Jacey Schuler led Antioch to unparalleled heights during her four-year career.
By the end of her sophomore season, Schuler had already played in two supersectionals and the Class 3A third-place game in Peoria.
But something was missing.
“I would say in the beginning of my career that it felt a lot like a job,” Schuler said. “I still hadn’t found what I enjoyed. My freshman year was whether I wanted to be a pitcher or hitter. Both felt like jobs.”
Schuler said everything changed right before her junior season. A different mindset opened a new door.
“This whole year and my junior year, too, just felt like such a relief,” she said. “I didn’t see it as a job because I was doing something I love.”
Schuler, a Michigan State recruit, continued doing what she does so well. Earlier this month, the 2024 News-Sun Softball Player of the Year capped her record-breaking career by piloting the Sequoits (29-6) to second place in 3A for the second straight season. The player of the year for the third time, Schuler went 23-4 with a 1.54 ERA and 321 strikeouts in 172 innings and batted .523 with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.
“She’s done so much for the program,” Antioch coach Anthony Rocco said. “We were hoping to get a state championship on her resume because she works incredibly hard, puts in a lot of work in the offseason. A lot of teams said we were not as great as last year, but Jacey carried the team and steered them.”
When Schuler reached base during the seventh inning of the Sequoits’ 6-0 loss to Pontiac in the state championship game on June 8, she decided to “stay on the field to end it” rather than exit for a pinch runner like she usually did.
Since then, she’s had time to think about her accomplishments, which include three of the Sequoits’ four appearances at state.
Schuler, the Northern Lake County Conference player of the year and an all-state first-team pick, finished her Antioch career with a 1.28 ERA and 1,113 strikeouts in the circle and a .508 batting average, 35 home runs and 205 RBIs at the plate. Her five grand slams rank second in Illinois High School Association history.
“My career went by so fast,” Schuler said. “The state loss hurt at the moment. It didn’t go our way. We all were pretty upset. But looking back at my whole career, our team made state three times. That hadn’t been done. I looked at the big picture, not just one game.
“It’s a good time to be leaving. … I’m working toward something bigger in college. It’s life.”
Schuler said personal and team success are byproducts of her hard work.
“I don’t think people realize how much you have to sacrifice, but obviously for a good reason,” Schuler said. “It’s an everyday thing, basically from morning to night doing something different with workouts, pitching and hitting lessons, bullpens by yourself, on top of practicing with your high school and club teams. I’ll even go into the batting cages for a lesson before practice.
“It’s all about how much you put in.”
Schuler missed a lot of social events as a result of her commitment to softball, according to her mother, Lori.
“She gives up a lot of her time for her craft,” Lori Schuler said.
Jacey Schuler, whose younger sister Tegan is a freshman center fielder for Antioch, wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s great to leave a legacy at Antioch High School but also to be known as a good person and teammate who cheered everyone on,” Schuler said. “I’ve met so many friends, some forever friends, and I was doing what I love with who I love.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
