Pictured above: Avery Goelz of the Tampa Mustangs - TJ... a top candidate for high in the 2020 FloSoftball Hot 100.

Alright, it's crunch time as we're getting ready to release our FloSoftball Hot 100 list starting next Monday with 10 per day counting backwards from 100 down to the No. 1 player.

We're going to look exclusively at the freshman class today with some player and team highlights as well as a big picture look at how the 2020 class looks overall.

2020 CLASS OVERVIEW

Are softball players, coaches and families into this class? Let's just say we've gotten phone calls as late as 9 pm and as early as 6 am with coaches wanting to tout players and we've plowed through more than a thousand emails to sort through info!

Here's a broad, sweeping look at the class from one perspective:

* This is a VERY deep class, meaning there is outstanding talent--Hot 100 caliber talent- not just in the top 10, but well into the 80-100 range... and beyond.  There will be some outstanding players in the 101-250 range that any other year would have easily made the Hot 100 of any other class.

* Unlike many years, for example in 2015 with Amanda Lorenz (Florida) and in 2018 with Brooke Vestal (Oklahoma commit, led Firecrackers-Rico to the PGF 18U Premier National Championship this summer; ​pictured), there isn't a strong clear consensus No. 1. There are several potential No. 1's and more "franchise" players at the top than any year we can remember.  But ask 10 different people who's No. 1 (and we have) and you'll get 5-6 different answers.

* Not as deep of a year for pitching at the top--although there are some excellent ones--the position that looks very strong: middle infield, especially at shortstop. Some great outfielders too.

* Geographically, California is strong as usual, with Texas and Georgia right there as well.

* College-wise, this class gets "A's." As in Arizona and Auburn already have some elite prospects. Oklahoma and Washington looking good early on too.

* This fall will be big for commitments, the general opinion is several dozen of the players in the 2020 class will be committing by the end of the year.  One prospect will likely be committing as early as this weekend (see below).

OK, now let's look at some news and notes around the country pertaining to the freshmen…

TEXAS TERRIFIC TRIO

*** Great story from a top 2019 pitcher in Texas who is committed already.  She plays against elite competition and has faced three of the best 2020 players in the country who happen to be from the Lone Star State: 3B Trinity Cannon with Firecrackers DFW; SS Camryn Wincher of Stingers Gold (Houston) and SS Jayda Coleman (Texas Glory-Naudin). ​

Pictured: Camryn Wincher

Her father asked her which of the trio she hated most to face and her answer was classic.

"She said, 'Camryn,' so I asked why.  

"'Because, Dad, with Camryn you never know what she going to do.  She may hit a home run, she may hit it in a gap, or she may bunt it and everywhere I throw the ball she puts her bat on it.'"

"'With Trinity I know she is looking to hit it over the fence and with Jayda I know she wants to use her speed, but with Camryn I just never know.'"

A great compliment to all three standouts as Tinity is one of the top power hitters in the nation, Jayda is a speedster who does everything well and Camryn is a rising star who is one of the best athletes in the class.

Some great stuff coming out of Texas…

2020 PLAYERS ON THE RISE

We know the big-name teams like the Batbusters, So Cal Choppers, Beverly Bandits, Birmingham Thunderbolts, etc. will have their share of elite players, but there are a lot of talent on teams that are up-and-coming and should be national players soon.

Here are some players that may not have been big names yet but are getting more and more attention…

*** Last year the PA Chaos had the player with the most explosive rise to become an elite prospect in pitcher Maggie Balint, a 2016 grad now at Oregon who wasn't even in the first version of the Hot 100 and in the second one was top 5.

Joe Spina's team has another standout hurler who will--and is--getting a ton of attention… she's Maddie Penta from Chesapeake City, Maryland ​(pictured).

The East Coast pitcher is only 13 as she moved up a grade when younger, yet is already throwing 62-64 mph and was so good so young, that this summer she pitched on the Gold team behind Balint, moving up to the team midseason and finished with 50 innings pitched, an ERA of 1.71 and 57 K's compared to 12 walks.  

This was accumulated at The IDT Louisville Slugger. Boulder, Triple Crown Nationals in NY and PGF Nationals U-18 Premier in CA versus many of the best teams in the country.  

According to Coach Spina, "In just a month of playing up Maddie has the following list of schools interested in her: Maryland, Kentucky, Penn State, Florida State, James Madison, UConn, Texas A&M, Oregon, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Georgia, Duke, Michigan, St. Joseph's, Pitt, Delaware, Bucknell, Villanova, Lehigh, Hofstra and Syracuse."

A survey of college scouts reveals Maddie is highly coveted because of her great accuracy and a devastating change up. Some even believe she may be the best 2020 pitcher in the country.  High praise indeed and she's only 13! She will definitely be a fun one to watch.

*** The Firecrackers Georgia team coached by Kyle Sewell has several players of note in the freshmen class. Says one scout:

"Taylor Middlebrook, a 3rd/SS, had 15 HR last spring and hit over .400 with 85 RBI. Taylor is SEC Div. 1 ready right now, and is only a freshman.  Taylor is being compared to a Bianca Bell from several coaches.  Taylor is a top player in the nation from what the coaches are saying.  Taylor is being heavily recruited by schools like LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Appalachian State, and a long list of mid-major schools.   Taylor will be going on visits this fall to LSU, Miss. St, Arkansas and Syracuse." ​Pictured, right.

"Leslie Cochran, a C/IF, had 12 HR last year with the Atlanta Vipers-Holbrook team.  Leslie is a pure athlete that can do it all.  Coaches are raving about her athletic ability and how big of a bat she has.  Leslie is being recruited by South Carolina, Arkansas, Syracuse and has an offer coming from Georgia State.  Leslie is on the radar of other top SEC schools too.  Shee will be taking visits to Syracuse and Arkansas this fall."

