The 2018 Hot 100 list is complete--for now--and on Friday it was revealed that pitcher Brooke Vestal of New Braunfels, Texas remained on top as the No. 1 ranked player despite nearly half of the list being new after it was first introduced in the spring of 2015.

Brooke was an All-State selection and the District 29-4A MVP for her Canyon High team and at the club level led her Firecrackers-Rico team to the title at the PGF 18U Nationals.

Here, the University of Oklahoma commit talks about what it's like to be at the head of the list of such an outstanding class…




I must admit: it's a little awkward to see my name at the top of the 2018 Hot 100 list with so many great players on it.  

I have faced or heard about just about every one of these girls and it's amazing to think that a number of these players will be in the Women's College World Series in 2019.

Wow! I certainly hope I'm one of them with Oklahoma!

My softball life has been an interesting ride.  We all start at the bottom. From there, it sounds like a great idea to face the best in the country until the time comes to throw the pitches.

Then a little fear sets in.

This post has been fun for me to write. I have thought about my softball life back to the beginning and I cannot count the awesome memories I have from this game.

Looking back reminded me what a great experience it has been. Thinking about my younger years has been a nice departure from the grind of preparing for the future, whatever that will be.

I love this game and what it has taught me. These are some of the memories that stand out and how each experience helped me learn what I had to do to improve:

9 years old… I cried after every practice for a month on my first club team (I had to get better).

Ages 9 to 11… I wore the a pink helmet. I thought it was cool (I had to dress better).

12 years old… I moved to a big name club team, couldn't hit the plate and sat on the bench (I had to get better).

13 years old… I started to improve and had some success (still, I had to get better).

14 years old… things started clicking, and I started to learn how to pitch (again, I had to get better).


Since then I have focused on steady improvement, and trying to learn as much as possible about the game and myself. I HAVE to get better to compete because the hitters are GOOD!

What a great game we play, and what a character builder it is!

The wins are awesome, the losses suck, and when it's over we have all learned a bunch. We remember the results, but I think the journey may be more important than the destination.

I know that I have learned to step up and be responsible for my good days and my bad ones. There have been plenty of both. My approach is to accept either and work hard to avoid the bad days!

Competitive ball forces us into uncomfortable situations. We wouldn't be playing this game if we didn't love it, and we all work our butts off trying to improve. I learned to appreciate the little things that we do to be successful.

I have been fortunate enough to play for some great coaches along the way. They each have their own way of teaching, and none of them would be coaching if they did not care enough to spend their time making us better players and people.

That doesn't mean we always like where or when we play, but I look back and realize that all of them cared enough about us to be on the dirt and on the road for many hours.

All the coaching and traveling while dealing with teenage girls and their crazy parents!

Every team I played on does it differently, but some of the core values I have learned are:

• This is not easy on any level. 
• Be on time and be ready to work.
• Go all out because your team-mates expect and deserve it. 
• Expect nothing less from them.
• Work hard when you think nobody is looking. 
• Play every day like it is your last.  
• Enjoy it because we will miss it when it is over. 

We all have high hopes for our college careers, and a bunch of girls on this list will get there.

When it ends--which it will for all of us--we learned life-lessons from dedicating ourselves to the sport and the softball life. We have a head start on the folks that never committed themselves to late nights and early mornings on the dirt with teammates.

For sure, no other girls will have spent as many nights with their families on fold-out couches in cheap hotels. Life won't be the same without the breakfast buffets before daylight.

I hope to compete with you guys on the dirt, then I hope we all play some role in sharing our game with the group of wide-eyed kids behind us.

K. Brooke Vestal