Wood's Jenkins signs to play soccer with Clemson

Jolie Jenkins does a lot of things faster than most people.

The James Wood High School senior can dribble a soccer ball forward in space faster than a lot of people can sprint regularly.

She burst onto the scene as a high school freshman by leading the area with 30 goals.

By the time her junior year was over, Jenkins had already broken the Colonels’ school record for career goals with 78.

She’s also graduating from high school a semester early so she can get a head start on her academic and athletic career at Clemson University in South Carolina. Last week, Jenkins signed her National of Letter of Intent to play soccer for the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference school.

The versatile Jenkins starred as a forward for James Wood but plays as a left wing back for Virginia Development Academy in Woodbridge, a club she’s been with for at least five years. She’s earned a No. 18 national ranking as a defender (and No. 40 national ranking overall) from Top Drawer Soccer. In a phone interview on Thursday, the 5-foot-9 Jenkins said Clemson plans on using her in whatever role suits the team best.

Jenkins — who earned Class 4 State, Region 4D and Class 4 Northwestern District First Team honors after recording 23 goals and 15 assists for the Colonels last year — said she’s looking forward to the next chapter.

“It means a lot [to play at the college level], said Jenkins, who held a signing ceremony at Italian Touch restaurant in Winchester on Saturday. “It’s definitely very exciting. It takes lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears to get to that level, but it’s definitely worth it.

“I’m just so excited, just to play at that level and challenge myself, and the new experiences I’ll have going there.”

Jenkins couldn’t provide the details of the offered financial package, but she’s pleased.

“Me and my family are very happy with the scholarship,” said the three-time First Team All-Region and All-District selection.

Jenkins made her verbal commitment in July of 2023 to Clemson, which is led by 14th-year head coach Eddie Radwanski. The Tigers went 6-8-3 (2-7-1 ACC) this fall, but the Tigers had 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths prior to this year, including an appearance in the 2023 national semifinals. Overall, Radwanski is 149-92-36 at Clemson.

Jenkins said the Tigers had been watching her play for a while before making contact with her. After numerous exchanges, Jenkins felt good enough about Clemson to make a verbal commitment before her junior year even started.

“It felt right,” said Jenkins of the university that is close to 500 miles from Winchester. “I love the campus. It really felt like home. I love the location of it. In picking a school, I wanted somewhere that wasn’t too close to home, but not too far so that my parents and family could still come and watch me play. I think Clemson is the perfect spot for that.”

Radwanski made an immediate impact on Jenkins.

“I love the coaches there,” Jenkins said. “My first call with Coach Eddie was something I’ll never forget. Most of my calls [with coaches at other schools] were around 40 minutes to an hour, and with him it was around two hours. And just the way he was very encouraging to me, not just in the plans he had for me as a soccer player, but what Clemson could do for me as a person, was something that I loved.”

Jenkins has not decided on a major yet. When she leaves in January, she’ll begin with general education classes and likely decide on a major next summer.

Jenkins said Clemson mentioned the possibility of having her enroll early before she made her verbal commitment, but they spoke to her in more detail about it when she went on an official visit in November of last year. Clemson announced nine players in its signing class last week (ranked second nationally by Top Drawer Soccer), and Jenkins believed eight players are enrolling after the fall semester is over.

“It definitely interested me,” Jenkins said. “Just to be able to go early and get into the swing of things I thought would be really good for me. [The new players] can all connect before the actual season starts in the summer. It is hard leaving my family and friends [a semester early], but I think down the road it will definitely be worth it.”

Jenkins took three classes over the summer to keep her on track for early graduation.

Jenkins said about 20 other schools expressed interest in her to play soccer for them. Among the schools that offered her scholarships were Ohio State, Wisconsin, Florida and South Carolina.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at

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