We finish off the first Friday of the New Year by looking at a Florida club team with players who all hail from the same community, look at a speedster from Missouri who’s a legit 2015 Hot 100 candidate,

 

*****

CLUB PROFILE: WINDERMERE WILDFIRE – STUTSMAN

Windermere, Fla. is a small town of about 3,000 people located 20 minutes west of Orlando and many famous pro athletes have ties to the area including Shaquille O’Neal, Johnny Damon and Ken Griffey Jr.

Windermere is also strong in youth sports and has had notable success in Little League Softball with teams making it to the championship finals.

In 2005, George Paulson, a former pro tennis player, and Keith Bradford founded the Windermere Wildfire organization to help girls in the community sharpen their skills for the Little League experience.

As the organization grew to its current size of eight teams, another 18U team was started and led by Steve Stutsman, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound former Baylor tight end (1987-91) originally from Dangerfield, Texas.

Stutsman met his future wife, Suzy, when she was a basketball player for the Bears and the two athletes would eventually marry and move to Florida where played her senior year of high school after moving from Puerto Rico.

“She said she couldn’t stand the cold weather in Texas so we moved back to Florida,” laughs Coach Stutsman, who worked for Sherman Williams for 15 years before starting his own commercial/residential painting company in the Orlando area.

The couple have two kids, Sabrina (16 years old), who plays on the Wildfire club team coached by her dad, and Danny (10), who’s an aspiring quarterback.

The coach explains how he became converted to softball:

“We as parents wanted to support the kids in whatever they chose to do and Sabrina wanted to be a ballerina, on the dance team, and a competitive cheerleader at various times.

“When we were getting ready for t-ball for Danny one day, Sabrina grabbed a bat and said, ‘Let me hit the ball.’  She grabbed the bat left-handed and I tossed a ball to her and she hit it over my head.  I turned her around on the right side and she did the same thing and I recognized that she was a natural switch-hitter.  She was nine and decided she liked it and stuck with it.”

Sabrina initially was a pitcher, which meant her current coach had to become a student before graduating to teach.

“I had to learn how to pitch myself before teaching her,” Stutsman recalls, “but I was not a typical ‘Daddy Ball’ coach.  Sabrina gets the brunt of that, I don’t tolerate players getting extra breaks just because their dad’s a coach.  I’m tough on her and my kids are going to have to earn it like everyone else does.”

The coach says that makes the Wildfire club teams different is that the girls all know each other.

“Everyone on the team is right in the community, we don’t have girls flying in to practice with us,” he explains.  “Our goal is to ID girls as they become older and are interested in softball and playing at the next level.  We work to afford them that opportunity so they improve their softball skills and have the value of academics and a good work ethic instilled so they achieve those goals.

Stutsman says that one of the first things he and the other coaches learned was you have to earn your way into top tournaments and showcases.

“After our players started getting older and reached the sixth grade, we started looking around and inquiring as to how we can best help our girls get to the next level.  We researched teams, from the Corona Angels to the OC Batbusters to the Tampa Mustangs, to see what they do right and how we can implement that in our program.

“We learned very quickly that you have to earn your way in.  Just because you have a checkbook doesn’t mean you’ll get into those high-level tournaments.”

So far, the caliber of talent produced by the Wildfire-Paulson and Wildfire-Stutsman teams has been impressive.  The coach feels one of the key reasons for the team and player success is because the players get to know each other as they all go to schools in the Windermere area and are comfortable with the relationships and friendships they develop over time.

“If you’re a player with us,” Coach Stutsman concludes, “you better like the other players, because you’re going to be stuck with them for awhile.”

***

Here’s a player-by-player look at the Windermere Wildfire-Stutsman team with comments by Head Coach Steve Stutsman:

— OF Mary-Sloan Bradford (2014, East Carolina)
“Mary-Sloan is power and speed.  She was a track athlete and is as strong as an ox.  She can crush the ball and though she’s in the four spot she has lead-off speed. Mary-
Sloan is the oldest of the group and the leader of team, everyone looks up to her.”

— C/3B Cassady Brewer (2015, Central Florida)
“Cassady is a student of the game.  She can play every position but her best spot is catcher.  She’s very good at controlling the game behind the plate, like a quarterback.”

