One of the cool things about covering softball as we do is we get to go all over the country to look at players and teams.  Today, for example: one minute we’re in Massachusetts looking at a Big Ten-bound player and then we hit South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois and then California to see what’s happening.  A lot of frequent flier miles accumulated in only a few minutes of reading!

 

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PLAYER PROFILE: CHRISTA WAGNER

Grad Year: 2016
Pos: outfield
High School: King Phillip Regional (Wrentham, Mass.)
Club: Rhode Island Thunder-Lotti
Stats: five home runs, 14 RBI, .728 OPS
Honors: track: indoor track state meet (Div. 2); 3^rd place in 300 meters
College: Penn State

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: You’ve had impressive success in track… is that you’re first sport or is it softball?
Christa Wagner: My main sport is softball because I love the sport and I especially love the team aspect of softball.  I feel track is too individual but it keeps me in great shape.

 

SSS.com: Was your speed one of the reasons Penn State pursued you?
CW: Yes, the reason the coaches noticed me was because of my speed.

 

SSS.com: Tell us how you were first seen by the Nittany Lion coaches and how the recruiting process went up to your offer…  
CW: I signed up for a camp with them and they noticed me in warm ups when we were all sprinting and they continued to watch me throughout the camp.  Towards the end of the camp they had me continuously base run and then spoke to me after and invited me to visit the campus.

 

SSS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?  
CW: I decided to commit when I was on campus during my unofficial visit, October 10, 2013.  They had made me an offer and a I knew as soon as I got on campus it was the right school for me.  As soon as I arrived I could not help but feel the positive energy all around the campus.

 

SSS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
CW: I verballed towards the end of my unofficial visit.  It was actually the most exciting moment of my life.

 

SSS.com: Did you visit other schools and were there other programs you seriously considered?  
CW: I visited St. John’s in New York and I had a few other schools lined up to visit.  I also attended some camps at other colleges.  I was seriously considering North Carolina State and St. John’s University.

 

SSS.com: How far away from home will be? Was distance a factor in your decision at all?  
CW: The trip took my family and I about seven hours by car. The distance factor did not matter too much to me but my parents were very happy that they could drive to the campus so they can see some of my games.

 

SSS.com: 
What do you think are your strengths on the field and what would you like to improve on?  
CW: My strength is speed and ability to steal bases.  I am working on my mental approach to the game like over thinking situations.

 

SSS.com: What’s been a top memory or two for you in your softball career?
CW: My absolute favorite memory was last summer at the Demarini Invitational O’Fallon tournament in Illinois. We were down in the last inning against the Grapettes from California (one of our toughest competitors).  I got up to bat and drove the first pitch over the center field fence for a walk-off home run.  It was the second most exciting moment of my life, the first being my verbal, and I am so glad I was able to share it with my team!

 

Quick Hitters

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see myself with a great job surrounded by great people.

Do you have any superstitions involving softball?
Kinda weird but I always talk to myself before my up at bat. It always calms me down and gets me in the zone.

If you were President of the United States for one day, what would be your first act?
I would work on lowering the price of education.

Favorite TV show:
I very rarely watch TV shows, I’m a big movie person.

Favorite Movie:
Cinderella Story, it’s a classic.

Fill in the blank… I wouldn’t be caught dead________
… starting my day off without a coffee.

Favorite place in the world:
Popponesset, Cape Cod.

Are you an early bird (up in the morning) or a night owl?
Both!

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I can do a headstand for over 5 minutes.

What word best describes you: shy, outgoing, goofy, funny, quiet, loud or something else?
I would probably be described as goofy…. my friends always say it is hard to take me seriously.

What’s the one thing, other than your phone, that will always be on or near you (in a purse, backpack, etc)?
My wallet.

What’s your No. 1 goal for 2014?
To bat .500 this summer.

If you could spend a day with one person, dead or alive, who would you choose?
I would spend a whole day with my brother. I look up to him very much and he always makes me laugh.

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TOP 2016 PROSPECT TO WATCH: CAYLA DROTAR

*** How’s this for a successful softball bio?

• three year varsity starter as a pitcher
• won a state title
• three-year All-State player
• State Player of the Year with a 25-1 record
• Freshman National Player of the Year
• in the state title win, outdueled the  2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year
• committed to an SEC school

… all of that would be impressive, but it’s really impressive when you consider that Caylar is only a sophomore!

That’s right, she’s played three years of varsity softball because she’s started since the seventh grade.  As an eighth grader she led the Red Foxed to the 3A Championship and in that game beat current Stanford freshman Carley Hoover, who was the 2013 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.

Since she’s already a three year varsity starting pitcher, Cayla’s record is 45-4, but she’s also a standout hitter and has hit over .500 the last three years of high school.

No surprise, then, that she’s been All-State in South Carolina each of her three years in high school and could reach the very rare accomplishment of being a six-time All-Stater!

MaxPreps honored her as the National Freshman of the Year last season and, since she’s done everything on an accelerated time schedule, it should come as no surprise that Carly finalized her college decision early too—as an eighth grader when she picked South Carolina, her dream school, even though she had interest from many big name programs included Alabama, Georgia and UCLA.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Macy Stovall, a 2015 third baseman with the East Cobb-Bullets-Bass team, verballed to Mercer and Coach James DeFeo over the holiday break according to her father, Chris.

