Hot 100 2017’s… #40-31
Hot 100 2017’s… #40-31
Today, we continue our look at the top 100 players in the 2017 class… we’re spotlighting 10 each day as we count down from 100 to No. 1. These players were
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Today, we continue our look at the top 100 players in the 2017 class… we’re spotlighting 10 each day as we count down from 100 to No. 1.
These players were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches who’ve seen them play all across the nation.
Criteria for choosing and ranking the players including performances at the club and high school levels and projecting how they will play at the collegiate level.
Today we feature players No. 40 to 31 with standout players from Alabama (2), California (3), Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Pictured: Ivy Davis from Southern California who can pitch, but is most likely a middle infielder in the Pac-12 in a few years.
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40—Savanna Bonola SS/3B… Texas Blaze – Bonola (Texas-Arlington)
Savanna has incredibly quick feet, a strong arm and dependable glove, but what makes her one of the most dynamic players in the country is her ability to come through in the clutch. She possesses a rare ability to draw walks, slap and hit for power and is very disciplined at the plate, often making pitchers throw five or six pitches to get bases on balls. Savanna can soft and power slap and has the power to not only double in the gaps but also clear the fence. On defense she has an outstanding first step and can throw out the fastest runners on balls hit to her right and left. She was injured her sophomore year, but combining her freshman and junior seasons she’s hit .408 with a .547 on-base percentage and in steals is 33-for-34. She had SEC interest but the Texan choose to stay close to home and play at UTA.
39—Holly Azevedo P/IF… Sorcerer Gold (UCLA)
Holly is the ace of the Sorcerer Gold team and as a junior is already a veteran of three successful years at 18U play where she’s demonstrated her prowess against the best hitters in the game. Her ability to move the ball and change speeds frustrates batters and her high school career numbers are outstanding: a 61-6 record with 637 K’s and 43 shutouts. Holly was a FloSoftball 2nd Team All-American last season and this year has been chosen to the USA Today All-USA Preseason Team and the MaxPreps Preseason All-American Team. The NorCal star also has a .503 batting average and .605 on-base percentage. Holly was discovered by UCLA coaches when they were scouting other players and discovered her; she committed in December of 2014.
38—Gabby Teran MIF… Georgia Impact (Syracuse)
Gabby is a triple threat at the plate combining speed and power while batting for a high average. She presents a conundrum where, if you play back too far because of her legitimate power, she’ll drop a bunt and reach base. Gabby has been with the Impact for three years and one coach in the organization says, “We had played her for a few years when we were a younger team and could not get this kid out.” Defensively she has strong glove skills, range and a great arm. Gabby made a splash immediately in high school, leading her team in home runs and to a 4A Region Championship in 2014 when she also was honored as a 2nd Team All-State pick. She committed to Syracuse in July of last year.
37—Sydney Pennington SS/UT… Tulsa Elite (Oklahoma State)
Sydney is a phenomenal athlete and comes from a great family of athletes: her father Brett played baseball at the Univ. of Oklahoma and her aunt played softball for the Sooners as well. Sydney’s mom also played college basketball so it’s not hard to see why she’s one of the best all-around athletes in the 2017 class having earned All-State honors in basketball as well. But softball is her future and the 5-foot-10 Oklahoma standout can do everything including pitch. Sydney had a great summer of club play last year, hitting a walk-off grand slam while guesting for the EC Bullets at TC/USA Nationals and then helping Tulsa Elite finish in the Top 10 at PGF 16U Nationals where she tied for the team lead in hits and RBI (six each in seven games) and added a team best two homers. Sydney committed to OSU in August, 2014—right before starting her sophomore year of high school—and also had interest from ACC and SEC schools.
36—Lauren Mathis P… Gold Coast Hurricanes (Georgia)
Lauren has some of the best spins in all of club ball and has potent pitches in her screwball, rise and offspeed drop. She is a strikeout pitcher, keeping opponents off balance and unable to square up and hit the ball solidly. Her screwball is especially deadly—it has a late break and breaks as much as 18 inches at the last minute. This spring Lauren has led her West Orange High team out of Winter Garden, Florida to a No. 3 ranking in the FloSoftball FAB 50 National Rankings as she’s compiled a 23-1 record with a minuscule 0.17 ERA and 246 K’s versus only 31 walks in 125 1/3rd innings. Lauren has had great success on the club side too, playing for her father Wes with the Windermere Wildfire program prior to joining the Wichita Mustangs at the beginning of last year and then switching back to her father’s team late last summer. The Central Florida star was the Class 8 A Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore and will likely repeat the honor. A lifelong Georgia fan, she committed to the Dawgs in January of 2015.
