We continue our look at the top 100 players in the 2016 class… we’re spotlighting 10 each day as we countdown from 100 to No. 1. The juniors were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches. Criteria for choosing and ranking the players including performances at the club and high school levels and projecting how they will play at the collegiate level.

Today we feature players No. 40 to 31 with standout players from Arkansas, California, Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin.

Check out more of 2016's HOT 100: 100-91, 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, 50-41

No.	Player	Position	Club	College
40	Miranda Miles	1B/OF	Sorcerer Gold	Texas A&M
		Miranda is an athletic kid with the tools to roam the outfield and play first. She will hit in the 2 or 3 spot and has great bat control in driving balls to the gaps. Miranda put herself on the national map at the OnDeck camps where coaches nationwide saw what she can do, especially her sweet stroke from the left side of the plate. As a sophomore she hit .431 with a .485 on-percentage and a 1.071 OPS and in 66 plate appearances she only struck out three times. On defense didn't commit an error in 51 total chances last spring.
39	Hannah Howell	OF	Explosion	Arizona State
		Hannah is a lefty slapper with excellent speed offensively and was clocked at 2.7 home to first as a freshman. She can put the ball into play efficiently also and bounces the ball very well. The SoCal outfielder is also very adept at power slapping and on defense has a good first step and closes to the ball well. Hannah hit .394 as a sophomore and her ceiling is very high: she has grown six inches over the last two years and projects to be 5-foot-9. Good bloodlines too: her father, Bruce, was a record-setting swimmer.
38	Madilyn Nickles	P/UT	All American Sports Academy	UCLA
		Nicknamed "Bubba," Madilyn can play practically any position on the field. Her inner-drive and passion for the game is second to none and she's had the dream since she was five to play college softball. Athletic and skilled on the field and in the classroom (3.9 GPA), she played at the 16U level when she was 12 and her versatility is her strength. She will see the field early in the Pac-12 because of her all-around game including her eye at the plate as she hit .417 with a .522 on-base percentage for her NorCal school last year. Bubba also went 13-0 with a 1.52 ERA in the circle.
37	Jade Miller	OF	Texas Glory	Arkansas
		Jade isn't big size-wise but she has all the explosive skills to wreak havoc offensively and to make the great play on defense look easy. No one takes more swings than Jade and because of it she has excellent bat control and is a serious triple threat at the plate. She's an expert at reading the defense and taking what it gives her. Jade is one of the fastest players in Texas and is an instant sparkplug on offense. The Texan hit .488 with 63 hits, 30 steals and five triples to earn 1st Team All-District honors in 2014.
36	Kayla Konwent		Illinois Chill	Wisconsin
		Kayla is a phenomenal hitter, one of the best combinations of power and hitting for average in the country. She's a perfect batter to stick in the middle of the lineup because of her deep ball threat and also the fact she rarely strikes out. She was named the Wisconsin Div. 1 State Player of the Year after helping her team reach the state title game and hitting .533 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI and 11 intentional walks. Kayla also led the Chill last summer in homers (7) and RBI (52) while driving in almost a run per game.
35	Melanie Baccay	IF	Lady Magic - Havey	Michigan State
		Melanie was one of the leaders of the Lady Magic-Havey team that won the Boulder Independence Day Tournament this summer and finished 5th at PGF 16U Nationals. She throws right, hits left and is a triple threat at the plate, able to soft and power slap equally well plus bunt and power hit. Melanie has a strong arm, above average speed and is smart on the bases. Her defensive play is defined by her great hands and feet, quick reads on the ball and range in the infield. Coaches rave about her leadership ability and tremendous IQ as well.
34	Alissa Dalton	SS/3B	Texas Diamond Hotshots	Oklahoma
		Alissa Dalton is a natural righty that turned around to bat left about three years ago when she began slapping and wreaking havoc on the basepaths. She's a dangerous power-hitting lefty with great speed shown by her .500 average (50-for-100) and 15 doubles, eight triples and 29 steals. Alissa lives for the big game moments and delivers consistently when it counts. On defense, the Texan's a versatile defender with great hands, arm strength and advanced skills at all the infield positions. A key intangible coaches love about her is how she makes her teammates better.
33	Bailey Crawford	IF	Georgia Impact - Bass	uncommitted
		Bailey is one of the few uncommitted players in the 2016 Hot 100, but expect her to be offered and committed to a major program by the end of the fall. The Georgia junior is coming back from a torn ACL so she dropped off the recruiting radar and is 100 percent back now and playing high school ball. One coach, when asked if he'd take her today, said, "All day long and twice on Sundays." Bailey is a five-tool player with power, slapping ability and the speed to leg out a bunt or bounced ball. She has 2.7-2.8 speed down the line and, best of all, understands the game and what it takes to win.
32	Braxton Burnside	SS	Arkansas Heat Gold	Missouri
		Braxton is a five-tool star in the making, a speedy middle infielder who's been clocked at 2.60 home to first and has great bat speed allowing her to have tremendous pop in the bat. Defensively she has great range, takes good angles and has soft hands. At the Scout Softball camps, Braxton's ball speed was timed at 66 mph and she is ranked by Scout as the No. 1 prospect in their database regardless of class. She was also named a 2014 Arkansas Class 5A All-State selection.
31	Briana Angel	MIF	Texas Bombers Gold	Texas
		Nicknamed "BB," Briana is a smooth-fielding middle infielder who also plays the outfield and makes the game look easy wherever she plays. She is a lefty hitter who combines speed and power at the plate and led her high school team to a state championship and 40-2 record. BB hit .458 with 39 RBI and 55 runs scored while hitting seven home runs and was named a 1st Team Texas Class 3A All-State pick. Competitive and athletic, she is simply a winner who elevates the play of her teammates.