Wow, where did this year go? Is it true that we’re only TWO days from Christmas?!? Wasn’t it just the summer, oh, about two weeks ago?  

Hard to believe, too, that we’re just a week or so from the end of a fun 2015 but time—and recruiting—marches on and we have some notes we’ve collected over the last few weeks on top recruits who’ve committed or have the talent to grab some coach’s attention…

***

Torrey Stubblefield, a 2018 pitcher with the Firecrackers DFW Greenwell team, committed to Texas A&M two weeks ago.

The Texan has played for some great pretty high profile teams at a very young age including several in our current FloSoftball FAB 50 16U Rankings:  Texas Glory Naudin 16U in the 8th grade and the Texas Bombers 16U National in 9th and now with Firecrackers DFW.  

Torrey has been at OnDecks's Elite National Camp and decided this summer to narrow her camp choices by looking at who didn't have an '18 pitcher.  She sent emails to those schools and asked for camp flyer through her NCSA profile for those schools interested in inviting her to camp.  

She got 3 responses: Michigan, Ole Miss and LSU and ultimately went to all schools’ camps.  All three liked her so much that, after being clocked at 65 mph at Ole Miss, they continued to follow her to Colorado and PGF Nationals.  

The sophomore was playing for the Texas Bombers 16U National team at the time and shared playing time with Hot 100 No. 1 player Brooke Vestal, an Oklahoma commit, which limited Torrey’s innings and exposure so she decided to pick up one last camp: Texas A&M.  

According to those at the camp, Torrey did well at the camp and stayed to thank Head Coach Jo Evans who made the comment, according to the athlete’s mother, Twana, that “she was the only kid there that was covered from head to toe in dirt and that she loved that.”

“Coach Evans said that she wanted to come see Torrey play in the fall—and she had joined the Firecrackers by then—but tournament after tournament was rained out until finally the Ronald McDonald tournament 16U make-up,” recalls Twana Stubblefield.

“Coach Glasco came all day on Saturday and watched. We had to wait through the dead period, but Coach Greenwell set up a time for Torrey to call Coach Evans and they talked for a while and let her know how excited they were about her. That was on Thursday, December 10th and Torrey called back later that night with a definite yes!”

***

Paige Knight, a 2020 graduate of Owasso (Okla.) High and member of Tulsa Elite '00-Jacks has verbally committed to play softball for Oklahoma.

She's the fourth member of the team to commit to stay in-state to play for a Big 12 program since finishing Top 10 at both ASA/USA 14A Nationals and Colorado Independence Day tournament this summer.

Paige joins teammates Rylie Boone (2019, Oklahoma), Mary Collins (2018, Oklahoma State) and Taylor Tuck (2018, Oklahoma State).

In addition to Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi State, Missouri, Washington, LSU and many other top programs had also showed interest in Knight.

***

Once in a while you’ll hear about sisters, usually twins, who are a “two-for-one” package to a softball program but the “cousin combo” is pretty rare.

But that’s what happened in the SEC as Ole Miss has picked up a pair of 2019 cousins in Mckenzie Barbara, a catcher/infielder who throws right but is a lefty power hitter. She was also recruited by Baylor, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

She plays for the powerful So Cal Choppers – Fausett team which is one of the best 14U squads in the nation.

Joining her on that roster is Isabella Dayton who is a centerfielder lefty slapper with speed.  She’s from Wylie, Texas, however so it’s not like the cousins are right next door to each other!  

Still, they’ll be seeing a lot of each other for the next 7-8 years as they play elite club ball and then SEC competition together.

***

Our “Player to Watch” this week is another player from the Choppers-Fausett team that finished 3rd last year in our FloSoftball FAB 50 14U rankings.

Sarah Schnieder is a 2019 who’s the starting catcher on the team and this fall batted .518 while hitting mostly second in the order.  At the PGF Ultimate Challenge in Salinas, California she hit .705 (12-for-17) helping the Choppers win their age division.

Sarah went 3-for-4 in the championship game, a 6-1 victory over the Sorcerers from Northern California. 

She again hit .700 at the PGF Early Thanksgiving Showcase going 7-for-10.

Not surprisingly, programs from across the nation have taken note and she is hearing from schools in the Pac-12, Big Ten and Mountain West conference.

It’s not just her bat that’s drawing attention: Sarah reportedly has a pop time in the 1.75-1.80 range.

Definitely a team—and player—to watch in 2016!

***

Speaking of Ole Miss (see the “Cousin Combo” note above), the Rebels are putting together some solid recruiting classes and one committed player we’ve recently covered and learned about is 2017 Florida shortstop Ally Mena who plays for the Miami Stingrays 18 Gold team.

Amazingly, Ally has played varsity softball at powerhouse Westminster Christian School in Miami since the sixth grade and already has been a three-time All-State selection.

She was also named the Florida Class 3A Player of the Year as well as the Miami Herald Miami-Dade 2015 Player of the Year in 2015 after helping her team advance to the state championship game.

Ally led her high school team in batting average (.569), hits (57), doubles (16), triples (6), home runs (8), RBIs (53) and runs scored (42) and also compiled an OBP of .613 and slugged 1.078.

In the post-season, she hit .682 with 5 homers and 19 RBI. Her biggest game came in the 2015 District Championship game as she clubbed three home runs to lead Westminster Christian to its 14th consecutive district title.

On the club side, Ally led the Stingrays to a 3rd place finish at the 2015 TCS Fireworks tournament.

She’s equally strong off the field as she has a weighted GPA of 5.25 and wants to become a plastic surgeon.

You know Ole Miss coaches have to be excited to have her come into the program…

***

An update on one of our favorite uncommitted players… another Floridian in infielder Brooke Langston who’s also been an All-State player in the 2017 class.