35—Olivia Kinsey P/UT… DeMarini Aces (Oregon)
Olivia continues to grow and progress and it will be interesting to see how high her ceiling is. She was the Kansas City Metro Player of the Year after going 17-3 as a pitcher with a 1.03 ERA and 236 K’s and offensively hitting .429 with six home runs and 28 RBI. She has a riseball that is hard to lay off as it measures in the mid 60’s and when she’s on—which is most of the time—Olivia can be impossible to hit as a “swing and miss” pitcher. Last year at PGF Nationals she had 18 K’s in 12 innings with a 1.61 ERA topped off with a 14 strikeout performance against the strong Beverly Bandits Premier team which won Boulder IDT a few weeks before. Olivia’s bat has also been getting better and better and with 72-mph bat speed, she has all the physical tools and make-up to be a two-way star in the Pac-12. Olivia committed to the Ducks on the Friday after Thanksgiving of 2014.
34—Mariah Mazon P… Corona Angels (Oregon State)
Maria is a hard-throwing pitcher in the mid-60’s who complements her power with a curve, screwball and rise. She has dominated Central California softball for three years now in the circle and at the plate. Mariah benefited from following in the footsteps of older sister, Mayleen, who played collegiately at Sonoma State and to maximize her game, the young sibling plays for the powerful Corona Angels in Southern California, precipitating a five-hour one-way drive for practices. That work ethic has led to steady growth and improvement as shown by her earning All-Tulare County Player of the Year honors last year when the right-hander led her team to a Central Section title by pitching three shutouts in the playoffs and compiling a 0.66 ERA with 219 K’s in 218 innings. At the plate, Mariah hit .467 with 10 home runs and a 1.615 OPS. Mariah committed to Oregon State in August of 2013 over Big 12 and other Pac-12 schools.
33—Kendall Beth Sides OF… Birmingham Thunderbolts (Alabama)
Kendall was an Alabama Class 1A All-State pick as an eighth grader, showing that she’s had the talent to play at a high level from a very early age. “KB” as she’s known has lightning speed and more than one coach calls her the “premier leadoff hitter in the 2017 class. The 5-foot-7 centerfielder has been so invaluable to the Thunderbolts that, as a table-setter, at the top of the line-up, when she is out the runs-per-game for the team actually drops by over a run per game. Kendall has an amazing .800-plus on-base percentage and when she gets on the base paths she can run at will. She presents the ultimate problem of confounding the defense in that when they stay back she can lay down the bunt but when they creep in she can drive a triple to the gap. Kendall committed to the Tide in the Summer of 2014.
32—Ivy Davis SS… Firecrackers – Rico (Arizona)
Ivy is a great athlete who had all the physical tools early on but has slowly and steadily added all the tools to her arsenal of weapons. She’s calmed her game down and allows her to make good decisions and process what she needs to do as the game speeds up. Ivy is unique in that hits from both sides, she has 2.6-2.7 speed to slap but has 250-foot home run power from the right side (which she’s done in major tournaments like the Colorado Fireworks). Her softball IQ is advanced as well as she grew up in a baseball family and her older brother plays collegiately. Her father, Eric, also coached her on the fields from 6U through 14U. Defensively, Ivy has the body of a shortstop but has been playing primarily second base recently. A student of the martial art Muay Thai, she can even pitch and this year threw a perfect game and beat the No. 1 team in the country, Los Alamitos (California). Ivy committed to the Wildcats as a freshman over offers from several Pac-12 and SEC schools.
31—O’Neil Roberson IF… Birmingham Thunderbolts (Mississippi State)
O’Neil is one of the best pure hitters in the 2017 class. She has an abundance of power and hits for a high average as well. She tends to elevate her game too—the better the pitching, the better she hits. O’Neil led the Bolts team in home runs and was second in RBI last year at PGF 16U Nationals as the squad, led by her father Jay, finished tied for 3rd. The Alabama junior is also tearing it up at the high school level this spring too, ranking 1st in the state in slugging percentage (1.087) and second in home runs (17) while batting .505 and driving in 55 runs in her first 35 games. One scout said, “O’Neil would be in the hitting line-up right now for most colleges.” She committed to MSU in the fall of 2013.
