If investors could put stock into who will be a sports star down the road, Jaliya Sullivan—a 6-foot corner infielder in the Class of 2028—would be a very good prospect to invest in–especially if looking for a dangerous, game-changing power hitter.

Last year, Line Drive Softball had Jaliya ranked as tied for 3^rd in the 2028 Line Drive HOT 100 when she played with the Mississippi Thunderbolts 2027 team previously.

Here’s part of what we wrote in the Spring of 2024:

“Jaliya has impressed observers as a tremendous hitter and, not just one of the best in her class, but one of the best in all of club softball right now.”

“Last year she homered ever 6.6 times at bat while batting .641. Defensively, she has an arm that allows her to make plays at third base that others can’t, and Jaliya draws praise for her natural instincts and reactions that allow her to anticipate plays, almost seemingly knowing what’s going to happen before it happens.”

Her exit velo has been measured at 80 mph and her overhand at 64 mph.”

Today, she plays on the D1VISION Softball (Baton Rouge, La.) 16U club team led by Head Coach Tammy Vermeulen, who raves about her accomplished third baseman/first baseman.

“Jaliya came to our program this past Fall (2024),” She explains. “We have a stacked squad that she quickly stood alongside of, above and beyond. “Jaliya is such a great teammate and has extreme talent that is easy to see.”

“Jaliya is so mature and a natural born athlete,” Coach Vermeulen continues. “She is almost always smiling, although she does put a lot of pressure on herself because she knows exactly what she is capable of. When things don’t go her way, she is ready to get after the next pitch and the next play.”

Not surprisingly, a talent this obvious is drawing a lot of attention from top universities even though Jaliya doesn’t graduate from high school for three more years.

“She has been followed in her short period with D1VISION,” Coach “V” says, “by every Women’s College World Series team and almost every Power 4 team and conference out there!”

The power-hitting infielder first got into softball as a one-year-old, watching her dad, Justin Sillivan, play.

“Jaliya is raised by her father and has a bond with him like no other,” Coach Vermeulen says.

By age 5, the young athlete started playing at a local softball rec league in Magee Miss., where she is from. Within a few years, Jaliya had developed a love for the game and never looked back, competing for three local travel teams before joining the accomplished D1VISION 16U National Team playing for Coach Tammy and Coach Dorian Edwards. 

By the 7th grade, Jaliya was lighting it up for the varsity softball team at Simpson County Academy (Mendenhall, Miss.) and led the team in batting average and RBIs behind a senior that was already committed.

Father and daughter then moved to Flowood, Miss, where the then-freshman attended Northwest Rankin High School, a good softball-playing high school….

… which is a pretty big understatement.

Northwest Rankin High is a juggernaut of a softball program and went undefeated last year at 34-0, won the Mississippi Class 7A state championship and was ranked as the No. 1 team in the USA Today/NFCA High School Super 25 poll at the end of the 2024 season.

(Remember this high school: it will be important later in the story…)

Jaliya was a major contributor to the Cougars’ success, being the designated hitter on a team whose starting nine was all committed. The underclassman slugged seven home runs and batted .367 with several big hits in the Mississippi state championship series.

Her proud father reflects on the journey they’ve travelled the last few years.

“Jaliya has overcome a lot of personal circumstances that have shaped her,” Justin Sullivan states tenderly, “and she will do great things when given the opportunity.”

Things such as leading her D1VISION 16U team with a .450 batting average, a .480 on-base percentage and seven home runs last year.

Coach “V” says:

“I believe Jaliya will be comparable to some of the greats that landed up on the USA National Team after college. She has the talent to go and play wherever she desires, and she is continuing to put the work in to make that happen.”

So how does a girl from Mississippi, we asked, end up playing with a top club team 180-plus miles away and nearly a three-hour drive to play top-level travel ball out of state?

The answer: it all started at home.

Brooke Smith, a Class of 2025 infielder who has signed with the Univ. of Georgia, plays at Northwest Ranking High—the same national championship-winning school that Jaliya attends.

Coach Vermeulen picks it up from here:

“Brooke was the reason Jaliya and her father had considered playing for us,” Coach “V” recalls. “A good word from a current stud of ours goes a long way in the softball world and we are grateful Jaliya ended up with us!”

The D1VISION coach then looks back on the journey on and off the fields made by the athlete and her father:

“Jaliya has been through a lot which I believe has been the driving force to her success,” Coach Tammy begins.

“You have a choice to either lay down and quit when you feel like you deserved better, or you can use that fuel to be the drive to all the goals achieved and hard work put in to obtain them.”

“That’s exactly what Jaliya is currently doing.”

Vermeulen then predicts a glowing next several years for her talented freshman.

“I am so excited for her future,” Coach Tammy continues.

“She deserves the best and I made a promise to her and her father that I will be here every step of the way guiding them along this fun, but stressful, journey. The best is yet to come for Jaliya!”

Still, it’s all about here and now, especially for young athletes who are eager to show off their talents… and Coach Vermeulen is aware of that, too.

“It’s been a blessing to coach Jaliya, she says, “and she has quickly become such a major part of this program.

She is family and it’s been so beautiful watching her career and future unfold as the interest started piling in as expected since Fall. She is going to do amazing things at the next level, but for now, she stays humble and continues to perfect her craft until God lands her with a staff and a place that feels like home.”

Coach “V” then finishes with her prediction about how Jaliya—with the help of teammate Brooke Smith and a talent-rich prep squad—will do over the next few months.

“Look out for Jaylya this season with her high school team,” the proud coach concludes. “She is going to do some major damage!”

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball