Recruiting News & Notes
Recruiting News & Notes
This week we have a lot of verbal news, transfers of note and also some trip info along with a change of plans with our FAB 50 Club Rankings... if it's the
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This week we have a lot of verbal news, transfers of note and also some trip info along with a change of plans with our FAB 50 Club Rankings... if it's the fall, you know there's a lot going on in recruiting.
***
Pictured: Myah Moy of the Mustangs who is Big Ten-bound.
We got a huge amount of traction—meaning attention and discussion—when we released the FAB 50 18U Club Team Rankings last week.
Most of it was good, but several coaches had some good feedback that we’re going to follow. Those rankings included team accomplishments from the last year PLUS looking at how the teams stand today.
However, we excluded some teams that have disbanded for whatever reason including the Wichita Mustangs, OC Batbusters-Briggs and Lady Magic.
Some coaches made the valid point that it’s not fair to those players to not be ranked and receive attention for their accomplishments. Also, some strong teams over the summer were “punished” because of perceptions that they’re not as strong now as they finished.
So… here’s what we’re going to do: the 18U Rankings out now will be the first of the 2015-16 year, meaning they kick off the Fall 2015 season.
On Friday, we’re going to run an 18U Rankings list that is for the Summer 2015, meaning it will be based more on how teams finished, essentially wrapping up the 2014-15 season.
Subsequent 16U, 14U and 12U rankings will be “End of Summer” rankings and THEN we’ll release the Fall of 2015 rankings like the 18U already out. We then will do regular updating at each age group.
Hope that makes sense and sorry for the confusion, but the key is to honor those who did well the past year and bring an end to one club season and start off another on the right foot.
And, as always, send any team or ranking thoughts and ideas to: brentt.eads@flosports.tv.
***
Speaking of the Mustangs, we’re hearing that parents of players in the organization are trying to keep some teams intact, but it may be tough as the Mustangs’ facility was reportedly sold as were the buses and other equipment.
Two standout players from this past summer who played on Mark Griggs' Mustangs team have moved to the Texas Glory Gold team coached by Kevin Shelton.
The players are outfielder Taryn Antoine (2017, LSU) and first baseman Savanna Hughes (2018, Oregon State).
We talked to Shelton today and he said the players help add quality depth.
“I think our strengths are good team chemistry, we’re fast and we have depth at every position,” the Glory head man said. “We have three good catchers, six middle infielders and five good outfielders.”
The outfielder is loaded with speed including Madison Kettler (2016, Baylor) Taryn Antoine (see above), Jade Miller (2016, Arkansas) and Brittany Jackson (2017, Kansas) among others.
“All are righty throwers who are lefty slappers that can drive the ball,” Kevin continued.
***
Kelcey Carrasco and Spartan Head Coach Jacquie Joseph at the Michigan State camp this summer.
Another top player who has changed teams is Kelcey Carrasco (2016, Michigan State), a catcher/corner infielder who played with the San Jose Sting Gold, but will be with the Fresno Force the next year in large part because of distance.
“I am excited about playing with the Fresno Force 18G this travel ball season, no more four hour commutes—it’s now only 45 minutes!” she told FloSoftball this week. I hope to run into you again at one of the showcases this year, you can’t miss our pink socks!”
Kelcey had a monster year for her Tulare (Calif.) Western High team in the spring as she hit .500 in 35 games with 12 home runs, 48 hits and 47 RBI. Her on-base percentage was .595 and she was selected as a 1st Team All-Tulare Co. catcher and her leagues Player of the Year.
Next year at this time she’ll be in Michigan and you get the feeling she’s counting the days.
“I can’t wait to be a Spartan and look forward to my official trip coming up at the end of October. East Lansing is a very special place and I can't wait to suit up for the green and white!”
***
More transfer news: one of the top catcher/corner infielders in the 2017 class is Shay Bowden who is committed to Oregon.
She was on a pretty good Firecrackers-Ewing team that we saw in Boulder and at TC/USA Nationals among other places and she will now be playing for the Birmingham Thunderbolts.