Brooke is from Plantation, Fla. and the two-time FloSports All-American, who helped her American Heritage High team win a Florida 5A state championship as a freshman and come in second last past spring, has great speed and bat control.

She’s playing for Jersey Intensity now and told FloSoftball this week, “I was offered by Tennessee at D9 through Coach Kevin (O’Donnell, the head coach of Intensity and also the tournament director of Diamond 9 Fall Classic held late Oct/early Nov).”

“I will be going to Tennessee on Jan 15th and I just got back from Florida State last  weekend. I have several good schools with a lot of interest like Oregon, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida State, so I want to decide soon.”

***

Earlier in December, we did a Rising Star profile on Abby Herbst, a 2019 graduate who is on the Beverly Bandits 16U team and is getting heavy recruiting attention from major programs ranging from Notre Dame to Washington to Stanford to Wisconsin.

Abby pitches, plays 1st base and hits in the middle of the order for the Bandits and we got a nice e-mail from head coach Cray Allen giving us more info on Abby:

Coach Allen begins, “Abby has been a tremendous addition to an already loaded team.  As 14 of our 16 rostered players have committed to Division 1 programs, Abby is one of the best of all of them.”

“Abby solidified herself this fall as a quality pitcher on our team as she racked up more innings than anybody else in the circle.  She finished the fall showcase season going 8-1 with a 1.4 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.”

“At first base, she was solid.  Her instincts and softball IQ allows her to be in the correct position all the time, making routine plays look just that.  Abby ended the fall with a .981 fielding percentage.”

“In the box is where I definitely think this kid is one of the best 2019's in the country.  Her natural strength, balance, and consistent timing at the plate has allowed her to impress me as much as any hitter I've coached over the past 20 years.”

“The ball off of Abby's bat has that ‘special’ sound. One in which not too many players in the country possess. Abby ended the fall campaign with a .481 average against 33 of the best teams in the country.”

“She slugged .765 and had an OPS of 1.288 which led the team.  Her nine doubles, four home runs, and 35 RBI led our team in each of those categories.”

“More importantly, she made every hitter/baserunner in front and behind her so much better by understanding the offensive game at such an early age.  I’m extremely impressed and excited for this kid's future in this game.  There is no doubt she will help a big-time collegiate program contend for a national championship.”

“Also a standout both academically and socially, Abby's attitude is that of a winner at any level.  She understands how to play the role of a winner and will end up helping any team at any level learn to win consistently.”

***

A team note: Tony Woodall wrote to tell us that his Mizuno Impulse 16U team is now part of the Texas Glory organization.

FloSoftball had the Impulse rated in the top 30 of the FAB 50 16U Rankings after the team went 25-3-4 this fall behind pitchers Mattison Boyd and Paxton Scheurer.

Says Coach Woodall: “We will now be known as Texas Glory 16U RWB. My team stays intact; however, we are now under the guidance, training and support of Kevin Shelton and Ed Naudin at Texas Glory.”

***

Speaking of the FAB 50 16U Rankings, we got a nice note from Chris Feldman, father of Claire Feldman, the 2016 pitcher committed to Utah, who, along with Cassidy Davis (2016, Florida State), provided the pitching punch that allowed the Tampa Mustangs-TJ team to win PGF 16U Nationals this summer.

He writes of his younger daughter who’s on a team that is on the bubble of making the FAB 50:

“Thank you for recognizing the Florida Fire 2000 in the next 50 top 16U teams in the country.  The team has always been highly respected in the Southeast and the girls were so excited to get some national recognition after their 7th place finish at ASA 14u nationals this summer.  This is a great group of girls that has played together for many years.
 
“You were so kind in your praise of my daughter Claire this fall.  You may not know, but her younger sister Mary Beth (2019) is a pitcher on Florida Fire 2000.  I have a third daughter who pitches too, so we stay pretty busy here!”

“Thanks again for the recognition.  I expect this team to continue to do great things here in the Southeast and nationally.  We are on a break now for high school season in January.  And my family is looking forward to the Tampa Mustang cruise on New Years Day.  Enjoy your holidays.”
 
Sincerely,
Chris Feldman

***

Finally, a plug for a nice camp provided by friends-of-FloSoftball Jim Barsalona and Joe Garvey:

Team NJ/ROCK Winter Skills Camp- Ages 12U-18U
 
Team NJ/Rock Softball is proud to announce a 3 day skills camp to be held from January 22-24th at NAC Sports Center in Newtown, Pennsylvania. This camp provides an opportunity for aspiring athletes ages 12U-18U to receive instruction and recruiting advice from a collection of the best fastpitch instructors nationwide.  Instruction will be by our National Staff which includes:
 

• Marty Tyson: CA Corona Angels / Hitting and Defense
• Dena Tyson: University of Washington/ Defense
• Lincoln Martin: Florida Gators and Top Tier Sports/ Hitting
• Kris Ganeff: Associate Head Coach Notre Dame/ Catching
• Austin Cauley: Top Tier Sports/ Hitting, Outfield Defense
• Roni Sparrey: Cal Poly/Saint Mary’s- Outfield Defense/Clinic Coordinator
• Emily Friedman: Cal Berkeley/ Speed and Agility
• Julie Marshall: UCLA/ Catching
• Nancy Evans: University of Arizona/ Pitching
• Jayme O’Bryant: Michigan State, Alabama/ Infield and Outfield
• Sarah Nevins: University of South Florida/ Team USA- Pitching
• Madison Shipman: University of Tennessee
• Toni Mascarenas: OC Batbusters and Univ. of Arizona

For additional information and to register online please go to TeamNJRockSkills Camp.