Macy attends Lambert High School in Suwanee, Ga. and according to her father, “wanted to stay closer to home, play for an up and coming D1 but she really wanted a strong academic school.  Mercer was the perfect fit, there’s great coaching, it’s a great program and has strong academics.”

The junior infielder wants to be a middle school social studies teacher and coach softball in high school someday.

She played for a 14U Georgia Ice team that finished second at the USSSA 14A Disney Nationals and a 14U Worth Cobra team who competed in ASA “A” Nationals, a 16u Team Georgia Team who won the first bid to the 2013 ASA “A” Nationals and now plays for the EC Bullets with Buster Bass.

She has started at third base since her freshman year at Lambert and has been a two-time All-Region and All-County honoree.   This last fall the high school won its region and went to the Sweet Sixteen in AAAAAA in only its fifth year of existence.

 

*** The Beverly Bandits head man, Bill Conroy, has announced three new verbals for the Illinois-based program:

— MIF Maddie Banks (2018, Washington)
— 3B/C Taylor Johnson (2017, Loyola)
— P/OF Mallory Marsicek (2016, Radford)

What’s interesting is that gives the Bandits 10 players who have verbally committed to play college but have yet to play their first game of high school ball showing the Chicago-area program not only has a lot of young talent, but gets a lot of looks early on at the players in the pipeline…

 

*** Congrats to Warren Wolff  and the Ohio Outlaws, who continue to rack up verbals… here’s the current list for the Buckeye State team:

— OF/1B Kourtney Paul (2014, Marist)
— 3B/1B Katie Cozy (2015, Toledo)
— P Nicole Doyle (2015, Southern Illinois)
— P Cheyenne Eggens (2015, South Florida)
— MIF Marissa DeMatteo (2015, Pittsburgh)
— P McKenna Coffman (2016, Eastern Illinois)
— OF/UT Sam Blashinsky (2016, South Florida)
— SS Summer Constable (2016, Purdue)
— OF Maddie Sullivan (2017, Eastern Illinois)

 

*** Katie Kibby, a 2016 pitcher/outfielder with the Sorcerer 16U team, has committed to UC Davis.

 

*** More verbals:

— OF Bree Fornis (2015, Auburn)…plays for Birmingham Thunderbolts
— 2B Payton Lawton (2014, Georgetown)… plays for Team Primus
— 3B/2B Alex Sonoqui (2015, Northern Colorado)… plays for Firecrackers-Arizona
— IF Madison Wadyka (2014, Army)… plays for Texas Storm

 

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

One of the most popular articles on our site in the last six months was the article called “5 keys to catching success.”

It was written by outstanding high school senior catcher Gwen Svekis, who signed with Oregon last fall and was part of the St. Thomas Aquinas High team out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. that won the 7A Florida state championship last May.

We got a letter from a coach who raved about Gwen’s writing and offered his perspective in what are the keys to being a good catcher:

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I really like the article. A lot of good stuff here. From a skills perspective though, and as a coach, if I had to choose a number one skill for a catcher, it would be blocking.

Framing is a close second. But even in this article Gwen says that “Stealing a couple of strikes throughout the game can change the game.” A couple of strikes can be critical, especially when they come at important times in the game. But a couple of passed balls are almost always detrimental. I have always felt like a great catcher who can block well, gains the confidence of a pitcher and her other teammates, great framing becomes a natural progression of a great blocker.

Speaking from a purely statistical standpoint now, framing is almost impossible to quantify. A skill like blocking however can be clearly measured. A ball in the dirt was either blocked or it was not. If runners are on base, the statistic can show the number of extra bases allowed, or extra bases saved. You can also calculate a percentage from that to get a clear picture of the quality of a catcher.

 

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COLLEGE: TOP 50 WATCH LIST FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Here’s the USA Softball release that went out Wednesday announcing the 50 college players who’s made the “Watch List” to be considered as the Collegiate Player of the Year:

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Fifty student-athletes from across the country have been selected for the “Watch List” for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. Now in its 13th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, given by the National Governing Body for softball in the United States, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.

Click here for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List

Previous recipients of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the most prestigious individual honor in NCAA Division I Softball, are UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman (2002), Texas pitcher Cat Osterman (2003, 2005 and 2006), Florida State pitcher Jessica Van der Linden (2004), Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott (2007), Virginia Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (2008), Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie (2009 and 2010), Stanford shortstop Ashley Hansen (2011) and Oklahoma’s Keilani Ricketts (2012 and 2013).

The pre-season “Watch List” includes 24 seniors, 20 juniors and six sophomores, with freshman ineligible for consideration. (Freshman can be considered for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award once they have competed at the collegiate level.) Athletes named to the “Watch List” represent 36 NCAA Division I universities and 12 athletic conferences. Alabama, Arizona State and Oregon lead the way among universities with three athlete representatives each, and the Southeastern (SEC) Conference has the most member schools represented with seven.

The Top 25 Finalists for the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be announced April 9. While an athlete does not have to be on the “Watch List” to be considered for the Top 25, the eventual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will come from the Top 25 Finalists. The Top 10 Finalists will be announced May 7 and the Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 21. On May 27 prior to the start of the 2014 NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City, the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed.

 

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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.