2019 Hot 100: Players 20-11
2019 Hot 100: Players 20-11
FloSoftball continues our look at the Class of 2019 as we update the Hot 100 for the current sophomore class. We're spotlighting 10 each day on the countdown from 100 to No. 1.
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FloSoftball continues our look at the Class of 2019 as we update the Hot 100 for the current sophomore class. We're spotlighting 10 each day on the countdown from 100 to No. 1.
The Top 10 prospects of the class will be announced on Friday, February 3 and shortly after we will profile the No. 1 player, the "Next In (101-200)," recruits "On the Bubble (201-300)" and finally the "Top College Rankings" for the '19 class.
Since we first released the 2019 Hot 100 a year ago at this time, there has been a lot of changes as players have emerged as nationally prominent recruits. In fact, 39 of the players in this second version are new!
These sophomore 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. 20 to 11 who come from Arkansas, California (4), Florida (3), Georgia (2), Missouri and Texas.
Stoddard is as fierce of a competitor as you'll find and, along with fellow 2019 Hot 100 pitcher Jenna Bloom (Arkansas commit), gives the Explosion a potent one-two punch in the circle and the status of being one of the top 16U teams to watch this year. She has several "out pitches" she can go to when she needs to shut down the opposition: a drop curve, rise and change along with a dominant screwball. Stoddard is a big game pitcher and coaches say her will to dominate and be the best are her biggest strengths. When not in the circle, she can do damage with the bat as well. For her Canyon (Anaheim, California) High team last spring she pitched 14 complete games with a 2.20 ERA and had 81 strikeouts versus 11 walks. She also limited opposing batters to a .233 average playing against top competition in Orange County, California. Miranda committed to the Wildcats in September of 2016.
Jones was one of the biggest surprises in 2016 and she entered the national scenes as a tall, speedster who is a complete game-changer. She was a key contributor on the Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) High team which defeated Orange Lutheran--then No. 1 in the nation-- in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game to finish 27-7 and ranked No. 8 in the final FloSoftball FAB 50 Rankings. Jones led her high school and club teams in steals and wasn't thrown out once all year. She's also become skilled at stealing home by anticipating the pitchers losing focus of her at third. Jones works as hard as anyone to improve her skills and game and as one coach put it, "She has an appetite for getting better." The So Cal sophomore is one of the top ball hawks in her class as her speed and long strides makes the outfield much smaller. Jones works regularly with Tony Rico, head of the Firecrackers organization, and legendary coach Doug Meyers to improve her hitting. She was recruited heavily by ACC and SEC programs as well as many on the West Coast before she committed to Tennessee in early October of 2016.
Deters exploded onto the national scene over the last year as an elite prospect and capped off her amazing 2016 by making the USA Softball Jr. National Team. She's a tall, athletic catcher who is a 5-tool player in the truest sense of the word with power, speed and a cannon for an arm. Deters was named 2nd team All-State as a freshman at Bowling Green (Missouri) High and this fall as a sophomore she earned 1st All-State honors as she hit .521 with 26 RBI, 11 home runs, a .600 on-base percentage and an impressive slugging percentage of 1.164 to give her a 1.764 OPS. Both of her parents were catchers so it was natural that she become a backstop. She is also mentored by Megan Christopher, a former Missouri catcher and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Deters put it all together including finalizing her decision in September to play college ball at Kentucky.
Koepke is one of the most feared hitters in the country and one coach commented: "There is no one you would rather have at the plate in a big spot against a big pitcher." She helped her Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia) High team to a second straight Class 6A State Championship in October and had two hits in the title game. For the season, Maddison had a stellar .477 average with runners on base and was the only freshman named 1st Team All-County by the Gwinnett Daily Post as she batted .360 with 23 RBI and a .924 fielding percentage at shortstop. The Peach State sophomore was clutch last summer as she hit a game-tying home run and a walk-off dinger at Boulder IDT. Koepke doesn't just feast off weaker pitchers, either; she's at her best when facing the best. One of the first verbals from the 2019 class, she picked Auburn in December of 2014.
