CHESHIRE—Jenica Matos could see the future as clear as day.
It was an image of her, standing inside the circle of a Division 1 college softball program, getting ready to throw a pitch.
It was a crystal-clear picture of her ultimate goal; one she’s dreamt about, and one she’s worked toward for much her career.
In November, Matos, a junior pitcher at Cheshire High School, made that dream come true when she verbally committed to attend St. John’s University starting in the Fall of 2026.
“I fell in love with the campus as soon as I went there on an unofficial visit,” Matos said. “And I love all the coaches. They all have a plan, and they work together. It was just a very good atmosphere that they’ve built there.”
Cheshire coach Kristine Drust said Matos has all the qualities needed to be a successful player in college.
“There are four intangibles you need to become an elite player,” Drust said. “She’s a competitor. She’s not distracted by some of the normal things that high school kids could be distracted by. She knows what you must do to be elite. She’s very focused, very hard working, and she’s a great teammate and very humble. She’s also very athletic and very strong.”
St. John’s also filled another important section of Matos’ wish-list: Staying somewhat close to home so her family can see her play.
“That was a huge factor in my recruiting process. I wanted to stay close to home,” she said. “I wanted my family to be at my games, so I didn’t want to go too far where they couldn’t come see me play.”
Drust said the Matos family is one of the tighter-knit families she has ever encountered as a softball coach.
“Family is really important to her,” Drust said. “They have one of the strongest bonds as a family I’ve ever seen. We’re so lucky to have them in our program.”
Going Division 1 was also important to Matos because her inner drive has always wanted to push herself against the best competition out there.
“I always wanted to go Division 1 since I fell in love with playing softball,” Matos said. “It was a huge dream of mine, and I didn’t want to settle for anything under it.”
Matos has always been able to see her goals so clearly.
Then, one day, when she was around 10 or so, she simply had problems seeing.
“I have a disease,” Matos said matter-of-factly. “It’s called Stargardt disease, and it affects my central vision.”
According to the National Eye Institute website, “Stargardt disease is a rare genetic eye disease that happens when fatty material builds up on the macula — the small part of the retina needed for sharp, central vision. Vision loss usually starts in childhood — but some people with Stargardt disease don’t start to lose their vision until they’re adults. There’s no treatment for Stargardt disease, but vision rehabilitation can help people make the most of their remaining vision.”
Matos, who as a sophomore pitcher last spring led Cheshire to the CIAC Class LL championship game, did so despite dealing with Stargardt. Some of the symptoms, according to the NEI, include: “Gray, black or hazy spots in the center of your vision; sensitivity to light; needing more time for your eyes to adjust between light and dark places; and color blindness.”
“It affects my central vision. Everything can get blurry,” Matos said. “I feel like it’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life. There are good days and bad. But I have people around me each day who give me so much support.”
While a lot of that support is at home, plenty of it comes from within the Cheshire Rams dugout, as well.
Coaches will don a black jacket and a yellow glove to help Matos pick up the signs for the pitches she’s about to throw.
Other than that, however, the game is like it is for any other softball pitcher out there.
“It’s all muscle memory,” Matos said when asked how she pitches on days when her vision might be a little more off than normal. “I’ve been dealing with it since I was 10 or 11 years old, so I’m kind of used to it.”
One thing Matos has never done—not after a single bad inning or a heartbreaking defeat—is blame Stargardt’s for not doing her best.
“I think you could call it a limitation, but it’s never part of the conversation,” Drust said. “Trust me when I say she’s never, ever, ever, ever used it as an excuse.”
The only time it has ever come up with the Cheshire coaches was in discussions on how to make things better for Matos to succeed.
“It’s never been a topic of conversation amongst us except for how can we make it better for her?” Drust added. “What can we do, catching-wise, or when calling pitches?”
In the end, the statistics told the story. After all, last spring Cheshire went 21-2 with Matos on the mound.
And that’s what matters the most when it comes to what Matos can do on the field. She puts her teams into positions where they can win.
“That’s Jenica,” Drust said. “She has goals, she likes the control and she likews to win. Good pitchers have to like to win.”
The St. John’s coaching staff, who are not allowed to comment on Matos’ commitment due to NCAA regulations, were even more impressed with their future pitcher.
“They were all like amazed by it and surprised that I do what I do,” Matos said when asked how St. John’s coaching staff took the news.
And her high school career is only halfway done.
While losing in last year’s Class LL title game in nine innings was heartbreaking, Matos knows it was a special game at the end of a very special season—but she also knows she and the Rams are not done yet.
“Yeah, that was a pretty big highlight,” she said. “It didn’t go in our favor, but it was a great game and fun to be a part of. I feel like we have a good shot this year, though.”
Committing as a junior wasn’t necessarily the plan for Matos, either.
“I think it was right time, right place,” she said. “I didn’t care how long it took. I just knew I wanted to find a college where I felt at home. I’m there for four years and I took it serious, and it just came out the perfect place was St. John’s.”
When Matos first started playing softball, she was living in Waterbury and playing in Wolcott, and everybody got a shot at being a pitcher.
“Everybody was doing slingshot,” Matos recalled. “I naturally just picked it up and did windmill right away. I think my mom realized this was going to be my bread and butter.”
While the Matos family would later move to Cheshire, she got into travel ball and played for the CT Wildcats, the CT Impact and the CT Lightning.
Most recently, Matos has been playing with the Empire State Huskies’ national team.
“I just fell in love with playing softball and over the years made so many close friends from all my teams,” she said.
Likewise, the Cheshire program has meant the world to Matos, as well.
“I love everybody in the program,” she said. “Everybody loves each other and we’re always there for everybody. Overall, it’s just a great atmosphere.”
That’s the atmosphere she found at St. John’s, as well.
It was part of Jenica Matos’ vision quest when seeing herself playing at the Division I level, and she’s found everything she has wanted.
Now, it’s time to see it through.
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