Hall of Fame
The Blue softball program's all-time leader in wins (49), innings pitched (490.2), and strikeouts (768), Jenna Harvey Sinclair '08 was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American in both 2007 and 2008. The 2008 ECAC Pitcher of the Year and a two-time NEISCA Player of the Year, Sinclair also ranks in the top-10 in program history in games played (10th - 138) and runs batted in (7th - 81). She earned NFCA All-Region accolades three times in her career. Sinclair threw one perfect game and five no-hitters as a member of the Blue softball program leading the team to its first NEWMAC Championship in 2007 and NCAA appearances in 2007 and 2008, earning NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honors in both years. The 2007 and 2008 NEWMAC Athlete of the Year, Sinclair was a two-time NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year award winner, earning three NEWMAC All-Conference First Team honors. From 2005 to 2008, the team had an overall record of 99-50-1.
The greatest joy of receiving this honor is the opportunity to reminisce and express my gratitude to have been a member of Wellesley Softball. 20 years ago, my teammates, coaches and I embarked upon the College’s inaugural softball season. We felt incredibly honored to live and breathe the sport we loved every day on a gorgeous softball field that was then brand new. And though we were young and inexperienced, we understood even then what a privilege it was to go first. We cared deeply about creating a tradition of success that would continue long after our final inning. As a young team of newcomers, we certainly had much to learn, but we were so excited to bring home Wellesley’s first NEWMAC softball championship, and our first two NCAA tournament berths. And to the players who followed us, we are also proud that we were not the last.
Our coach, Keri O’Meara, is the consummate educator-coach. She built the program from the ground up and has steered the team through every moment of success, demanding the best of not only our athletic performance, but of our character. I would not be receiving this honor were it not for her belief in me, and I cannot thank her enough for the community she has built across 20 years of student-athletes. I am also so grateful for the support of our assistant coaches, the care of our athletic trainers, and the tireless, behind-the-scenes work of the entire athletic department.
I also accept this honor as a celebration of every teammate with whom I had the privilege to play. I could not have succeeded without their every squeezed pitch, clutch hit, diving play, shared pitching performance, or push to be better - on and off the field. To this day, my teammates are my chosen family. They have been my partners in adventure, my advisors, my confidants, my accountability partners, and, most recently, my support as I have learned to be a mother. After two decades, Wellesley Softball continues to be such a gift in my life.
I am equally grateful to the coaches who prepared me for collegiate softball, and in particular, my first and best coach, my dad, who taught me how to pitch, drove countless hours to games and practices, and said “yes” every single time I asked him to catch for me.
Finally, and most of all, I thank my parents, Barry and Judy Harvey, and my sister, Shawna Caron, whose sacrifices of time, energy and treasure paved my way to Wellesley, where my world would burst wide open to a life of learning, curiosity, opportunity and friendship.
Among the fondest memories of my life, there will always be the late-night study sessions in the science center, the rigorous coursework, the laughter-filled gatherings in the dormitories, Wellesley-in-Aix, and of course, my time spent on the softball field. I would relive those days in a heartbeat, and am humbled to receive this recognition.