McManus comes to the Bandits after being a workhorse for other elite programs including Jersey Intensity. With the Bandits she plays on the same team as Alabama flame-thrower Montana Fouts and sharing the circle with another top hurler has helped elevate Alex's game. She throws in the mid-60's with a dominating riseball and does well at moving the ball up and down, but her main strength is being able to pitch equally well to both sides of the plate. McManus earned Arkansas 7A All-State honors as she shined in the circle with a 0.95 ERA and averaged a strikeout per inning while limited opposing batters to only a .146 average. She helped her team with the stick as well as she batted .433 with 21 RBI and seven homers in 22 games. McManus had multiple schools after her including Oklahoma, Arizona State, Michigan and Arkansas before she chose the Fighting Irish in 2015.
Brady gets her great softball skills from her mother, Maureen, who was an All-American at Fresno State and member of the USA Jr. National Team after graduating in 1991 from Hillsdale High in San Mateo, California as the Golden State's all-time leader at that time in wins (111) and career shutouts (69). And, yes, Maya is the niece of New England Patriot's QB Tom Brady, but she's carving her own path as a 5-foot-10 athlete who reminds some of former UCLA All-American centerfielder Katie Schroeder in that there's nothing she can't do on the softball field. Brady has speed, power and a strong arm and will be the starting shortstop this summer for the Batbusters after Bri Perez and Taylon Snow made the USA Jr. National Team. As a freshman, Brady hit .393 with a .463 on-base percentage and went 14-for-14 in steals to earn CalHiSports.com 2nd Team All-State Underclass honors. She also helped Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California) High to a 32-2-1 mark and No. 42 finish in the final FloSoftball FAB 50 Rankings. The lefty hitter with excellent speed committed to UCLA in May of 2016.
Hanks is a dynamic 5-tool triple threat slapper who is the ideal centerfielder and top of the order batter as she can get on base or drive runners around to score. She started off in the leadoff spot for the Bullets last year and finished the season as the 3-hole hitter. Hanks led her club team last summer in batting average and on-base percentage and was third in slugging percentage. As a freshman at Eustis (Florida) High, she earned 1st Team Class 5A honors after hitting .506 with 33 steals and led in almost every offensive category including doubles, triples and home runs. One SEC coach said, "Leea is just scratching the surface potential-wise with her freakish size, athleticism and strength." The Sunshine State sophomore had heavy interest from SEC and ACC schools before she finalized her decision in November of 2015 and picked the Irish.
Turner is a slick left-handed pitcher who has good size at 5-foot-9--she wore size 11 shoes as an 8th grader--and comes with sound mechanics. She throws in the 64-to-67 mph range and has three different levels of rise balls to go with one of the best change-ups in the country as her arm motion doesn't change making it all but impossible for hitters to pick up the difference until it's too late. The word coaches often use to describe Turner is "deceptive" and many believe she has the potential to be one of the USA's best down the road. As a freshman at Land O'Lakes (Florida) High, she saw limited action backing up senior All-State pitcher Shannon Saile (Florida International), but did go 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA and 79 K's in 46 innings with only three earned runs allowed all season. Turner was being recruited by top programs like Oklahoma, Florida State, Ole Miss, Stanford and Central Florida before she verballed to Tennessee in December of 2015.
Briggs is reminiscent of Jenna Lilley, the University of Oregon infielder and USA Softball Women's National Team member, in that she lives, eats and breathes softball with a motor that doesn't quit and is a perfectionist when it comes to excelling between the lines. One coach described Briggs as an "old school 5-tool player who does everything well with a passion that is unsurpassed." She can slap, run and hit for power and is one of the top centerfielders in the club word regardless of age. Briggs reads and gets jumps off the bat in an instinctive way you can't coach. She's been playing on Bruce Richardson's So Cal A's 18U team since her freshman year and batted third in the line-up against pitchers three or four years older than her and helped the A's finish 3rd at PGF Nationals. Briggs had a tremendous year for Orange Lutheran (Orange, California) High and helped the team finish 2nd in the Southern Section CIF Div. I playoffs as she hit .387 with a .447 OBP and 33 RBI in 34 games played. The outfielder also was flawless in the field, not making an error all season. The top ranked outfielder in the 2019 class, Briggs had 30 major programs after her before she committed to LSU in October of 2015.