These players were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches who’ve seen them play all across the nation.
Criteria for choosing and ranking the players including performances at the club and high school levels and projecting how they will play at the collegiate level.
Today we feature players No. 40 to 31 with standout players from Alabama (2), California (3), Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Pictured: Ivy Davis from Southern California who can pitch, but is most likely a middle infielder in the Pac-12 in a few years.
***
40—Savanna Bonola SS/3B… Texas Blaze – Bonola (Texas-Arlington)Savanna has incredibly quick feet, a strong arm and dependable glove, but what makes her one of the most dynamic players in the country is her ability to come through in the clutch. She possesses a rare ability to draw walks, slap and hit for power and is very disciplined at the plate, often making pitchers throw five or six pitches to get bases on balls. Savanna can soft and power slap and has the power to not only double in the gaps but also clear the fence. On defense she has an outstanding first step and can throw out the fastest runners on balls hit to her right and left. She was injured her sophomore year, but combining her freshman and junior seasons she’s hit .408 with a .547 on-base percentage and in steals is 33-for-34. She had SEC interest but the Texan choose to stay close to home and play at UTA.
39—Holly Azevedo P/IF… Sorcerer Gold (UCLA)Holly is the ace of the Sorcerer Gold team and as a junior is already a veteran of three successful years at 18U play where she’s demonstrated her prowess against the best hitters in the game. Her ability to move the ball and change speeds frustrates batters and her high school career numbers are outstanding: a 61-6 record with 637 K’s and 43 shutouts. Holly was a FloSoftball 2nd Team All-American last season and this year has been chosen to the USA Today All-USA Preseason Team and the MaxPreps Preseason All-American Team. The NorCal star also has a .503 batting average and .605 on-base percentage. Holly was discovered by UCLA coaches when they were scouting other players and discovered her; she committed in December of 2014.
38—Gabby Teran MIF… Georgia Impact (Syracuse)Gabby is a triple threat at the plate combining speed and power while batting for a high average. She presents a conundrum where, if you play back too far because of her legitimate power, she’ll drop a bunt and reach base. Gabby has been with the Impact for three years and one coach in the organization says, “We had played her for a few years when we were a younger team and could not get this kid out.” Defensively she has strong glove skills, range and a great arm. Gabby made a splash immediately in high school, leading her team in home runs and to a 4A Region Championship in 2014 when she also was honored as a 2nd Team All-State pick. She committed to Syracuse in July of last year.
37—Sydney Pennington SS/UT… Tulsa Elite (Oklahoma State)Sydney is a phenomenal athlete and comes from a great family of athletes: her father Brett played baseball at the Univ. of Oklahoma and her aunt played softball for the Sooners as well. Sydney’s mom also played college basketball so it’s not hard to see why she’s one of the best all-around athletes in the 2017 class having earned All-State honors in basketball as well. But softball is her future and the 5-foot-10 Oklahoma standout can do everything including pitch. Sydney had a great summer of club play last year, hitting a walk-off grand slam while guesting for the EC Bullets at TC/USA Nationals and then helping Tulsa Elite finish in the Top 10 at PGF 16U Nationals where she tied for the team lead in hits and RBI (six each in seven games) and added a team best two homers. Sydney committed to OSU in August, 2014—right before starting her sophomore year of high school—and also had interest from ACC and SEC schools.
36—Lauren Mathis P… Gold Coast Hurricanes (Georgia)Lauren has some of the best spins in all of club ball and has potent pitches in her screwball, rise and offspeed drop. She is a strikeout pitcher, keeping opponents off balance and unable to square up and hit the ball solidly. Her screwball is especially deadly—it has a late break and breaks as much as 18 inches at the last minute. This spring Lauren has led her West Orange High team out of Winter Garden, Florida to a No. 3 ranking in the FloSoftball FAB 50 National Rankings as she’s compiled a 23-1 record with a minuscule 0.17 ERA and 246 K’s versus only 31 walks in 125 1/3rd innings. Lauren has had great success on the club side too, playing for her father Wes with the Windermere Wildfire program prior to joining the Wichita Mustangs at the beginning of last year and then switching back to her father’s team late last summer. The Central Florida star was the Class 8 A Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore and will likely repeat the honor. A lifelong Georgia fan, she committed to the Dawgs in January of 2015.
