We finish off January by previewing one of the top high school teams in the country and one very likely to be in the initial FAB 50 rankings which comes out in two weeks.  Next we head to Florida to profile a young catcher who will be staying within state borders to play at the next level and then go a bit north to look at a promising sophomore out of the Peach State.  We conclude by covering some more odds and ends in the recruiting department… and now on to February we go!

 

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FAB 50 TEAM TO WATCH:  CHINO HILLS (CALIF.)

Exciting news… we’re working to launch the FAB 50 two weeks from today!

One of the teams that will likely make the preseason list of the top 50 team in the count is Chino Hills, a CIF-Southern Section, Div. II team.

With the core group returning that has been 82-17 in the last three years and has gone deep in the playoffs, the team will be one of the best in Southern Calif.

Chino Hills has eight returning starters and two standout freshmen players in outfielder Taylon Snow (Washington verbal) and C/OF Alyssa Card (Texas offer).

There is a total of 11 DI signees or players who have verballed so there’s a lot of talent and depth on the team.

The first six in the batting order will be formidable:

• Taylon Snow (fr. outfielder, Washington)
• Patricia Parks (sr, pitcher, Arizona)
• Tannon Snow (jr. centerfielder, Washington)
• Alyssa Mendez (sr. 3B signed with Nevada)
• Shainne Brannan (sr. 2B, Cal State Fullerton)
• Kylie Michael (jr. catcher, Fordham)

Parks, Tannon Snow, Mendez, and Brannan are all multi-year starters.

Other athletes who could fill the next three posts in the order include:

• Brittney Garcia (jr. 1B, UC Riverside)
• Melissa Garcia (jr. OF, UMass)
• Brianna Viles (jr. OF, DePaul)
• Alyssa Card (fr. C/OF, Texas offer)
• Ashley Holt (jr. OF)
• Jackie Mattingly (so. UT)

Not surprisingly, a large number of these players have elite club experience too competing for powers such as the So Cal A’s, the Corona Angels, and the Firecrackers teams.

Parks will be the No. 1 pitcher and has a career mark of 30-7.  Savanna Corr, a junior going to Sacramento State), was 13-2 last year.  The catchers will be Michael and Card.

With such talent, the key will be continued good health—three key players, Tannon Snow, Parks and Brannan, each missed six games last year.

If Parks is healthy—and she is at this point—the team could be as good as any in school history.

Head Coach Mike Southworth says, “After having coached for over 40 years, we all know success hinges on talent, health and getting the breaks throughout the season.  Of all the sports, softball is more prone to upsets than the others so this assures us nothing at this point.”

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By the numbers:

• Parks is a .439 career hitter with 138 hits, 87 runs, 10 home runs and 59 RBI as a leadoff hitter.  She will be the all-time leader at the school in average, hits, extra base hits and runs scored.  At Arizona she will pitch and hit.
• Tannon Snow has a career average in two seasons of .427 with 19 homers, 65 RBI and 37 extra base hits in just 59 games.  She missed the final nine games of 2013 with an injury.
• Mendez is a career .335 hitter and was all-CIF Southern Section 1^st Team last year with a .387 average, 10 home runs and 34 RBI.
• Brannan as a career average of .335 and has gone .315, .351 and .343 in successive years. She didn’t strike out at all in 2013.

 

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PLAYER PROFILE: JORDAN ROBERTS

Grad Year: 2016
Pos: catcher
High School: Suwannee High (Fla.)
GPA: 3.52
SAT: 1200 (freshman attempt)
Club: Gold Coast Hurricanes-Cooper
College: Florida

 

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: You play for one of the top club teams in the Southeast if not in the whole country in the Gold Coast Hurricanes… what’s that been like so far?
Jordan Roberts: My parents knew that if I was going to try and play at the highest level in college that I would need to be with a top travel organization so that I could travel where the greatest competition is. My Mom took me down to try out for Tiffany DeFelice’s 16U team last summer. I made the team and had a fabulous summer. After getting really serious interest from D1 colleges, we knew that I would need to be on Coach Marty Cooper’s 18U Gold team and travel nationally to face the best pitching in the country. So Coach Cooper allowed me to travel to California with his team to see how I could handle myself. I struggled in the beginning but I really worked hard and was able to prove that I can play at that level. I was humbled to be asked to stay with Coach Cooper’s team. He has the most amazing and talented girls on his team and I just feel so privileged to be a part of his group.

 

SS.com: Tell us how you were first seen by the Florida coaches, then how long until they offered?
JR: They first saw me in April of 2013 at a hitting camp at the University of Florida, but it was 10 months until they offered.

 

SSS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
JR: It was January 16^th, 2014. I always knew that I wanted to play at UF but wasn’t sure I was good enough.

 

SSS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
JR: Unofficial visit.

SSS.com: Describe your emotions around being able to play for Coach Walton in the SEC?
JR: Honored and ecstatic!

 

SSS.com: How far away from home will be?  Was distance a factor in your decision at all?

JR: It’s one hour from home and, yes, it was a big factor.

 

SSS.com:  What do you think (or have others said) are your strengths as a softball player?
JR: Offensively driven and my coachability.

