Gordo’s Jennings defies odds to earn college golf scholarship

Dedication, hard work and belief fueled Gordo High School’s Caleb Jennings to an opportunity to play college golf. Earlier this year, he signed with a scholarship with Mississippi University for Women

Jennings’ journey was much different than most high school athletes that aspire to earn an athletic scholarship for college.

Gordo High School doesn’t have a golf team. Jennings played football and baseball but knew he didn’t want to play those sports going forward.

“I’ve always played golf my whole life but high school just wasn’t an opportunity for me,” Jennings said. “I always played baseball and football at gordo and then it started getting really serious about my freshman year in high school. I realized this (golf) is something I wanted to do.”

Jennings didn’t have a true “coach” or teammates to help improve his game. Competing on a high school team typically gives athletes more opportunities for scouts to analyze their skills and abilities. Lacking the team-construct automatically put Jennings at a disadvantage, but he refused to be deterred. He took it upon himself to register to play in golf tournaments. He excelled in those opportunities.

Jennings improved his game, learning from his mentor Jacoby Plowman. Jennings’ dedication stood out.

“I’d leave to go to work in the mornings,” Plowman said, “And I would come by here and see his truck and his trailer sitting right over there in the parking lot. He was already out here at 7, 8 am practicing by himself hitting balls doing whatever he can do to get better.”

“It’ll be the winter time, and I’ll be the only person at holes,” Jennings said. “I’ll be the only soul up there, and I take pride in that. I really care about it.”

After two years of at Mississippi College for Women, Jennings hope to transfer and join Mississippi State’s golf team.