— OF/P Jade Caraway (2016, North Carolina State)
“Jade is a crazy athlete.  This girl is almost 5-foot-10 and runs like a gazelle.  She is very fast and a slapper.  Jade throws the ball at 68 mph but she’s not going to pitch, she’s an offensive weapon who’s great in the outfield.  She’ll play in center at NC State.”

— 1B/P Mallory Harrell (2014, Indian River State College)
“Mallory is kind of new to us, she moved in from Ohio.  She keeps the spirits up in the dugout and can do a little of everything.  She’s very competitive and is a solid all-around player.”

— 1B/3B Tate McClellan (2015, East Carolina)
“Tate is the quineseetnial power hitter.  She can hit the ball about 300 feet, she just crushes the ball.  You say power hitter, you’re talking about Tate, but she’s a good athlete too and plays shortstop for her high school team.”

— P Kelsey Morrison (2015, Tennessee)
“Kelsey is the calm before the storm, she’s so fluid.  She’s a great all-around athlete who can pitch and hit the ball.  She’s one of our top hitters and is even keel, but she doesn’t give in and doesn’t rattle easily.”

— SS/C Analyse Petree (2015, Alabama Birmingham)
“Analyse is the one who clocks in and goes to work every day, she never complains and she approaches the game in a work-man like manner.  On defense she’s consistent and gets the job done.”

— MIF Sabrina Stutsman (2015, Florida State)
“Sabrina is a fierce competitor and hates to lose.  She does a lot behind the scenes, when no one’s looking she’s out working to get better.  Sabrina is also a leader on the team and can play outfield or infield.”

— C/3B Alex Suzuki (2015, uncommitted)
“Alex is solid, she’s on the cusp of committing and is another one who clocks in and goes to work.  She’s our main catcher who works hard at what she does and has good mechanics.”

— OF/1B Taylor Watson (2015, uncommitted)
“Taylor will do whatever the team needs her to do and she won’t complain one bit. She’ll play any position and lay down the bunt, whatever it takes to help the team win.”

 

*****

RECRUIT PROFILE: REGAN NASH

Grad Year: 2015

Pos: OF
High School: North Platte (Dearborn, Mo.)
Club: KC Monarchs
Stats (if known): hit .527 in 2013; clocked from home to first in 2.4 seconds
Honors: All-State in softball and track; Top Gun All-American
College: Missouri

 

***

 

StudentSportsSoftball.com:  First off, how was your Christmas? 
Regan Nash: I had a great Christmas!  It was great to spend time with my family.

 

SSS.com:  You’re an outstanding track athlete which has obviously helped your speed on the softball field.  Tell us what you do in track and some of your key accomplishments…
RN: I run the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×400 relay and I have the school record in all three events. I have competed and finished in the top eight at State in all three events, also.  At the State Meet I competed in the 100m as a freshman and all three as a sophomore last spring.

SSS.com:  Will you try and do both sports in college or just softball?
RN: Only Softball.

 

SSS.com: As for your softball recruiting, where did the Missouri coaches first see you and how long was it until they offered?
RN: I have been going to their summer camp for the last five years and had lots of chances to talk with the coaches.  After October 1^st, when Division I coaches are able to talk to us by email, Coach [Ehren]Earleywine and I had several email conversations.  He came to watch me play when our competitive team played close to Columbia and he sent me the offer in November.

 

SSS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
RN: I committed on November 4, 2013.  I have always been a Mizzou fan and it has been my dream to go there for as long as I can remember.  They have been a top-ranked team for several years and have made it to the Super Regionals and World Series several times.  The decision was very easy for me.

 

SSS.com: Did you do anything fun to celebrate committing?
RN: We went out to eat with my entire family and my parents surprised me with a pizza party at school.

 

SSS.com: Have you been on the campus much and been able to meet the current Tigers players?
RN: I have been on campus a lot during their camps and have been there several times to watch the softball and basketball team play.  I met the coaches and some of the players at the camps that I went to.

 

SSS.com: How far away from home will be?  Was distance a factor in your decision at all?
RN: Columbia is about 2 ½ hours from home.  I really wanted to play for a Division I school and most of them are very far away.  I am thankful that Mizzou is so close to home.

 

SSS.com:  Along with your speed, what have coaches said are your strengths as a softball player?
RN: I have been told that I have excellent range in the outfield.  Also, I can hit for power as well as lay down a bunt.  My coach allows me to choose what to do when I am up to bat, so it has taught me to read the defense really well to decide whether to hit, bunt or slap.  I like to keep the defense guessing what I will do.