Goddard is a tremendous power hitter who is skilled defensively and can play anywhere on the field. She earned All-State honors at Oakleaf (Orange Park, Florida) where she batted .462 with 30 RBI and six home runs to lead her team to a 27-3 record and the Florida Class 8A regionals. Baylee is a home run threat every time she comes to the plate but she also hits for a high average. With the Storm in 2016, the Florida standout hit .576 with 16 homers, five triples and 52 RBI. She also moves well as she has been clocked at a 2.8 home-to-first. Last April, Baylee was featured as a Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd subject after she homered in three consecutive games. She wears the jersey No. 50 in honor of her father, Jonathan Goddard, a former NFL defensive end and All-American at Marshall, who was killed in a motorcycle accident when Baylee was eight years old. She picked up softball a few months after the tragedy and hasn't looked back since. A great leader on and off the field, Baylee is a franchise-type player and committed to the home-state Gators in November of 2015.
Pleasants already has the frame and physical skills you want in an elite SEC-caliber player. She's a 6-foot lefty hitter with plus power and impressive speed for her size. Pleasants is long and loose and projects as a shortstop due to the amount of ground she covers. The Texas sophomore is reliable and consistent in the field as she makes every routine play as well as the ones that change games. Her ability to slow the game down at the plate and perform in a clutch manner makes her one the top tier hitters in the country. She earned 1st Team All-District 22-6A recognition as a freshman at Dobie (Houston, Texas) High as she hit .447 with 34 RBI and eight triples in 29 games. Taylor committed to the Tigers in November of 2015 after being recruited by Top 25 programs across the nation--from the SEC to the Pac-12 and Big 12.
Marquez is the type of player who has the "It" factor in that she becomes the heart of a team and gets her teammates to rally behind her leadership. After a successful several years with the Corona Angels, she moved to Tony Rico's Firecrackers team and had a strong fall until she broke her arm in a November tournament diving for a ball in the outfield, but she will be ready to go full-spead for spring high school ball. Last year as a freshman at Hart (Newhall, California) High she lead her league with a .500 batting average and her 15 doubles tied for the most in the CIF Southern Section Division I. She also had a .554 on-base percentage and a 1.370 OPS and her strong freshman campaign earned her FloSoftball 2nd Team All-American and CalHiSports.com All-State Freshman Team honors. At PGF 16U Nationals, Brooke batted .467 (7-for-15) with six RBI and four doubles and at the Boulder IDT she hit .667 (6-for-9) with a .750 on-base percentage. One coach said she's "a special player who's nicely developing the mental game and has everything it takes to be an elite player." Brooke committed to Notre Dame in November of 2015.
The Top 10 prospects of the class will be announced on Friday, February 3 and shortly after we will profile the No. 1 player, the "Next In (101-200)," recruits "On the Bubble (201-300)" and finally the "Top College Rankings" for the '19 class.
Since we first released the 2019 Hot 100 a year ago at this time, there has been a lot of changes as players have emerged as nationally prominent recruits. In fact, 39 of the players in this second version are new!
These sophomore 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. 20 to 11 who come from Arkansas, California (4), Florida (3), Georgia (2), Missouri and Texas.
20--Miranda Stoddard P/UT... Explosion-Greg (Kentucky)
Stoddard is as fierce of a competitor as you'll find and, along with fellow 2019 Hot 100 pitcher Jenna Bloom (Arkansas commit), gives the Explosion a potent one-two punch in the circle and the status of being one of the top 16U teams to watch this year. She has several "out pitches" she can go to when she needs to shut down the opposition: a drop curve, rise and change along with a dominant screwball. Stoddard is a big game pitcher and coaches say her will to dominate and be the best are her biggest strengths. When not in the circle, she can do damage with the bat as well. For her Canyon (Anaheim, California) High team last spring she pitched 14 complete games with a 2.20 ERA and had 81 strikeouts versus 11 walks. She also limited opposing batters to a .233 average playing against top competition in Orange County, California. Miranda committed to the Wildcats in September of 2016.
