After National Signing Day, the softball recruiting news marches on as 2018s, 2019s, 2020s, 2021s verbal over the past few weeks.

Under the Radar

I bet you didn't know that 2020 Shannyn Bustamante carries the lowest ERA on Athletics Mercado/Smith. The 5-foot-2 pitcher also leads the team in strikeouts with a rise ball that gets hitters to chase and off-speed pitches that buckle batters at the knees. An Athletics Mercado/Smith coach said, "At PGF she got zero credit for what she did. Shannyn is crazy good and a KEY pitcher for us."



Behind her quiet, humble demeanor lies a beast on the mound who is proving herself against 18U and 16U teams as a freshman. All summer and fall, Athletics Mercado/Smith have been cleaning house. It won't be long before someone takes notice.

Fresh Commits

2018s
Grace French, a second baseman/pitcher for AASA-Macias, recently committed to Bradley. Grace narrowed her list to 25 universities who had significant interest in her (including all eight Ivy Schools, Lehigh, UC Davis, Colgate, St. Mary's, Colgate, and several other DII schools). The irony is that Bradley was not on French's initial list. However, French was thrilled when she learned of Bradley's interest through her club coach, All American Sports Academy 18 Gold's Brandi Macias, this past spring.

2019s
Mary Beth Feldman verbally committed to Utah a few weeks ago. She is a 2019 pitcher playing for the Florida Impact (a part of the Georgia Impact organization). She had offers at USF, FSU and Memphis, but fell in love with Utah when she visited the university, especially the coaches, the city, and the campus.

Ohio Lasers Green 2019 second baseman Tegan Cortelliti verbaled to Indiana. She had a number of other Big Ten offers but decided Indiana was home.

KC Gold's pitcher Alana Vawter committed to Texas. KC Gold 16U is vying for a spot in the FAB 50 16U rankings.

2020s
Batbusters-Cambell star 2020 outfielder Emily Cazares verbaled to Tennessee. The No. 62 prospect in the 2020 class recapped her visit and decision.

Both of the coaches made me feel very comfortable like I was at home. They felt like my second parents to be honest. They told me after the camp that I didn't have to rush my decision and to take all the time I needed. But after my visit, I knew I wanted to go there and become a Volunteer. One month later on October 24, I called them to tell them that I wanted to be a Vol and win a national championship. My heart was racing, and my face was red when those words came out. It was the best feeling ever. This journey wouldn't had happened without the support of my parents. They helped me with all my ups and downs with this game, and I couldn't thank them enough for that.

2021s
Athletics Mercado/Smith's outfielder Quincee Lilio verbaled to Oklahoma this past week. She's a slapper with power and an absolute stud.

Hot 100 Contenders

The second installment of the 2019 Hot 100 rankings are set to be released in January 2017. There have been a number of coaches who have been nominating players from all over the country.

California
2019 Kayla Edwards is an outfielder committed to West Point. She brings tremendous power at the plate and range in the outfield.

Florida
Raechel Cutcher, a pitcher for Gainseville Gold, played with the Gold Coast Hurricanes Neveling this summer at 16U ASA Nationals, leading them to 17th in the nation. Her two losses came from third- and fifth-place finishers at ASA Nationals.



Ohio
Tegan Cortelletti is the complete package. She is the unquestioned leader on Ohio Lasers Green. She was voted a team captain in back-to-back years and helped lead the team to championships at the prestigious Ohio Stingrays, Atlanta Legacy, and 14U ASA/USA Nationals in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Cortelletti has legit speed, running 2.6 seconds from home to first base. Her personal best is 2.47 at the Indiana camp in August. She also ran a home-to-home time of 11.20.

"As I've stated to you before, she is the best all-around player I have ever had the privilege to coach over the past 20 years!" Ohio Lasers Green coach Lee Pyles said. "I would also like to go on record and say, for the first time ever as for one of my players is concerned, she is a future All-American candidate! Bottom line, she is a top 10 player in the 2019 class!"

Last year at 14U, Cortelletti went 154 for 257 for a .599 batting average and was 51 of 57 on stolen-base attempts. Through 15 games at 16/18U level this fall, she is 27 for 42 for a .643 batting average and 10 of 10 on stolen bases. Defensively, she is the starting second baseman but can play short or outfield.

Illinois
Delaney Bowen is a slick-fielding middle infielder with extensive competitive experience. A Purdue verbal commitment, Bowen was the starting shortstop for the Chill 16U as an eighth-grader back in 2015. Now for the first time since she joined the program, she is getting to play with a roster full of kids in her graduating class.

Coach's Spotlight

In Brandi Macias' first season coaching at the AASA 18 gold level, six players of her players have committed in the past three months to Bradley, Stanford, Dayton, UCSD, SDSU, and Long Island Post.

It is likely that two more players will commit in the next few weeks. Macias previously coached at the 16U level for AASA from 2014-16. She worked in law enforcement but decided to return to coaching softball only two years ago. She played four years at Iowa and then coached at Purdue.

As a player, Macias led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten championship ring in her senior year (a perfect 22-0 season) and three straight trips to the Women's College World Series. Macias was an All-American and a member of the NCAA first team All-Region and first team All-Big Ten. In 1997, Brandi became the all-time home run leader at Iowa. She also tied a Women's College World Series record for most hits in a game with five against conference rival Michigan.