Hot 100 2018s: Players 30-21
Hot 100 2018s: Players 30-21
FloSoftball ranks the class of 2018 in the latest Hot 100 players 21 to 30
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We continue our look at the updated Hot 100 as enter Week 2 and rank the top players in the 2018 class… we're spotlighting 10 each day as we count down from 100 to No. 1.
We'll announce the Top 10 of the class this Friday, December 23, then profile the No. 1 player on Saturday, December 24 and on December 26--the day after Christmas--we will reveal the "Next In (101-200)."
Finally, on Tuesday, December 27, FloSoftball will unveil our Top College Rankings for the '18 class.
Since we first released the 2018 Hot 100, there has been a lot of changes as players have emerged as nationally prominent recruits. In fact, 43 of the players in this second version are new!
These junior standouts were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches who've seen them play 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. 30 to 21 with standouts from California (5), Florida, Georgia (2), Illinois and Virginia.
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Sullivan has been a force in the San Diego area for several years and first blew up as one of the top prospects in the country in the '18 class at the PGF 14U Nationals in 2014 when she hit .545 with 11 RBI in seven games including a walk-off home run in the semi-finals to help her Batbuster team tie for 3rd place. Her stick is what led her to being the first Bruin commit in her class when she verbally committed in November of 2014. Sullivan hits for average and power and can go deep to all fields. On defense, she has been a long-time catcher but could also be an excellent first baseman in the PAC 12. At both positions she is a leader and communicator, talking a lot and keeping everyone on defense in tune.
Nester is a 5-foot-10 right-handed pitcher who was the Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2016 after leading her team to the 4-A state championship and going 19-0 in the circle with a 0.82 ERA and recording 222 strikeouts while only giving up 24 walks. She also hit .455 and had 15 RBI for the state champs. Nester is a warrior in the circle with a top speed of 65 mph and she can also pull the string on a baffling change-up while having excellent control and location also on a curve, screw and rise ball. She also shined this year at the club level pitching wins for the Lightning against several of the elite teams at the 18U level. The Virginia junior committed to the Wolfpack in June of 2015.
Tidd moved up to Bruce Richardson's 18U Gold team this year and looks to continue her national club success that has including a great run with the Athletics-TO team over the last five years that has included a PGF Championship in 2013, a 5th place PGF Nationals finish in 2014 and 3rd place in 2015 along with titles at the PGF Shootout and in Colorado. Tidd is throwing harder than ever and has all the pitches including a great change and good riseball. She works the outside part of the plate well and her velocity continues to go up. As a sophomore from San Marcos, California, she went 19-1 this year with a 1.18 ERA and 126 K's in 131 innings and pitched her team to the San Diego CIF Open Division Championship, earning All-State recognition by CalHiSports.com. Payton committed to the Irish in August of 2015.
Williams earned FloSoftball All-American honors in 2016 and was one of only two sophomores to make CalHiSports' 1st Team All-State list. The Pleasanton, California junior was the State Freshman of the Year and followed up with an explosive season that saw her go 14-2 with a 0.53 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 144 innings and eight no-hitters. Danielle also hit .458 and some scouts feel she is as good of an outfielder as she is a pitcher. The NorCal standout comes from a softball family as her parents, Mike and Jennifer, are coaches in the Sorcerer organization and her sister, Krista, started every game in the outfield for Northwestern in 2016. Danielle will be playing this year on the Gold team coached by her mother and expected to be one of the top 18U teams in the country.
Beane is a great all-around athlete who has shined in volleyball and basketball but has the physical tools to be an elite college shortstop. The Jacksonville Beach, Florida junior makes the spectacular plays look routine in the infield and at the plate she can do it all offensively: her speed makes her tough to stop in the short game, but her strength and power forces the defense to stay back on its heels (she hit a grand slam as a freshman). A long-time Gator fan, she impressed at the Florida camps where she ran a 11.1 home-to-home time. Amanda has earned Jacksonville Times All-First Coast honors both years of high school ball. Because of her versatility to play anywhere on the field except pitcher, her ceiling is very high and she's the type who can be plugged in early to fill a hole because of her advanced physical and softball tools.
Cesena, who goes by the nickname "Lari," is a 5-tool player who can do just about anything on the softball field. She has legit 2.7 speed ideal for her slapping skills, but has the size and power to drive the ball out of the yard at any time and to any part of the field. She's the sparkplug that makes Greg Borzilleri's Explosion team go and is a key reason they're ranked preseason as one of the Top 5 16U teams in the FloSoftball FAB 50. Larissa runs track in high school and can play centerfielder as well as shortstop in any system. Says one coach of the SoCal junior, "She's the real deal and is about as dynamic of a player as you will find at her age." She had heavy interest of late and her stock is rising with SEC and Pac-12 caliber programs after her. Look for her to be off the market in the next month or two.
Sikes helped lead her Georgia high school team to its fourth straight regional title and had a monster year herself this fall hitting .471 with 24 RBI to earn Class AAAA Co-Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year honors. She comes from a softball family as two older sisters have played at Georgia and Kennesaw State and Savana became a highly-coveted prospect at a young age when she had 50 colleges following her when she was just 14. She made a national splash when she hit two home runs in one game off current Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill and realized a dream of playing in the SEC when she committed to Auburn in November of 2014. Sikes' strength is her passion and focus on getting better. She drives the ball all over--and out of--the yard and mechanically and technically is solid on offense and defense.
Vines moves to the PGF National Champion Firecrackers after having great success in the Corona Angels' organization. The Murrieta, California junior, who is the younger sister of University of Tennessee starting outfielder Brooke Vines, is a smooth-fielding infielder who has great range and speed to get to balls most infielders can't. At the high school level, Anna hit .515 as a sophomore with a .584 on-base percentage and had 28 steals on 29 attempts. Competitive and a hard worker who is skilled in all areas of the game, Vines has also won National Championships at the 10U (ASA) and 14U (PGF) levels and is athletic enough to play any infield or outfield position. She committed to UCLA in March of 2015.
Greene, also known as "Taco" for her requested reward when younger after doing well in softball games, is following in the path of Matty Moss, the All-SEC Freshman at the Univ. of Tennessee, who would fly out from the South regularly to play for the So Cal A's. Greene is a dynamic, and energetic catcher/infielder who can also play third and shortstop because of her cannon for an arm. She is a tough, durable infielder who can hit for a high average and power and had a great fall, leading her Georgia team to a 34-1 record and the 6A State Championship. Greene was the 6A Player of the Year after hitting .475 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI for the season. She also had two-game winning home runs in the playoffs and in 2015 hit a walk-off homer in the USA Softball JO cup, which her East Cobb Bullets team would go on to win.
Cuchran has had a championship year, going all the way in club and high school. Her Beverly Bandits 16U team won PGF Nationals and Cuchran hit a sac fly in the sixth inning to score what would be the eventual game winning run. In high school, her Lombard, Illinois team won the Class 3A state title as the infielder hit .604 and earned her second All-State honor. She can play either corner infield position well because she has a terrific glove, but her meal ticket is her stick. She hits for average and power--in two varsity seasons she's averaging .586 at the plate and already has 24 home runs. She has a great eye at the plate and won't swing at bad pitches, but instead has the discipline to wait for a pitch to hit or will let a ball go by and draw a walk to help her team.
We'll announce the Top 10 of the class this Friday, December 23, then profile the No. 1 player on Saturday, December 24 and on December 26--the day after Christmas--we will reveal the "Next In (101-200)."
Finally, on Tuesday, December 27, FloSoftball will unveil our Top College Rankings for the '18 class.
Since we first released the 2018 Hot 100, there has been a lot of changes as players have emerged as nationally prominent recruits. In fact, 43 of the players in this second version are new!
These junior standouts were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches who've seen them play 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. 30 to 21 with standouts from California (5), Florida, Georgia (2), Illinois and Virginia.
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30--Colleen Sullivan C/1B… OC Batbusters -- Stith (UCLA)
Sullivan has been a force in the San Diego area for several years and first blew up as one of the top prospects in the country in the '18 class at the PGF 14U Nationals in 2014 when she hit .545 with 11 RBI in seven games including a walk-off home run in the semi-finals to help her Batbuster team tie for 3rd place. Her stick is what led her to being the first Bruin commit in her class when she verbally committed in November of 2014. Sullivan hits for average and power and can go deep to all fields. On defense, she has been a long-time catcher but could also be an excellent first baseman in the PAC 12. At both positions she is a leader and communicator, talking a lot and keeping everyone on defense in tune.29--Sydney Nester P/UT… Lady Lightning Gold (North Carolina State)
Nester is a 5-foot-10 right-handed pitcher who was the Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2016 after leading her team to the 4-A state championship and going 19-0 in the circle with a 0.82 ERA and recording 222 strikeouts while only giving up 24 walks. She also hit .455 and had 15 RBI for the state champs. Nester is a warrior in the circle with a top speed of 65 mph and she can also pull the string on a baffling change-up while having excellent control and location also on a curve, screw and rise ball. She also shined this year at the club level pitching wins for the Lightning against several of the elite teams at the 18U level. The Virginia junior committed to the Wolfpack in June of 2015. 28--Payton Tidd P/1B… So Cal Athletics -- Richardson (Notre Dame)
Tidd moved up to Bruce Richardson's 18U Gold team this year and looks to continue her national club success that has including a great run with the Athletics-TO team over the last five years that has included a PGF Championship in 2013, a 5th place PGF Nationals finish in 2014 and 3rd place in 2015 along with titles at the PGF Shootout and in Colorado. Tidd is throwing harder than ever and has all the pitches including a great change and good riseball. She works the outside part of the plate well and her velocity continues to go up. As a sophomore from San Marcos, California, she went 19-1 this year with a 1.18 ERA and 126 K's in 131 innings and pitched her team to the San Diego CIF Open Division Championship, earning All-State recognition by CalHiSports.com. Payton committed to the Irish in August of 2015.27--Danielle Williams P/UT… Sorcerer Gold (Missouri)