 

SSS.com: What’s been a top memory or two for you in your softball career?
JR: No doubt hitting my first home run in Junior High the day before I turned 12 years old and as a freshman helping my high school team set school records and making it to the Final Four last year.

Quick Hitters

What do you want to major in?
I am still working on that… undecided.

Fill in the blank… I’m happiest when: ____________
I love playing multiple sports but I am happiest when I am contributing to any of their success.

What do you think is the No. 1 issue in the world today?
Definitely lack of morals and values in our society.

Favorite “guilty pleasure” (food, TV show, hobby/activity, etc.):
Food. Oh my gosh, I just love all kinds of food!

Favorite candy:
Sour patch kids.

Least favorite activity:
Well this is hard for me but I think crying…I just hate to cry. Wearing my retainer would be No. 2.

Favorite pro sports team:
Tampa Bay Rays.

Favorite place in the world:
Lake Tahoe.

What’s your dream vacation?
Alaska.

Who/what always makes you laugh?
My cousin Sarah…we laugh about everything!

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I secretly want to be an MMA fighter!

How would you describe yourself in one word?
Ambitious.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing with you, what would it be?
My best friend Alexis Brown. She makes every good situation better and every bad situation okay. We are they dynamic duo.

Other than family, who’s your hero or someone you look up to most?
Gage Tanner, my best friend’s eight-year-old cousin who is fighting for his life with inoperable brain cancer. He has a million reasons to cry every day but he never does. He just smiles all the time. His outlook on life is courageous and so contagious. I can’t help but smile when I think about him and he makes me want to be brave through any challenges I face in life. I just pray that he will find his cure.

 

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RECRUIT SPOTLIGHT OF THE DAY:  KAMRYN TONEY

High school: Heritage High
City: Conyers
State: 
Ga.
Grad year: 2016
Club: Georgia Elite
GPA: 3.9 GPA, ranked 43/640 in her class
Position(s): pitcher/third baseman
Height: 5-9
Misc.: also runs track, plays the tuba in the Symphonic Band and is a member of the National Honor Society, beta Club and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Stats & Honors:

2013 high school: 12-1 record, 102 strikeouts and a 0.31 ERA; hit .329 with a .417 slugging percentage.

2012 club stats: 15.2 innings with a 0.45 ERA during 2013 PGF Nationals

• two-time 1^st Team All-Region and All-Area
• last two years Georgia Elite has place in the PGF Nationals Top 10

Evaluation: “Kamryn is very deceptive with smooth motion, and makes every pitch get on a hitter very quickly. She has plus command of her screw, curve, rise and change. She pitches ahead in the count and usually stays ahead.” — Mark Mulvany of Scout Softball

College: Central Florida

Why Central Florida: “The University of Central Florida is an amazing school. I love the school’s diversity, and they have great academics. Also, the campus is gorgeous and the people there are extremely nice. Coach Gillispie and her entire coaching staff are doing amazing things down there, and I am glad to be a part of process.”

What is your favorite bat: My favorite bat is DeMarini Bat. I have used the CF series for the past three years. I love the way the ball comes off the bat and the grip feels great in my hands even if I don’t wear batting gloves.
What bat does your team use? I use the DeMarini CF6. My team does not have a team bat. Everyone uses the bat they like the best.
What is your favorite brand of cleats? 
Mizuno
What is the uniform brand you prefer? I don’t have a brand I prefer.

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Kherrin Morgan, a 2015 first baseman with the Cincy Static ’97-Morgan team, has committed to Gannon University.

“Academically it’s a great engineering school, has a good family atmosphere and a great coaching staff,” she told us today.

Kherrin hit .430 with 55 RBI last season for Talawanda High in Oxford, Ohio.  She also set a school record with a .991 fielding percentage.

The 5-foot-10 junior also hit .475 with six homers an .835 slugging percentage

*** Emilee Erickson, a 2015 catcher/shortstop for the Arizona Storm Gold, has committed to BYU.

She’ll be headed to Provo to play and will be joining her brother, Brendon, who plays for the Cougar baseball team.

*** Kaile Chavez, a 2015 pitcher/infielder with the Cal A’s, has committed Biola.

*** Riley Plogger, a 2016 outfielder with the So Cal A’s-Quarles 18U team, verballed to Utah State this past weekend.

*** Thanks to Coach Mike Mertz of the Virginia Glory Elite-Mertz team for letting us know that the Glory have had 27 girls move on to the collegiate level since 2010 including the following five from the 2014 class:

• C/1B Haylea Geer (West Chester University)
• P/1B Ashley Flesch (West Chester University)
• P Abby Tincher (Liberty University)
• MIF Victoria Alexander (UMBC)
• IF/C Heather Pearson (Susquehanna University)

*** A player who could commit by this summer is one of the top juniors in Nevada, Ally Batastini, a pitcher/utility player from Reno.

Ally plays club ball with the California Breeze and has done well at the PGF Nationals including 2013 where she hit 500 in bracket play with seven RBI in 10 at bats.

She also helped the Breeze finish ninth at Triple Crown nationals where Ally went 3-0 with a 0.32 ERA in 25 innings of work.  She also hit .334.

At the high school level she plays for Spanish Springs High in Reno and last year was the only sophomore to make 4A All-State, the highest level in Nevada.

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Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

 

 

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If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.