We're in the heavy part of the fall club showcase schedule, and after weighing several factors--including summer performances, the return of key players, and the addition of talented new ones--we continue our "preseason rankings" with a look at the top 18U club teams.

Each day this week, we'll unveil 10 teams and conclude on Friday, October 14 with teams ranked 10-1. On Saturday, we'll list the Next In teams,those who are best poised to jump into the next updated FAB 50 with strong fall, winter, and spring play.

If we've missed anything or you would like to provide input on your favorite teams and players, send your info/insights to: Brentt.Eads@FloSports.TV.

Click here to see previous rankings: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21

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RANK	TEAM	BIO
20	TN Fury Premier	The Fury team is combining its 18U Premier team with the successful 16U team, which finished 13th at PGF Nationals, won the Scenic City Showcase and had a record of 38-5. The 18U had a 1.45 ERA and great team speed with 120 steals in 43 games. Fury is all 2017s and '18s and all 15 players have committed to D1 schools. The Fury 97 18U team finished 7th at PGF Nationals in 2015 and coaches close to the program think this team could be better. Key among the returning players are 6-foot-1 2018 P Ashley Rogers (Tennessee), 2018 C Kaili Crawley (Tennessee), 2017 OF Delaney Smith (Memphis), 2017 SS Caitlin Turner and 2017 P Brooke Parrott (Lipscomb).
19	Georgia Impact - Lewis	Patrick Lewis's team went 58-9 last year and has a ton of talent--out of 17 players, there are 15 SEC commits and one player going to the Big Ten and another to the ACC. However, the coach admits, "We were young and it showed in crucial moments." With a year of experience under their belts, the players should be more big-game ready. There's certainly no doubt the Impact team can compete with the elite teams--last year the Georgia team had wins over three Top 20 teams in the FAB 50 18U rankings. Hannah Adams (Florida) and Ashley Morgan (Tennessee) return from injuries and the players added to the roster are a Who's Who of Hot 100 players: 2019 C Julia Cottrill (Florida), 2017 P Ava Tillmann (Ole Miss), 2017 1B Kyra Lockhart (Alabama), 2018 2B/OF Kloyee Anderson (Alabama) and 2018 OF Savannah Stewart (LSU).
18	NW Bullets Gold	The Bullets may be the top program in the country that people aren't really aware of. That's quickly changing. Tony Campo's team won the TC/USA Nationals in 2015 and finished the last two years 13th at PGF Nationals. What makes this team dangerous is its pitching. The top two are 2017 grad Pat Moore (DePaul) and 2018 Morgan Hornback (Oregon), who have very different approaches. Moore has excellent spins, where Hornback throws a strong drop, change and rise. Morgan is one of four Oregon commits. The others are 2018 IF Maggie Buckholz, 2019 3B Ariel Carlson and 2018 IF Hannah Galey. In addition, there are four Oregon State commits: 2018 C Abby Fischer, 2019 SS Grace Gaither, 2018 CF Ashton Phillips and 2017 IF Paityn Willoughby. It may take the team a bit longer to gel with five new 2019s. Regardless, they all are talented, especially pitcher Brooke Nelson (Washington).
17	Lady Lightning Gold Corn	John Corn has had success over the last few years, leading his team to Top 15 finishes at PGF Nationals (13th in 2016), and he saw his North Carolina team finish 3rd at TC/USA Nationals this summer. After losing nine players to graduation, Corn has used the LLG development system of younger teams to reload with speed, power and defense. Several Hot 100 players--2019 UT C.J. Wright (North Carolina State), 2018 SS/3B Kelli Wagner (North Carolina State) and 2020 SS/OF Melody Coombs (Syracuse) will spark the offense and the pitching staff will be solid returning 2018 Sydney Nester (North Carolina State) and 2017 Whitney Sanford (East Carolina) with strong backstops in 2017 Anna Epling (East Carolina) and 2017 Ashley Jennings (Virginia).
16	Explosion Denio/Wilson	Coaches Bret Denio and Jim Wilson continue to find top talent all over the West Coast; it doesn't hurt that they perennially play deep into the week at PGF Nationals. This summer the Explosion finished 17th at both PGF and Boulder IDT. In addition, the Explosion-Greg won the 16U title at PGF Ultimate Challenge. The 18U team has great team speed and overall balance on offense, as well as a formidable defense with three diverse pitchers to keep opponents guessing. Key returners include 2017 SS Alyssa Martinez (Ole Miss), a Hot 100 honoree and one of the best infielders in the senior class, 2018 3B Brittany Allen (Florida), another Hot 100 pick and dangerous power hitter and 2017 OF Carmina Nicolas (Stanford), one of the fastest players in the country with true 2.6 speed. Newcomers to watch (and there are a lot of them) include the trio of pitchers: seniors Konner Dahlberg (San Diego State) and Yesenia Morrison (Grand Canyon) along with 2018 grad Jessica Ross (Ohio State). Two other senior Hot 100's of note include C Summer Hargett (Northwestern) and SS/UT Ashleigh Inae (East Carolina). And keep an eye on 2019 1B Candace Yingling (Cal), too.