"Britton Rogers is a 5-foot-8 pitcher who comes from comes to Firecrackers-Sewell from the Florida Storm which she helped become a strong team in Florida. Britton had visits set up with Georgia, LSU, Arkansas, and Baylor this fall.  Britton is the prototype for a power conference Pitcher. Britton hits speeds up to 64mph. Some think she is the the premier RHP in the Southwest. Britton is the daughter of Southern Miss great Courtney Blades Rogers."

--- Up in Ohio, the Ohio Lasers Green 2019/2020 team had a strong summer at the 14U level going 60-6 over eight tournaments with a 25-2 record in July. The Lasers Green team won the Ohio Stingrays Showcase (8-1) and also shined at the Atlanta Legacy Showcase (8-1) and ASA/USA 14U Nationals (9-0).

The team has a half dozen players being recruited--one is a 2019 named Tegan Cortelleti, a 2B/CF--who Coach Lee Pyles says, "is the unquestioned leader of our team."  He says of Tegan:

"I've been coaching at this level for 15 years and I have never seen a lefty leadoff dominate games like she does. With the exception of a dominant hurler in the circle, she is next in line to change a game. Her only weakness is her size at 5-foot-4 and 110 lbs. Since has gone to the Kentucky camp four straight years and she also has high interest from multiple Power5 schools."

"This summer she has been timed at 2.6 at both the Kentucky and Indiana camps. One Big Ten school has told me they're going to offer and she also has an unofficial to UNC in early October."

As for his 2020's, Coach Pyles says:

"Allison Smith is a power pitcher who happens to spin the ball extremely well. She throws an assortment of pitches such as the rise, screw, curve and drop curve. She has offers from Indiana and Ohio State, with a host of ACC and SEC schools interested in her."

"Pitcher Harlie Vannatter is a true warrior in the circle, who tops out at 60 mph and has incredible spin and control of her pitches. At the Atlanta Legacy Harlie went 4-0, throwing 18 innings, giving up seven hits with 25 K's for a 0.00 ERA. One SEC coach who has watched us multiple times at three different tournaments asked, 'What is it that no one can seem to make solid contact on her?' She has Interest from Indiana, Ohio State, Bowling Green and Akron."

"Hailey Niederkohr ​(​pictured, above right) is a lefty centerfielder and second baseman who is an amazing athlete. Defensively she has a very strong arm, but what separates here from most other outfielders is her quick jumps, great range and ability to lay out in multiple ways that most college players can't. At Nat's she robbed two home runs by going up over the fence and going over. Offensively she is a pure lefy high average gap-to-gap hitter and is ultra-aggressive on the bases. She has high interest and went on unofficials to several MAC schools and is going on another unofficial in October to a great ACC school. Things are just starting to take off for her."

CLUB CHANGES

*** FloSoftball has been told that David Mercado's team which won the PGF 14U Premier Nationals, the So Cal A's -- Mercado/Smith team, will no longer be associated with the So Cal A's organization.  Instead it will run on its own and be called Athletics-Mercado.

This is the team that has the No. 1 player in the 2019 Hot 100, catcher Kinzie Hansen (Oklahoma commit), as well as outstanding pitcher Lexi Sosa (UCLA, ​pictured to the right), who in many peoples' minds was the MVP of the PGF Nationals 14U tourney and several other standouts including top 2020's like outfielder Jasmine Perezchica (Arizona) and MIF Destiny Noury (Oklahoma) among others.

*** Jeff Blanco, father of Michigan star P/1B Terra Blanco, has had success with several teams in the Firecrackers organization previously and is moving out on his own.

His new program will be call The Monarchs and is based in the Huntington Beach, California area.  We hear it was an amicable parting with the Firecrackers organization.

*** Speaking of the Firecrackers, some more changes with teams in Southern California:

--- An up-and-coming team last year was the Firecrackers HB (for Huntington Beach) Ryono 14U but it disbanded after PGF.

Two talented players from that team have now moved to Firecrackers Roth/Brashear 16U: 6-foot 1B Bryn Boznanski and OF Malia Cockrell.  Speaking of which…

*** The Firecrackers-Young team, which tied for 17th at PGF Nationals (knocked into the loser's bracket by the eventual champion So Cal A's-Mercado team), will now be the Firecrackers -- Roth team coached by Melissa Roth.

The change happened for a very good reason:  Coach Robert Young has moved from So Cal to the East Coast to help his daughter, Marissa Young, coach at Duke! He'll be one of her assistants and is living the dream, coaching at a major college with his daughter!

Talk about a team that is loaded with talent: it includes three Hot 100 candidate in MIF Savannah Price (Missouri), 3B Thessa Malauulu and OF Keahilele Mattison.
 

FROM RODEO TO GRAND CANYON

*** Finally, Jacie Hambrick, a 5-foot-8 pitcher/corner infielder who is a freshman at Bradshaw Mountain High in Prescott Valley, Arizona committed to Grand Canyon University in July so she can play close to home, but it didn't always look like she'd be a college softball player.

As a small child, Jacie wanted to be a competitor in the world of rodeo. She competed in barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping and goat tying.

But after watching her cousin play softball for AZ Desert Thunder-Fowler and then play at a college level, Jacie knew then she wanted to become a softball player.

She stating pitching at 10 years old and hasn't looked back. Along with pitching, she became a versatile player on the field. She has excelled as a 1st and 3rd baseman as well as an outfielder.

Jacie played at the 2015 and 2016 Independence Day Tournament (Colorado) at 16U when she was a 14U qualified player. She has also excelled on the field but in the classroom as well: Jacie was the Vice President of National Junior Honors Society for her school and chosen Student of the Year for the 2015-2016 school year.