Williams earned FloSoftball All-American honors in 2016 and was one of only two sophomores to make CalHiSports' 1st Team All-State list. The Pleasanton, California junior was the State Freshman of the Year and followed up with an explosive season that saw her go 14-2 with a 0.53 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 144 innings and eight no-hitters. Danielle also hit .458 and some scouts feel she is as good of an outfielder as she is a pitcher. The NorCal standout comes from a softball family as her parents, Mike and Jennifer, are coaches in the Sorcerer organization and her sister, Krista, started every game in the outfield for Northwestern in 2016. Danielle will be playing this year on the Gold team coached by her mother and expected to be one of the top 18U teams in the country.26--Amanda Beane SS… Gold Coast Hurricanes -- Fisher (Florida)
Beane is a great all-around athlete who has shined in volleyball and basketball but has the physical tools to be an elite college shortstop. The Jacksonville Beach, Florida junior makes the spectacular plays look routine in the infield and at the plate she can do it all offensively: her speed makes her tough to stop in the short game, but her strength and power forces the defense to stay back on its heels (she hit a grand slam as a freshman). A long-time Gator fan, she impressed at the Florida camps where she ran a 11.1 home-to-home time. Amanda has earned Jacksonville Times All-First Coast honors both years of high school ball. Because of her versatility to play anywhere on the field except pitcher, her ceiling is very high and she's the type who can be plugged in early to fill a hole because of her advanced physical and softball tools.25--Larissa Cesena OF/IF… Explosion -- Greg (uncommitted)
Cesena, who goes by the nickname "Lari," is a 5-tool player who can do just about anything on the softball field. She has legit 2.7 speed ideal for her slapping skills, but has the size and power to drive the ball out of the yard at any time and to any part of the field. She's the sparkplug that makes Greg Borzilleri's Explosion team go and is a key reason they're ranked preseason as one of the Top 5 16U teams in the FloSoftball FAB 50. Larissa runs track in high school and can play centerfielder as well as shortstop in any system. Says one coach of the SoCal junior, "She's the real deal and is about as dynamic of a player as you will find at her age." She had heavy interest of late and her stock is rising with SEC and Pac-12 caliber programs after her. Look for her to be off the market in the next month or two.24--Savana Sikes IF… Atlanta Vipers -- Vallery (Auburn)
Sikes helped lead her Georgia high school team to its fourth straight regional title and had a monster year herself this fall hitting .471 with 24 RBI to earn Class AAAA Co-Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year honors. She comes from a softball family as two older sisters have played at Georgia and Kennesaw State and Savana became a highly-coveted prospect at a young age when she had 50 colleges following her when she was just 14. She made a national splash when she hit two home runs in one game off current Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill and realized a dream of playing in the SEC when she committed to Auburn in November of 2014. Sikes' strength is her passion and focus on getting better. She drives the ball all over--and out of--the yard and mechanically and technically is solid on offense and defense. 23--Anna Vines IF/OF… Firecrackers -- Rico (UCLA)
Vines moves to the PGF National Champion Firecrackers after having great success in the Corona Angels' organization. The Murrieta, California junior, who is the younger sister of University of Tennessee starting outfielder Brooke Vines, is a smooth-fielding infielder who has great range and speed to get to balls most infielders can't. At the high school level, Anna hit .515 as a sophomore with a .584 on-base percentage and had 28 steals on 29 attempts. Competitive and a hard worker who is skilled in all areas of the game, Vines has also won National Championships at the 10U (ASA) and 14U (PGF) levels and is athletic enough to play any infield or outfield position. She committed to UCLA in March of 2015.22--Taylor Greene C/UT… So Cal Athletics -- Richardson (Arkansas)
Greene, also known as "Taco" for her requested reward when younger after doing well in softball games, is following in the path of Matty Moss, the All-SEC Freshman at the Univ. of Tennessee, who would fly out from the South regularly to play for the So Cal A's. Greene is a dynamic, and energetic catcher/infielder who can also play third and shortstop because of her cannon for an arm. She is a tough, durable infielder who can hit for a high average and power and had a great fall, leading her Georgia team to a 34-1 record and the 6A State Championship. Greene was the 6A Player of the Year after hitting .475 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI for the season. She also had two-game winning home runs in the playoffs and in 2015 hit a walk-off homer in the USA Softball JO cup, which her East Cobb Bullets team would go on to win.21--Nikki Cuchran 3B… Beverly Bandits (DePaul)
Cuchran has had a championship year, going all the way in club and high school. Her Beverly Bandits 16U team won PGF Nationals and Cuchran hit a sac fly in the sixth inning to score what would be the eventual game winning run. In high school, her Lombard, Illinois team won the Class 3A state title as the infielder hit .604 and earned her second All-State honor. She can play either corner infield position well because she has a terrific glove, but her meal ticket is her stick. She hits for average and power--in two varsity seasons she's averaging .586 at the plate and already has 24 home runs. She has a great eye at the plate and won't swing at bad pitches, but instead has the discipline to wait for a pitch to hit or will let a ball go by and draw a walk to help her team.