T-19--Nyomi Jones OF... Firecrackers-Brashear (Tennessee)
Jones was one of the biggest surprises in 2016 and she entered the national scenes as a tall, speedster who is a complete game-changer. She was a key contributor on the Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) High team which defeated Orange Lutheran--then No. 1 in the nation-- in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game to finish 27-7 and ranked No. 8 in the final FloSoftball FAB 50 Rankings. Jones led her high school and club teams in steals and wasn't thrown out once all year. She's also become skilled at stealing home by anticipating the pitchers losing focus of her at third. Jones works as hard as anyone to improve her skills and game and as one coach put it, "She has an appetite for getting better." The So Cal sophomore is one of the top ball hawks in her class as her speed and long strides makes the outfield much smaller. Jones works regularly with Tony Rico, head of the Firecrackers organization, and legendary coach Doug Meyers to improve her hitting. She was recruited heavily by ACC and SEC programs as well as many on the West Coast before she committed to Tennessee in early October of 2016.T-19--Gabi Deters C... St. Louis Chaos (Kentucky)
Deters exploded onto the national scene over the last year as an elite prospect and capped off her amazing 2016 by making the USA Softball Jr. National Team. She's a tall, athletic catcher who is a 5-tool player in the truest sense of the word with power, speed and a cannon for an arm. Deters was named 2nd team All-State as a freshman at Bowling Green (Missouri) High and this fall as a sophomore she earned 1st All-State honors as she hit .521 with 26 RBI, 11 home runs, a .600 on-base percentage and an impressive slugging percentage of 1.164 to give her a 1.764 OPS. Both of her parents were catchers so it was natural that she become a backstop. She is also mentored by Megan Christopher, a former Missouri catcher and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Deters put it all together including finalizing her decision in September to play college ball at Kentucky.18--Maddison Koepke MIF... East Cobb Bullets-Biele (Auburn)
Koepke is one of the most feared hitters in the country and one coach commented: "There is no one you would rather have at the plate in a big spot against a big pitcher." She helped her Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia) High team to a second straight Class 6A State Championship in October and had two hits in the title game. For the season, Maddison had a stellar .477 average with runners on base and was the only freshman named 1st Team All-County by the Gwinnett Daily Post as she batted .360 with 23 RBI and a .924 fielding percentage at shortstop. The Peach State sophomore was clutch last summer as she hit a game-tying home run and a walk-off dinger at Boulder IDT. Koepke doesn't just feast off weaker pitchers, either; she's at her best when facing the best. One of the first verbals from the 2019 class, she picked Auburn in December of 2014.17--Alex McManus P... Beverly Bandits (Notre Dame)
McManus comes to the Bandits after being a workhorse for other elite programs including Jersey Intensity. With the Bandits she plays on the same team as Alabama flame-thrower Montana Fouts and sharing the circle with another top hurler has helped elevate Alex's game. She throws in the mid-60's with a dominating riseball and does well at moving the ball up and down, but her main strength is being able to pitch equally well to both sides of the plate. McManus earned Arkansas 7A All-State honors as she shined in the circle with a 0.95 ERA and averaged a strikeout per inning while limited opposing batters to only a .146 average. She helped her team with the stick as well as she batted .433 with 21 RBI and seven homers in 22 games. McManus had multiple schools after her including Oklahoma, Arizona State, Michigan and Arkansas before she chose the Fighting Irish in 2015. 16--Maya Brady SS/OF... OC Batbusters-Stith (UCLA)
