Pictured (l-r): Destiny Weber, Delaney Elling, Amanda Ferlisi, Christa Wagner and Maddie Smith

It’s not easy playing week in and week out in the Big Ten when you have strong programs like NCAA Div. I National Championship runner-up Michigan to face regularly, but quietly the last couple years the Penn State Nittany Lions have put together some impressive recruiting classes that should make them a force in the near future.

This year, Penn State University brought in five senior standouts the weekend of Oct. 10 for their official campus visit and two of them, infielder/catcher Delaney Elling (No. 72) and pitcher Maddie Smith (No. 93), made the 2016 Hot 100 helping give the Lions a top 35 recruiting class.

A special note on Elling: not only did she make the Hot 100, she is the Senior Class President of her Pennsylvania high school and was on the Homecoming Court this fall!

Here are the five players with their positions and club programs:

• 1B/C Delaney Elling (Wagner’s 3n2)
• P Amanda Ferlisi (New Jersey Cheetahs)
• P Maddie Smith (Jersey Intensity)
• OF Christa Wagner (Rhode Island Thunder)
• 3B/C Destiny Weber (Ohio Outlaws)