 

SSS.com: What’s been the highlight of your softball career so far?
RN: When my team won the ASA Northern Nationals in Minnesota in August.   That was definitely my favorite memory as a player.

 

Quick Hitters

 

What do you want to do after college? 
Get a job in the MLB.  I am obsessed with Major League Baseball.

Fill in the blank… The thing that makes me the most happy is: 
Being with my friends and watching baseball.

What do you think is the No. 1 issue facing your generation? 
I don’t think girls in my generation wear enough clothing.

Favorite food: 
Chipotle.

Least favorite food: 
I’ll eat anything!

What’s playing in your headphones right now? 
“Wanted” by Hunter Hayes

What makes you laugh? 
My friends.

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?  
 I was a gymnast for 10 years.  I was State Uneven Bar Champion my final year.

Describe yourself off the field in one word… 
Happy.

Imagine you were called to live overseas for a year… What’s the one thing you’d definitely want to have with you? 
My cell phone.

What’s your No. 1 goal/New Year’s resolution for 2014? 
To become more organized.

 

*****

 

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: TARYN PENA

High school: Columbia High
City:  Columbia
State: 
Ill.
Grad year: 2015
Club: St. Louis Esprit
Position(s):  catcher/first base
Stats: (2013, sophomore): hit .593 with 19 doubles, five triples and 57 RBI, a 1.068 slugging percentage and 42 runs scored.
College: Drake  Univ. (Des Moines, Ia.)
Other Offers: Western Univ., Evansville
Why Drake: “It was the coach, the school, the team and players and the good education.  Upon my visit it felt comfortable and safe. I immediately loved the players, Coach Calvert, and Coach Wood. From the beginning I had respect for them. Drake is a great education full of people who are always willing to help you.”

 

*****

RECRUITING NEWS:

* Yesterday we listed Alexa Altchek, a 2014 outfielder for the NJ Outlaws, as a latest commit… she’s going to Harvard (think her parents are happy?).

We heard from her father Mo who said:

“Alexa wanted to go to an Ivy League school and there was interest from a few of the schools.  She was seen this summer at Pennsbury (Pa.) and Team NJ Showcases, playing with her club team, the Jersey Outlaws.”

“Once the junior transcripts and test scores were in, the level of interest picked up. Two of the Ivy’s recruited her hard, one of them being Harvard. The coach basically offered her a spot –if she passed admissions—at the end of July (which she did). Harvard had always been her first choice and when Alexa had her official visit, she knew it was the only place for her.”

“Her Livingston (N.J.) high school team has won back-to-back State Sectional Championships. Last year she hit .438 with 22 runs and 21 RBI’s and was 15 for 15 in stolen bases.  She was named All-Conference and All-County.”

Academically, she is on the Board of the overall National Honor Society and a member of the Science and Spanish National Honor Societies. She also was named a commended student by the National Merit Scholarship Program.”

 

*** More St. Louis Esprit verbals (see Taryn Penn profile above):

— C/1B Katie Kasbuke (2015, Loyola-Chicago)
— 2B Mackenzie Lawson (2015, St. Louis)
— MIF/OF Kennedy Frank (2015, Drake)
— OF Mykaela Arellanes (2015, Northern Illinois)
— OF Claire Wernig (2014, Southeast Missouri State)
— P Fallon Conner (2014, Illinois State)
— OF Madison Wagner (2014, Rockhurst)
— 3B/SS Jamie Fowle (2014, Truman)

 

*****

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

I’ll confess, one of my favorite players in the junior class is Gia Rodoni, the Baylor-bound pitcher who took the time to write in the fall when she committed to the Bears to let us know of her commitment, but also to express her gratitude for all those who helped her get to that happy moment.

A very spiritual person not afraid to wear her feelings on her sleeve, Gia wrote the following this week about a piece we did on the Early Recruiting Dilemma.

***

I wanted to thank you for writing about the early recruiting. I think it’s something that all athletes, parents and coaches should read. I know I made the right decision in waiting and truly blessed to be going to Baylor with Coach Moore and his staff. Prayer works!!!!

Thanks again,

Gia Rodoni, Class of 2015
CA Grapettes Gold

*****

 

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!

 

*****

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