For the second day in a row we have a major verbal to report from the So Cal Athletics – Quarles 16U team that finished 2^nd at the PGF 14U Nationals and won the ASA Nationals the following week.

Yesterday it was Jenna Kean, the speedy outfielder/shortstop who announced she would be playing in the Pac-12 with the Arizona Wildcats.

Today, it’s Danielle “Gibby” Gibson, a shortstop/utility player with the Quarles team who will be playing against Jenna in a cross-state rivalry as she has committed to Arizona State about a month ago.

Should make for some fun discussions in the A’s dugout for the next few years.

Gibby, as she’s known by her teammates, is a power-hitting lefty hitter who throws right-handed and started from the Murrieta Valley (Calif.) High team as a freshman and earned All-League honors as she helped the So Cal team win the league championship and go undefeated.

Like Jenna Kean, Danielle was a member of the 2017 Hot 100 as she’s a gifted athlete who comes from a volleyball family, but at 6-foot is a versatile softball player who can play short, the outfield and first because of the pop in her bat.

Danielle had an outstanding West Coast National Elite Camp in October—as did Kean—following a strong PGF Nationals where she hit .364 with seven RBI for the runners-up.

SEC schools like Alabama and Georgia were in the hunt – Gibby visited both in October – and she visited those schools as well as Ohio State, the first school she checked out followed by a tour of Oklahoma and UCLA.

According to her mother, Ruth, the week before Christmas ASU head coach Craig Nicholson contacted A’s head coach Shawn Quarles to request a call from Danielle to discuss a visit to the Sun Devil campus.

“She called, we went, and it was a great visit,” recalls the athlete’s mother. “Danielle spent three days out there and at the conclusion she accepted their offer. She loved the coaches and the atmosphere. They say, ‘You know when you know’ and she knew that was the place for her.”

So what is it about the sophomore that makes her Pac-12 caliber? Her mother says a large part of it is her work ethic.

“Danielle is disciplined and the sacrifices she makes to always do more has been worth it. She also understands the work ahead of her and her desire to always improve and become a stronger athlete will help guide her to continued success.”