In our Recruiting News & Notes column this week, we told you about Alyssa Garcia, the 2019 catcher/corner infielder who attends Mater Dei in Chula Vista, Calif. and plays for the Firecrackers Brashear/Thornburg club team.

Alyssa has become highly coveted by major colleges like UCLA, Oregon and Washington in the Pac-12 as well as the Women’s College World Series combatants Florida and Michigan.  

Overall, even though she’s just a freshman, Alyssa has over 20 top D1 programs in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC heavily recruiting her.

Here is more history and background on this lefty who will be ranked in the 2019 Hot 100 when it comes out in the next few months…

Alyssa Garcia joined the Firecrackers Brashear/Thornburg 2001 team in January of 2015 after playing a season with The Factory Softball out of San Diego.

A left handed hitter with power to all fields, she made an offensive impact right away batting nearly .500 the entire 2015 season while showing her defensive strength behind the dish.

Alyssa was one of the 100 players chosen by OnDeck Softball in 2014 to attend the June Jamboree showcase in Hemet, Calif. where over 100 college coaches were in attendance.  According to scouts, that's where she opened eyes and began getting national attention.

Alyss was invited again to attend the 2015 OnDeck Softball June Jamboree in Hemet even though she was already on the radar of many of the top D1 programs in the Nation.

The 2019 grad did well at the camp as well as at the OnDeck Softball Combine which had 120 college coaches in attendance.

She also played that same weekend in the Zoom into June Showcase in Hemet where many scouts feel she really solidified her recruiting status as one of the elite ‘29’s as showcased her offensive power and behind-the-plate prowess.  

One coach said confidentially, “She's the type of player who can shut down a running game with the cannon she possesses.  Alyssa has great hands, a great arm and great footwork at third as well as first, which makes her stock even higher being that she’s multi-position player.”

By the time the Colorado Jr. Sparkler tournament took place in July of this year, her reputation was such she was getting recruiting attention from major schools including (alphabetically): Arizona State, Baylor, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia and Washington (according to her family and coaches).

At 5-foot-8 with a pop time recorded at under 1.7 seconds at several camps, she really exploded at the TC/USA 14U Nationals in Reno two weeks later.

Alyssa hit over .700 at the Nationals and, according to one coach, hit a home run that went an estimated 280 feet.

As mentioned in our column this week, she has several offers and has already visited UCLA with planned trips set this fall to Oregon and Washington with Michigan and Florida also possible.

Now, she’s focused on integrating into high school and helping her Mater Dei High team continue its strong championship run: the school has won CIF banners four of the last five years.

Along with Kinzie Hansen of the So Cal Athletics organization, who is committed to Oklahoma, and Julia Cottrill, who has played for the Wichita Mustangs, Alyssa adds to what is appearing to be one of the strongest catching classes in the last decade.