35—Olivia Kinsey P/UT… DeMarini Aces (Oregon)Olivia continues to grow and progress and it will be interesting to see how high her ceiling is. She was the Kansas City Metro Player of the Year after going 17-3 as a pitcher with a 1.03 ERA and 236 K’s and offensively hitting .429 with six home runs and 28 RBI. She has a riseball that is hard to lay off as it measures in the mid 60’s and when she’s on—which is most of the time—Olivia can be impossible to hit as a “swing and miss” pitcher. Last year at PGF Nationals she had 18 K’s in 12 innings with a 1.61 ERA topped off with a 14 strikeout performance against the strong Beverly Bandits Premier team which won Boulder IDT a few weeks before. Olivia’s bat has also been getting better and better and with 72-mph bat speed, she has all the physical tools and make-up to be a two-way star in the Pac-12. Olivia committed to the Ducks on the Friday after Thanksgiving of 2014.
34—Mariah Mazon P… Corona Angels (Oregon State)Maria is a hard-throwing pitcher in the mid-60’s who complements her power with a curve, screwball and rise. She has dominated Central California softball for three years now in the circle and at the plate. Mariah benefited from following in the footsteps of older sister, Mayleen, who played collegiately at Sonoma State and to maximize her game, the young sibling plays for the powerful Corona Angels in Southern California, precipitating a five-hour one-way drive for practices. That work ethic has led to steady growth and improvement as shown by her earning All-Tulare County Player of the Year honors last year when the right-hander led her team to a Central Section title by pitching three shutouts in the playoffs and compiling a 0.66 ERA with 219 K’s in 218 innings. At the plate, Mariah hit .467 with 10 home runs and a 1.615 OPS. Mariah committed to Oregon State in August of 2013 over Big 12 and other Pac-12 schools.
33—Kendall Beth Sides OF… Birmingham Thunderbolts (Alabama)Kendall was an Alabama Class 1A All-State pick as an eighth grader, showing that she’s had the talent to play at a high level from a very early age. “KB” as she’s known has lightning speed and more than one coach calls her the “premier leadoff hitter in the 2017 class. The 5-foot-7 centerfielder has been so invaluable to the Thunderbolts that, as a table-setter, at the top of the line-up, when she is out the runs-per-game for the team actually drops by over a run per game. Kendall has an amazing .800-plus on-base percentage and when she gets on the base paths she can run at will. She presents the ultimate problem of confounding the defense in that when they stay back she can lay down the bunt but when they creep in she can drive a triple to the gap. Kendall committed to the Tide in the Summer of 2014.
32—Ivy Davis SS… Firecrackers – Rico (Arizona)Ivy is a great athlete who had all the physical tools early on but has slowly and steadily added all the tools to her arsenal of weapons. She’s calmed her game down and allows her to make good decisions and process what she needs to do as the game speeds up. Ivy is unique in that hits from both sides, she has 2.6-2.7 speed to slap but has 250-foot home run power from the right side (which she’s done in major tournaments like the Colorado Fireworks). Her softball IQ is advanced as well as she grew up in a baseball family and her older brother plays collegiately. Her father, Eric, also coached her on the fields from 6U through 14U. Defensively, Ivy has the body of a shortstop but has been playing primarily second base recently. A student of the martial art Muay Thai, she can even pitch and this year threw a perfect game and beat the No. 1 team in the country, Los Alamitos (California). Ivy committed to the Wildcats as a freshman over offers from several Pac-12 and SEC schools.
31—O’Neil Roberson IF… Birmingham Thunderbolts (Mississippi State)O’Neil is one of the best pure hitters in the 2017 class. She has an abundance of power and hits for a high average as well. She tends to elevate her game too—the better the pitching, the better she hits. O’Neil led the Bolts team in home runs and was second in RBI last year at PGF 16U Nationals as the squad, led by her father Jay, finished tied for 3rd. The Alabama junior is also tearing it up at the high school level this spring too, ranking 1st in the state in slugging percentage (1.087) and second in home runs (17) while batting .505 and driving in 55 runs in her first 35 games. One scout said, “O’Neil would be in the hitting line-up right now for most colleges.” She committed to MSU in the fall of 2013.