Many of her former teammates have been merged into the Firecracker AZ team as well.
***
Myah Moy, a 2017 2B/OF for the Tampa Mustangs-TJ team that won the 2015 PGF 16U Premier Nationals by winning 12 straight games in the loser’s bracket (!), verballed this week to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.
According to Head Coach T.J. Goelz, “Myah is a five-tool athlete who has led her team to three consecutive National Championship game appearances. She had multiple offers the last two seasons, but after an outstanding summer she is Big Ten bound! Myah plays an aggressive, energetic second base and flies all over the field to make plays.”
The current junior hit .409 (65-for-159) with 44 runs scored, 61 RBI, 10 home runs and had a .445 OBP and .717 slugging percentage this summer.
***
More verbal news:
--- 2016 corner infielder Emilie Cieslak just verballed to Duke according to her coach Anthony LaRezza of Immaculate Heart Academy (N.J.).
That’s his eighth verbal on his current team.
--- 2018 pitcher Tina Clark of the Ohio Outlaws Premier team has verballed to St. Francis Univ. in Pennsylvania. Says Warren Wolf, the Outlaws President and Recruiting Coordinator:
“Tina is an amazing five-tool player who was heavily recruited because she can do so much beside pitch including play every position on the field at a high level. She plays with so much heart and passion… you just can't teach that stuff! She’s truly an amazing young lady and we’re honored to have her as part of the Outlaws.”
***
We’re a few weeks off from compiling the FAB 50 14U Club Rankings, but one team this is intriguing and one to watch is Josh Fisher’s Carolina Elite-Fisher/Under Armour team which went 43-12-2 over the summer and played in both ASA and PGF Nationals.
“Off of this past team (last fall and this summer), we have had seven kids either receive offers (some multiple offers) or go on unofficial visits,” Fisher explains.
“The schools have included Georgia, South Carolina, College of Charleston, North Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, Virginia and Appalachian State.”
He continues: “We've picked up some really, really nice players. We've also got five returning , including our leading hitter, 2019 graduate, Hannah Goodwin. She is from West Columbia, S.C. and is our shortstop. Her summer numbers, against extremely good competition were very, very good. She had a .487 batting average with 15 HR's, her on-base percentage was .624. Hannah had a really nice summer, as well, defensively with a fielding percentage of .968. Hannah also is a pitcher who throws 4 or 5 pitches and runs it up to 60 mph. She already has multiple offers from SEC schools, several more mid-major offers, etc.”
Another key addition he says is a freshman from in-state.
“We have acquired 2019 pitcher/hitter Bailey Betenbaugh (Union, S.C.). Bailey has played with Georgia Impact-Stewart the past three or so seasons. She currently has a couple of offers from D1 schools and has multiple unofficial visits scheduled in October, with SEC schools. She runs the ball up to 63 mph and has a stymieing change up, along with 3-4 other pitches. She also hit .462 and had an excellent summer offensively. She is a big powerful kid.”
These are just two of the new additions to an already strong core group that includes Brooke Lougher, a third baseman “that can really play on both sides of the ball,” according to the coach, and both catchers: Lath Freeman, who took an unofficial over the weekend to an ACC school, and Emily Ayers, who Fisher says “may have the most potential on the roster as she is such a raw, strong kid.”
The Carolina Elite will be at some big events this fall including the D9 Sun Classic Fall Showcase (Orlando, Fla.), Scenic City Fall Showcase (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Atlanta Legacy Veterans Tribute Showcase (Woodstock, Ga.).
FloSoftball will be streaming from all these events so stay tuned!
***
Thanks to Addison Davis of Jacksonville Storm-Davis 14U who has several young players who are taking visits including:
***
Finally, congrats to Emily Soles of Prince Avenue Christian High in Bishop, Ga.
The senior pitcher who throws in the mid 60’s, hit a great milestone this week when she recorded her 1,000th career strikeout. Emily has signed to play instate at Georgia State.
***
Pictured: Myah Moy of the Mustangs who is Big Ten-bound.