15	Jersey Intensity KOD	The Intensity had Top 10 finishes at several top events over the summer including the DeMarini Invitational (3rd), Team NJ (5th) and Louisville Slugger Independence Day Tournament (9th) along with a 25th place finish at PGF Nationals. Kevin O'Donnell's team has one of the top outfields in the country with senior returners Julie Rodriguez (UCLA), who O'Donnell says is "the best hitter the organization has had," Amanda Ayala (Tennessee) and Gianna Randazzo (Boston College). The infield is anchored by 2018 SS Kate Cressey (Stanford) and 2017 2B Brook Langston (Tennessee). The deep pitching staff is anchored by senior Kelsey Oh (South Carolina), who is considered one of the top hurlers in the country.
14	DeMarini Aces	Ryan Taylor has built the Aces into one of the top programs in the middle of the country. They've expanded to the 16U and 14U divisions allowing his 18U team to draw from within more outstanding Power 5 talent. Last summer the Aces finished 9th at PGF Nationals and finished 84-20 thanks to a potent offense that averaged .310 at the plate with more than 40 home runs. En route to a top 10 finish at Nationals, the Aces knocked off three teams that finished in the top 10. The senior class is loaded with five Hot 100 players: P/1B Olivia Kinsey (Oregon), P Madison Preston (Alabama), 1B/OF Callie Martin (Missouri), C/MIF Nicole Duncan (Arkansas) and MIF Kendyll Bailey (Missouri). Newcomers to watch include 2018 C Kasey Shell (Baylor) and 2019 OF Lou Gilbert (uncommitted).
13	Texas Glory	The Glory had a strong summer with a 13th place finish at PGF Nationals and Top 5 finishes at three other big tournaments: USSSA World Fastpitch Championships (2nd), DeMarini Invitational (3rd) and Colorado Fireworks/Sparklers (5th). Kevin Shelton's 18U team lost Louisville Slugger Hit Club star Shannon Rhodes (Oregon) and four other D1 standouts, but returns with a strong core of seniors including lefty pitcher Maddie MacGrandle (Texas A&M), who was the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, OF Taryn Antoine (LSU), OF Brittany Jackson (Kansas), IF Camryn Woodall (Utah), IF/C Abby Smith (Texas A&M) and IF/OF Aralee Bogar (Iowa). Added to that strong half dozen returners are standout 2018 infielders Audrie LaValley (Oklahoma) and Mady Lohman (Oklahoma State).
12	East Cobb Bullets - Schnute	Greg Schnute's team finished the summer on a high note, placing 3rd at the Boulder IDT and then winning the championship at the USA Softball JO Cup in the team's backyard of Atlanta. The team lost several standouts with the graduation of C Bailey Hemphill (Alabama), IF Nicky Dawson (LSU) and P Kirsten McMonigle (Georgia State), but returns the core of the team including Hot 100 players in 2017 P Skylar Hayward (Ohio State), 2017 IF Kiara Kennedy (Purdue), 2017 SS Sydney Pennington (Oklahoma State), 2017 3B/C Trenity Edwards (Missouri) and 2019 P Lexi Kilfoyl. Along with this strong group, the Bullets adds some outstanding newcombers in 2019 IF Odalys Cordova (Florida), 2019 C Chloe Culp (Florida State), 2017 IF Kara Decker (Missouri), 2018 P/IF Kassidy Krupit (Delaware), 2019 IF/OF Briona Rance and 2019 P Callie Turner (Tennessee).
11	So Cal Choppers	Dean Fausett and his father Gary do as good of a job as any coaches in the club space at developing talent and maximizing what they have. Their younger teams in the Choppers organization have won National Championships and they've developed a great pipeline of young players moving up to the 18U team. The Choppers 18U squad finished 3rd at PGF Nationals, and return with the pitchers that helped get them there--2017 grad Brooke Yanez (UC Davis) and 2018 Shea O'Leary (Texas). The entire softball world is rooting for the return of 2017 Taylor Dockins (Cal State Fullerton), who was diagnosed with liver cancer in Colorado this summer, but is on happily on track to return to action later this fall. The Choppers lost a lot of talent in the field with the graduations of players like Louisville Slugger Hit Club infielders Jessica Harper (Arizona) and Amanda Doyle (LSU) along with other Hot 100 players such as IF/OF Cayla Kessinger (Missouri) and OF Jacqui Prober (UCLA). However, there are great players returning, including one of the top catchers in the nation--Ally Shipman (2018, Tennessee)--along with other standouts like C/UT Makena Smith (Cal), 2018 OF Makenna Harper (Arizona State), 1B Emily Tinkham (Ohio State) and 3B/SS Sophie Medelin (Stanford).