This week we learn more about a young Big 12 commit and her club program that's expanding as it grows in talent.  We also feature a So Cal senior who is getting Pac-12 interest after a strong summer of camps. And we look at the two events on the coasts where most of the best teams and players will be!

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Mary Collins, a 2018 lefty pitcher/outfielder with the Tulsa Elite, has committed to Oklahoma State.

The younger Elite programs are started to be populated with excellent talent; we saw that at PGF Nationals as the 16U made it the last full day of competition.

The young teams are talent-laden too—Mary plays with several excellent teammates including one going to a rival school: Riley Boone, a 2019 outfield/pitcher committed to Oklahoma.

About Collins, Elite head man Jeff Filali says, “Mary is a true five-tool player that many schools were recruiting. She's a 5-foot-8 lefty who pitches in the low 60s already, hits with home run power, is extremely fast on the bases—probably 2.7 to first—and her overarm velocity has been clocked at 65+ mph.”

The coach says that, because athletes play high school ball in the fall in Oklahoma starting in August and running through mid-October, it delays the recruiting process sometimes.

“We finish nationals the first week of August and start high school ball the next week,” Filali continues. “We have many kids on all of our teams who are being heavily recruited by multiple schools, but they usually have to wait until after their high school season ends to squeeze in trips on unofficial visits.”

Don’t expect Collins and Boone to be the last two, either.

“Our Tulsa Elite '00 Jacks team that finished Top 10 at ASA/USA Nationals and Boulder IDT this summer will have several more Division 1 commitments coming this fall and next summer,” the coach states. “There's several of them who have offers already and many with visits set up this fall.  They'll be moving up to 16U now and will compete well for a first year team.”

The addition of college-level players has led to an expansion in the organization with more teams.

“We also will have four 14U teams this season for the first time ever, we normally limit our teams to only one first year and one second year per age group, but there was too much talent to pass up.”

“We have two second year teams who will play an extensive travel schedule (Tulsa Elite 14U-Filali & Tulsa Elite '01) and also have two first year 14U teams (Tulsa Elite '02-Holder & Tulsa Elite '02-Bement) who will play some showcase events to start getting their players on the radar.”

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One misconception we hear players and parents make all the time is you have to play for a big-name organization to get recruited.

With all the number of events and the explosion of social media, top players aren’t hidden as much to the benefit of the recruits, obviously, as well as college recruiters.

And it’s never too late, even if you’re a senior.

A good example is Brianna Devellano, a 2016 catcher/third baseman who plays for the So Cal-based Quakes 18U Gold team coached by Grant Isbel.

Brianna has been a starting varsity catcher at John Burroughs High in Burbank, Calif. since her sophomore year and is a power and gap hitter.  She hits for a high average and over the last year—club and high school—her cumulative average is .683 as she played for Firecrackers-DeLoza 1U and Firecrackers-Meza 16U.

The So Cal catcher has a pop time of 1.7-1.8 pop time and reportedly has interest from Oregon, St. Mary’s, Adams State and Coppin State with visits set to Washington, Tennessee State and UConn.

Brianna attended the Univ. of Washington Camp this summer and impressed, including a 1st place finish in a hitting contest.  

Here’s a short clip of her getting a hit at the UW camp:


Wherever she goes to college, Brianna has plans to become a Sign Language interpreter working in deaf studies and special education.

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It’s become a running joke in this column that another week brings another Duke commit.  Makes sense as the new program needs to populate its roster, right?

This week, there are two from the Lil Rebels organization out of Las Vegas: Ashleigh Rodriguez, a 2017 MIF/OF, and Marisa Olmos a 2017 catcher/outfielder.

Here are scouting reports on each from the Lil Rebels coaching staff:

--- Ashleigh Rodriguez: “Nicknamed ‘Cash,’ Ashleigh gets great jumps on balls hit to the outfield and she has good speed, range and a strong arm.  She will run through a fence to make a play as she did many times this summer.  Cash also has quick hands at the plate and the ability to hit for average.  She also has some pop in her bat.  In addition to the measurable skills, she has a high softball IG.”

--- Marissa Olmos: “Marissa is a tall athletic kid who can play multiple positions.  She is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm who blocks and frames pitches well.  Marissa also plays a good outfield, reads the ball well off of the bat and gets good jumps on balls hit to the outfield.  She’s a lefty who can play small ball, hit for average and for power. She has a good approach at the plate and adjusts to different situations very well. Marissa also works hard at improving her game and has a high softball IG.”

*** FloSoftball will streaming the games this week at Team NJ Edison on the Edison Complex and there are a lot of top recruits we’ll be seeing, especially from top teams in the East.

For example, you’ll want to see the PA Chaos and star pitcher Maggie Ballint, the Oregon commit who many haven’t seen as the Chaos didn’t play in any of the major Nationals last summer.

The streamed games start Friday at 18 and run through Sunday afternoon with 89 games you can watch this weekend including top teams from New Jersey to Florida to California. Join Now to get ready for wall-to-wall action!

Another top event this weekend will the Surf City Fall Showcase in Huntington Beach, Calif.

The Surf City tournament has many of the West’s best teams including flagship teams from the OC Batbusters, So Cal A’s, Explosion and the impressive So Cal Choppers, which won the 18U and 14U championships at last weekend’s PGF Ultimate Challenge in Salinas, Calif.

Dan Hay and Gary Haning have run this event and other top showcases in the fall for years including the Early Thanksgiving Showcase, which runs Nov. 20-22 and is always loaded with elite teams.

So it will be great weekend of club ball on each coast!

*** Congrats to the following new commits that we learned about through family or friends!

--- If you followed Southern California high school ball last spring closely you know that Norco High won the CIF-SS Div. I championship in a
thrilling title game win.

The starting right fielder for that team was Naomi Hernandez, a 2017 outfielder, and she has committed to Long Beach State (if you’re
wondering what the black pyramid is in the picture below with her next to the school sign, it’s the school’s basketball arena!).




--- Erin Doyle, a 2017 third baseman who plays for the Dixie Chicks 18U –Spencer team and looks like she’s the first 2017 commit to Lipscomb.

Some feel Erin could have played high D1 but didn’t do the travel circuit much.  According to one scout, she “is a solid 3-5 hole hitter who hit a half dozen home runs this summer and has a great arm with a high softball IQ.”

--- Hailey Gallegos, a 2019 third baseman with the Firecrackers Brashear/Thornburg team from La Habra, Calif. has verballed to Texas A&M.

--- Jenna Gallaway, a 2018 outfielder on the Birmingham Thunderbolts 00 team coached by Shawn Maze, has committed to South Alabama.

She is a lefty who attends Oak Mountain High in Birmingham.