How hometown girl Jenna Kearns helped put Idaho State softball ‘on the map’

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

POCATELLO — Growing up in Pocatello, Jenna Kearns spent her childhood playing on baseball and softball diamonds across the Gate City. For the past two years, though, she has been one of the brightest stars to call Direct Communications Field at Miller Ranch Stadium her home.

Kearns became Idaho State University’s everyday catcher last season, as a sophomore, and has been one of the best players in the Big Sky Conference ever since.

She was named a unanimous selection as a First-Team All-Big Sky Conference performer last year, and followed that up with another unanimous selection this year. Kearns helped the Bengals win the conference regular-season title in 2025 and repeat in 2026. And now, she has helped Idaho State do something it had never done before.

On Thursday, Kearns went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs, as the Bengals stomped the Sacramento State Hornets to claim the Big Sky Conference tournament championship and earn a bid to play in the NCAA Tournament.

After the game, Kearns led the celebration, at one point grabbing a Bengal flag and waving it demonstratively over her team before taking off, still wearing her shin guards, to sprint across the field and interact with fans.

After the celebration, she told EastIdahoSports.com that she hopes she can be an inspiration to other little girls in Pocatello and across east Idaho.

“To be able to be a part of this, to set a legacy for everybody else that comes in, it’s great,” she said. “I feel like we’ve finally, kind of, broken the curse. I really hope that we continue to do this more consistently and keep the ball rolling.”

Kearns has been among the most productive hitters in the conference since arriving at Idaho State, posting an impressive .347 batting average to go with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs in just 106 games. She has also shone behind the dish, where she finished the season with a .992 fielding percentage (second-best in the conference across all positions) while throwing out seven of 19 (37%) attempted base stealers.

The Bengals will find out Sunday afternoon where they will be heading and who they will be facing in the NCAA Tournament Regionals, with the selection show airing on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m.

While head coach Andrew Rich believes his team is good enough to make some noise at the tournament, he wanted his team to celebrate its first-ever Natty berth. The focus, though, will shift to the job ahead once their opponent is announced.

Still, there’s no question the team’s first job is done. Idaho State has done what had begun to seem impossible for the small school in southeastern Idaho — they beat their Big Sky opponents when everything was on the line. And Kearns was a big part of the success over the last two years, with more to come next year. She hopes this is just the beginning.

Idaho State and the Bengal softball program, Kearns believes, “absolutely” became a more tantalizing destination for softball players from across east Idaho and well beyond.

“This ultimately put ISU on the map, like for good,” she said. “We had been really consistent with winning, but we really hadn’t reached this final point. This solidifies that, and it will definitely draw a lot more attention, a lot more people. It’s great.”