s never given up on her dreams—no matter what gets in her way. I strive to be like her and never give up, no matter what.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball