*** One of my favorite recent profiles I posted was on Aimee Felices, a 2016 middle infielder who recently moved from Arizona to Texas and is now playing for the Firecrackers TX team in San Antonio.

I loved her being proactive in spelling out her situation and her efforts to play at the next level. By the way, she has a 4.35 weighted GPA so she’s got a lot going on both on and off the field!

Click here to see the profile done recently.

I got a nice e-mail from Aimee yesterday in which she announced she had finalized her college choice:

“First, thank you again for the Rising Star article you did on me.  I have gotten a lot of feedback from it and now, after long consideration, have decided to commit to play D1 softball for Alabama State.”

“I made this decision because of Coach Wilcoxson and her history of success and history of turning programs around.  I believe her coaching style best fits me as a player and am looking forward to playing for her.  Anyway, I just wanted to again thank you and let you know the latest.”

Many thanks,
Aimee Felices

*** A busy run of verbals in the Texas Glory organization as several more have come to light.

On the Texas Glory-Naudin team come a pair of new verbals with comments from the organization’s head man, Kevin Shelton:

— OF/IF Kailey Anderson (2017, Louisiana Tech)
“Kailey is a true triple threat at the plate displaying great bat control and she can drive the ball, bunt for a hit and take advantage of defenses with her ability to slap.  She is lighting fast and in high school when she reaches first base it is usually two pitches before she is on third base.  Kailey plays fearless defense running down balls all over the outfield and she is just a joy to be around.”

— C/IF Shelby Hodo (2017, Southern Illinois)
“Shelby hits the ball well to all fields and really understands her own swing.  She makes adjustments quickly.  On defense Shelby can handle catcher very well and most of the infield positions.  She has an extremely strong arm that allows her to control the running game from behind the plate.  Her agility and knowledge of the game make her an athlete we can plug-in in multiple positions with confidence.”

And summing up both players, Coach Shelton adds: “Both have tremendous futures and more importantly are good people, a testament to their parents.”

*** Also having a nice burst of verbals is the East Tennessee Heat 97’s. Thanks to Mike Dixon for sending these along:

— RHP Kenzie Dixon (2015, Lincoln Memorial)
— 3B Katie Lawson (2015, Milligan College)
— 2B Erica Roller (2015, Milligan College)
— C Chesnee Hammons (2015, Roane State)
— RHP Kassi Butcher (2015, Milligan College)

*** A public service announcement to help a coach out:

“The 14U Cyclones White team is looking for a team to play one or two games this Sunday, September 28 at 12:30 PM (or so) at our fields in Colonia, NJ.   We are a B level team just looking to get some work in this weekend aside from our usual practice. We can split ump fees and softballs.”

Please reply to this email with interest or questions.   We will go with the first team that confirms.”

— Matt Wright (mwright07@hpeprint.com), 14u Cyclones White

*** A coach I’ve really come to enjoy talking to and following has been Martin Garcia who led the KG Hitters for the past couple of years.

I even profiled him and his team last year; click here to read what he had to say.

I saw him at PGF Nationals as he coached the Hitters to a 17^th place tie in the very competitive field. I heard recently that he’d no longer be coaching and reached out to see if this was true… here’s what Coach Garcia responded with:

“It’s true, I am not longer coaching for KG Hitters.  I took the year off so I could be there for my daughter, Kiara Yaya Garcia, who is entering her senior rear at Oregon State University.”

“I will be helping Universal Softball Academy over the next few months start an softball organization that will field teams in 2015.  I will be coaching in the Fall of 2015 at a 14U or 18U Gold level.”

“I am currently doing some high level workouts with multiple age groups and I have a few studs that will be representing NorCal Softball in the next few years!”

*** Summer Constable, a 2016 MIF/OF with Ohio Outlaws and a Purdue commit, had a huge sophomore year.

The lefty slapper with Westlake (Ohio) Keystone led her team in slugging, trips and home runs and was named NFCA All-Region, MaxPreps Underclass All-American , All-Ohio, Pac-12 Conference 1^st Team and Conference MVP.

She also was the first in her school to reach the 50/50 mark in hits and runs. She hit .515 with 31 RBI and was 28-for-28 on the base paths.

Summer is gearing up for volleyball season and Purdue coach Jason Dorey will reportedly be showing up in a couple of weeks to watch her slap around a different type of ball!

*** More verbals:

— MIF/OF Jennifer Ames (2015, Eastern Illinois)… plays for New Jersey Cheetahs
— P/1B Kara Bilodeau (2017, Georgia State)… plays for Atlanta Vipers – Vallery
— P Savanna Copeland (2017, Florida State)… plays for St. Louis Esprit Premier
— C/OF Lyndey Crist (2015, South Dakota State)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— C/1B Gabrielle Fredericks (2015, Akron)… plays for Ohio Lasers Blue
— P/IF Alex Frenz (2015, Northern Illinois)… plays for St. Louis Esprit
— IF Alex Day (2015, Ohio Univ.)… plays for Ohio Hawks Gold
— C Casey Gerthand (2016, Florida State)… plays for Jacksonville Storm
— P Avery Gheer (2015, Georgetown)… plays for Jacksonville Storm
— SS/3B Jami Holscher (2015, South Dakota)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— C/3B Raquel Jaime (2017, Cal State Northridge)… plays for Corona Angels
— C Gabby Jones (2015, Drake)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— IF/OF Natalie Jones (2015, North Carolina State)… plays for NC Challengers
— OF/IF Valerie Kinney (2015, South Dakota State)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— SS/3B Victoria Kinney (2015, Nebraska-Omaha)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— MIF Madison Killebrew (2015, Boston Univ.)… plays for Firecrackers – Blanco
— SS/3B Emily Klosterman (2016, Nebraska-Omaha)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— MIF Rebekah Lenos (2016, Charleston Southern)… plays for Ohio Hawks Gold
— OF Elaina Mayer (2016, Boise State)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— SS Savannah McCormick (2015, Florida State)… plays for Jacksonville Storm
— OF Brandy Morgan (2015, South Florida)… plays for Jacksonville Storm
— P/1B Sydney Nieveen (2015, UNC Wilmington)… plays for Nebraska Gold
— IF/OF Kiersten Otte (2016, Wichita State)… plays for St. Louis Esprit
— OF/IF Riley Unzicker (2017, Nebraska)… plays for Nebraska Gold