We got a huge amount of traction—meaning attention and discussion—when we released the FAB 50 18U Club Team Rankings last week.
Most of it was good, but several coaches had some good feedback that we’re going to follow. Those rankings included team accomplishments from the last year PLUS looking at how the teams stand today.
However, we excluded some teams that have disbanded for whatever reason including the Wichita Mustangs, OC Batbusters-Briggs and Lady Magic.
Some coaches made the valid point that it’s not fair to those players to not be ranked and receive attention for their accomplishments. Also, some strong teams over the summer were “punished” because of perceptions that they’re not as strong now as they finished.
So… here’s what we’re going to do: the 18U Rankings out now will be the first of the 2015-16 year, meaning they kick off the Fall 2015 season.
On Friday, we’re going to run an 18U Rankings list that is for the Summer 2015, meaning it will be based more on how teams finished, essentially wrapping up the 2014-15 season.
Subsequent 16U, 14U and 12U rankings will be “End of Summer” rankings and THEN we’ll release the Fall of 2015 rankings like the 18U already out. We then will do regular updating at each age group.
Hope that makes sense and sorry for the confusion, but the key is to honor those who did well the past year and bring an end to one club season and start off another on the right foot.
And, as always, send any team or ranking thoughts and ideas to: brentt.eads@flosports.tv.
***
Speaking of the Mustangs, we’re hearing that parents of players in the organization are trying to keep some teams intact, but it may be tough as the Mustangs’ facility was reportedly sold as were the buses and other equipment.
Two standout players from this past summer who played on Mark Griggs' Mustangs team have moved to the Texas Glory Gold team coached by Kevin Shelton.
The players are outfielder Taryn Antoine (2017, LSU) and first baseman Savanna Hughes (2018, Oregon State).
We talked to Shelton today and he said the players help add quality depth.
“I think our strengths are good team chemistry, we’re fast and we have depth at every position,” the Glory head man said. “We have three good catchers, six middle infielders and five good outfielders.”
The outfielder is loaded with speed including Madison Kettler (2016, Baylor) Taryn Antoine (see above), Jade Miller (2016, Arkansas) and Brittany Jackson (2017, Kansas) among others.
“All are righty throwers who are lefty slappers that can drive the ball,” Kevin continued.
***
Kelcey Carrasco and Spartan Head Coach Jacquie Joseph at the Michigan State camp this summer.
Another top player who has changed teams is Kelcey Carrasco (2016, Michigan State), a catcher/corner infielder who played with the San Jose Sting Gold, but will be with the Fresno Force the next year in large part because of distance.
“I am excited about playing with the Fresno Force 18G this travel ball season, no more four hour commutes—it’s now only 45 minutes!” she told FloSoftball this week. I hope to run into you again at one of the showcases this year, you can’t miss our pink socks!”
Kelcey had a monster year for her Tulare (Calif.) Western High team in the spring as she hit .500 in 35 games with 12 home runs, 48 hits and 47 RBI. Her on-base percentage was .595 and she was selected as a 1st Team All-Tulare Co. catcher and her leagues Player of the Year.
Next year at this time she’ll be in Michigan and you get the feeling she’s counting the days.
“I can’t wait to be a Spartan and look forward to my official trip coming up at the end of October. East Lansing is a very special place and I can't wait to suit up for the green and white!”
***
More transfer news: one of the top catcher/corner infielders in the 2017 class is Shay Bowden who is committed to Oregon.
She was on a pretty good Firecrackers-Ewing team that we saw in Boulder and at TC/USA Nationals among other places and she will now be playing for the Birmingham Thunderbolts.
Many of her former teammates have been merged into the Firecracker AZ team as well.
***
Myah Moy, a 2017 2B/OF for the Tampa Mustangs-TJ team that won the 2015 PGF 16U Premier Nationals by winning 12 straight games in the loser’s bracket (!), verballed this week to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.
According to Head Coach T.J. Goelz, “Myah is a five-tool athlete who has led her team to three consecutive National Championship game appearances. She had multiple offers the last two seasons, but after an outstanding summer she is Big Ten bound! Myah plays an aggressive, energetic second base and flies all over the field to make plays.”
