We finish out the work and school week with some verbal news, standout performers and a cool letter from a recent commit!

***

VERBALS:

*** Thanks to Coach Mike Heard of the Nebraska Gold – Heard 16U team which continues to rack up player commits.

The latest is Courtney Sandall, a 2017 SS/OF who recently verballed to Creighton.

Says the coach: “Courtney is a tremendous athlete.  She is not only a very good softball player, but also is a leader in state track in the pole vault and a leader on the basketball team.”

“Courtney has the ability to play both middle infield and outfield at a high level.  I’m not yet sure where she will end up playing at Creighton but she projects well at either position.  She throws right and hits left.”

“Courtney is a true triple threat at the plate and can use the bunt, slap and hit away all very effectively.  She led the state in hitting at .573 last high school season and hit over .400 for the Nebraska Gold team last season. Courtney is a player that has yet to realize much of her potential and has a very high ceiling.”

“She will be fun to watch over the next three years as she prepares for Creighton!”

*** A pair of notable commits:

— IF/OF Halle Sullivan (2016, St. Mary’s)… plays for Sorcerer – Williams 16U
— 3B/1B Cami Sellers (2017, Boston College)… plays for Corona Angels

*** Verbals from the GA Outlaws-White team:

— 2B Molly White (2015, Southern Union JC)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— SS/OF Marley Stowers (2015, West Georgia)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— UT Tori Aycock (2015, Gordon JC)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— C/OF Savannah Turvy (2015, Columbus State)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— OF/C Peyton Stallworth (2015, West Georgia)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— UT Macy Watkins (2015, North Georgia)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— OF Caroline Snider (2015, Georgia College and State)… plays for GA Outlaws-White
— C/OF Rachel Murphy (2015, Southern JC)… plays for GA Outlaws-White

*** Verbals from the ROCK 18 Gold program:

— 1B/OF Kathryn Falotico (2017, Albany… plays for ROCK 18 Gold – Waye
— P/OF/2B Gabrielle Ermish (2016, Bryant… plays for ROCK 18 Gold – Waye
— SS/2B/OF Shannon Damon (2015, Cortland… plays for ROCK 18 Gold – Piening
— C/OF Shelby Alcorn (2015, Hood College… plays for ROCK 18 Gold – Alcorn
— P/OF Brielle Morichetti (2015, Rollins College… plays for ROCK 18 Gold – Alcorn

STAT STANDOUTS:

*** In our last Recruiting News & Notes column we told you about Ashlee Swindle, the 2016 pitcher/first baseman who has helped her Curry High (Ala.) team enter the FAB 50 High School rankings as she’s led the Jackets to at 16-1 record by going 15-1 with a 0.30 ERA and 12K’s vs only 10 walks.

Three other players of note who have helped the team a accumulate a .357 batting average:

• Haleigh Lane, a South Alabama commit, is batting .488
• Emily Aaron, a North Alabama commit, is hitting .469
• Kaylee Horton, an Ole Miss commit, is batting .457 and also has nine steals.

Curry went 3-0 for the week including big wins over highly ranked teams in Alabama: 3-0 win over Oakman, No. 2 in 3A, and a 11-0 blanking of Cordova, No. 2 in 4A.

*** Keep an eye out on Tate Whitley, a 2018 outfielder who plays for the Aces Express Futures Team out of Sugarland, Texas.

Currently she’s leading the Angleton Ladycats in Texas with a batting average of .581 with an on-base percentage of .649.

Earlier this season she was moved to the leadoff spot and since then has hit .692 with an OBP of .765!

Last week, during her Spring break, Tate visited two SEC schools and one school from the Sun Belt Conference.

She’s being recruited by Big 12, SEC and ACC schools and has visited already Ole Miss, Florida State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

An aggressive triple threat and versatile outfielder who can play any of the three spots, she helped lead the Aces Express Futures to a 1^st place finish at the 14U TC/USA Nationals in Georgia and a 4^th place finish at the ASA 14U Nationals in Calif. last summer.

*** If you’ve heard the name Alyssa Pinto before it’s for a good reason: the talented 2018 outfielder was the first we know of to commit in her class when she selected Washington.

She’s been with several club teams in the past couple years because her father, Gabe, is in the military.

Alyssa is batting .480 with 11 steals through her first 12 games for Brandeis High in San Antonio, Texas after she hit .500 last year with the Beverly Bandits.

Here her father explains how her transitioning teams has worked:

“Alyssa was recruited while playing for NorCal Firecrackers – Baisdon. Mike Baisdon was instrumental in helping her get recruited to University of Washington.”

“It was scary for Washington to make a commitment to a player at such a young age and it was scary for us to make that decision so early. But when Alyssa has the chance to play for her dream school and such a great coaching staff, what more can you ask for?”

“Alyssa has been fortunate to be blessed with the talent to be a real good softball player. When we first moved to Texas she played for Texas Bombers Gold and Coach Scott Smith. The Bombers are a class act and Scott is doing great things in Texas.”

“But when Alyssa had a chance to join the Beverly Bandits and play with some of her fellow UW commits, we had to make it work. Bill Conroy and the Bandits’ families have been great to Alyssa. She played with 18U Conroy in the fall and will make the transition to Bandits-Tyrell this summer.”

“Even with all of the challenges Alyssa has faced with moving all over the country we have been able to place her on good teams and surround her with players that push her to better everyday.”

Alyssa has a 3.7 GPA even though she’s taking Pre-AP classes. On the field she’s a natural lefty hitter who bats for average and power and can also bat from the right for power.

She’s been working on slapping to utilize her speed and on defense uses that to cover a lot of ground. She also a strong arm.

The Texan also is a serious candidate to make the 2018 Hot 100 list which will be released next week.

LETTERS:

*** A very nice note from a classy player who we profiled last week: Brenna Smith, a 2018 pitcher who recently committed to Georgia Tech:

I want to thank you for the recent posting of my player profile and my commitment to Georgia Tech University.

My recruiting experience was enjoyable and enabled me to make the best decision I could for my future. The questions you asked were fun and allowed me to share some of the cool things about how the recruiting process plays out.

It’s definitely been exciting and now I look forward to my first high school season and getting ready for summer. It feels pretty special that you took the time to include my experience with your readers.

Most importantly, I enjoy reading the articles that you post daily about our sport and how you share softball stories from every level that we play.

Once again, Thank You!

— Brenna Smith, Corona Angels – Tyson