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IPSWICH — The Holman twins — Jada and Jocelyn — live and breathe softball.
They hope their love of the game, plus their talent and hard work, eventually lead them to spots on NCAA Division 1 rosters.
Separate Division 1 rosters, that is, much to their parents’ dismay.
“My long-term goal is to play in college and go really far with it,” said Jocelyn earlier this summer. “My dream college is Florida State University.”
“My dream college is Clemson,” Jada said. “As much as our parents want us to play together, I know that we want to go our separate ways in college.”
By storm
After Jada and Jocelyn took the Cape Ann League by storm as freshmen last season, they and their parents, Rashad and Julia, decided it was time to take the next step.
The sisters have transferred to Bishop Fenwick High School for the 2026-27 school year to play in the Catholic Central League. They will be coached by state powerhouse Lisa McGloin.
The Holmans were key parts of the Tigers’ return to the MIAA Tournament this past spring. Though just freshmen, they were never treated as such.
“It was fun to experience playing varsity as a freshman with all the upperclassmen,” Jocelyn said. “They treated us equally like we were part of the upper class.”
“I tried my hardest to be a leader on the team even though I was one of the only two freshmen,” said Jada.
Hitting dingers
On the diamond, Jocelyn was named one of the state’s best third basemen by MassLive, with a .385 batting average. In the Tigers’ second-round MIAA Tournament loss to Manchester-Essex, she went 3-for-3 including a solo home run.
“It was an over-the-fence home run,” said Jocelyn. “It was awesome to jog the bases in a playoff game.”
Despite the loss, Jada thought the Tigers gave a stellar performance in the postseason game against the Hornets.
“I’m really happy with how we played as a team and how we work together,” said Jada.
That game came just a day after Jada launched back-to-back homers against Whittier Tech in Ipswich’s win in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
Defensively, Jocelyn holds things down at third base while Jada enjoys playing first.
“It’s really fun playing first base — one of the most important positions — and helping the pitcher out,” said Jada.
“I love playing third base,” said Jocelyn. “I like being that wall, being protective, trying to keep the ball in the infield, [and] making the throws.
‘Crazy experience’
The sisters also play club softball with Full Count Fast Pitch out of Danvers and were part of Ipswich Travel Softball when they were younger.
They won two tournaments this summer with their club squad.
“Club softball is so much fun,” said Jocelyn. “You get to meet new people around New England, get to play against a lot of good players and play in bigger tournaments every weekend.”
“It’s more competition and harder games,” said Jada. “Also, it’s more reps to prepare you for the high-school season, while the high-school season also prepares you for club season.”
If college softball is in fact in their future, the Holman twins will take great pride in earning that ultimate prize together.
“It would be a crazy experience,” said Jocelyn. “Seeing each other and seeing how far we made it together would just be awesome.”