The current junior hit .409 (65-for-159) with 44 runs scored, 61 RBI, 10 home runs and had a .445 OBP and .717 slugging percentage this summer.
***
More verbal news:
--- 2016 corner infielder Emilie Cieslak just verballed to Duke according to her coach Anthony LaRezza of Immaculate Heart Academy (N.J.).
That’s his eighth verbal on his current team.
--- 2018 pitcher Tina Clark of the Ohio Outlaws Premier team has verballed to St. Francis Univ. in Pennsylvania. Says Warren Wolf, the Outlaws President and Recruiting Coordinator:
“Tina is an amazing five-tool player who was heavily recruited because she can do so much beside pitch including play every position on the field at a high level. She plays with so much heart and passion… you just can't teach that stuff! She’s truly an amazing young lady and we’re honored to have her as part of the Outlaws.”
***
We’re a few weeks off from compiling the FAB 50 14U Club Rankings, but one team this is intriguing and one to watch is Josh Fisher’s Carolina Elite-Fisher/Under Armour team which went 43-12-2 over the summer and played in both ASA and PGF Nationals.
“Off of this past team (last fall and this summer), we have had seven kids either receive offers (some multiple offers) or go on unofficial visits,” Fisher explains.
“The schools have included Georgia, South Carolina, College of Charleston, North Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, Virginia and Appalachian State.”
He continues: “We've picked up some really, really nice players. We've also got five returning , including our leading hitter, 2019 graduate, Hannah Goodwin. She is from West Columbia, S.C. and is our shortstop. Her summer numbers, against extremely good competition were very, very good. She had a .487 batting average with 15 HR's, her on-base percentage was .624. Hannah had a really nice summer, as well, defensively with a fielding percentage of .968. Hannah also is a pitcher who throws 4 or 5 pitches and runs it up to 60 mph. She already has multiple offers from SEC schools, several more mid-major offers, etc.”
Another key addition he says is a freshman from in-state.
“We have acquired 2019 pitcher/hitter Bailey Betenbaugh (Union, S.C.). Bailey has played with Georgia Impact-Stewart the past three or so seasons. She currently has a couple of offers from D1 schools and has multiple unofficial visits scheduled in October, with SEC schools. She runs the ball up to 63 mph and has a stymieing change up, along with 3-4 other pitches. She also hit .462 and had an excellent summer offensively. She is a big powerful kid.”
These are just two of the new additions to an already strong core group that includes Brooke Lougher, a third baseman “that can really play on both sides of the ball,” according to the coach, and both catchers: Lath Freeman, who took an unofficial over the weekend to an ACC school, and Emily Ayers, who Fisher says “may have the most potential on the roster as she is such a raw, strong kid.”
The Carolina Elite will be at some big events this fall including the D9 Sun Classic Fall Showcase (Orlando, Fla.), Scenic City Fall Showcase (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Atlanta Legacy Veterans Tribute Showcase (Woodstock, Ga.).
FloSoftball will be streaming from all these events so stay tuned!
***
Thanks to Addison Davis of Jacksonville Storm-Davis 14U who has several young players who are taking visits including:
- Baylee Goddard (3B, 2019): Florida, FSU, South Alabama, USC Upstate, and Michigan State
- Madisyn Davis (P, 2019): UF, UNC, Duke, South Alabama, USC Upstate, and Virginia Tech
- Alexis Ross (OF, 2019): Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Louisiana
- Scotland Davis (OF, 2020): Oklahoma State, JU, UNC Willington, and USC Upstate
- Jenae Wash (SS/C, 2019): Virginia and South Alabama
- Taryn Freshwater (1B, 2019): Jacksonville
***
Finally, congrats to Emily Soles of Prince Avenue Christian High in Bishop, Ga.
The senior pitcher who throws in the mid 60’s, hit a great milestone this week when she recorded her 1,000th career strikeout. Emily has signed to play instate at Georgia State.