Brady gets her great softball skills from her mother, Maureen, who was an All-American at Fresno State and member of the USA Jr. National Team after graduating in 1991 from Hillsdale High in San Mateo, California as the Golden State's all-time leader at that time in wins (111) and career shutouts (69). And, yes, Maya is the niece of New England Patriot's QB Tom Brady, but she's carving her own path as a 5-foot-10 athlete who reminds some of former UCLA All-American centerfielder Katie Schroeder in that there's nothing she can't do on the softball field. Brady has speed, power and a strong arm and will be the starting shortstop this summer for the Batbusters after Bri Perez and Taylon Snow made the USA Jr. National Team. As a freshman, Brady hit .393 with a .463 on-base percentage and went 14-for-14 in steals to earn CalHiSports.com 2nd Team All-State Underclass honors. She also helped Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California) High to a 32-2-1 mark and No. 42 finish in the final FloSoftball FAB 50 Rankings. The lefty hitter with excellent speed committed to UCLA in May of 2016.15--Leea Hanks OF... East Cobb Bullets-Biele (Notre Dame)
Hanks is a dynamic 5-tool triple threat slapper who is the ideal centerfielder and top of the order batter as she can get on base or drive runners around to score. She started off in the leadoff spot for the Bullets last year and finished the season as the 3-hole hitter. Hanks led her club team last summer in batting average and on-base percentage and was third in slugging percentage. As a freshman at Eustis (Florida) High, she earned 1st Team Class 5A honors after hitting .506 with 33 steals and led in almost every offensive category including doubles, triples and home runs. One SEC coach said, "Leea is just scratching the surface potential-wise with her freakish size, athleticism and strength." The Sunshine State sophomore had heavy interest from SEC and ACC schools before she finalized her decision in November of 2015 and picked the Irish.T-14--Callie Turner P... Florida Impact (Tennessee)
Turner is a slick left-handed pitcher who has good size at 5-foot-9--she wore size 11 shoes as an 8th grader--and comes with sound mechanics. She throws in the 64-to-67 mph range and has three different levels of rise balls to go with one of the best change-ups in the country as her arm motion doesn't change making it all but impossible for hitters to pick up the difference until it's too late. The word coaches often use to describe Turner is "deceptive" and many believe she has the potential to be one of the USA's best down the road. As a freshman at Land O'Lakes (Florida) High, she saw limited action backing up senior All-State pitcher Shannon Saile (Florida International), but did go 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA and 79 K's in 46 innings with only three earned runs allowed all season. Turner was being recruited by top programs like Oklahoma, Florida State, Ole Miss, Stanford and Central Florida before she verballed to Tennessee in December of 2015.T-14--Ciara Briggs OF… So Cal Athletics-Richardson (LSU)
Briggs is reminiscent of Jenna Lilley, the University of Oregon infielder and USA Softball Women's National Team member, in that she lives, eats and breathes softball with a motor that doesn't quit and is a perfectionist when it comes to excelling between the lines. One coach described Briggs as an "old school 5-tool player who does everything well with a passion that is unsurpassed." She can slap, run and hit for power and is one of the top centerfielders in the club word regardless of age. Briggs reads and gets jumps off the bat in an instinctive way you can't coach. She's been playing on Bruce Richardson's So Cal A's 18U team since her freshman year and batted third in the line-up against pitchers three or four years older than her and helped the A's finish 3rd at PGF Nationals. Briggs had a tremendous year for Orange Lutheran (Orange, California) High and helped the team finish 2nd in the Southern Section CIF Div. I playoffs as she hit .387 with a .447 OBP and 33 RBI in 34 games played. The outfielder also was flawless in the field, not making an error all season. The top ranked outfielder in the 2019 class, Briggs had 30 major programs after her before she committed to LSU in October of 2015.13--Baylee Goddard 3B... Jacksonville Storm-Davis (Florida)
Goddard is a tremendous power hitter who is skilled defensively and can play anywhere on the field. She earned All-State honors at Oakleaf (Orange Park, Florida) where she batted .462 with 30 RBI and six home runs to lead her team to a 27-3 record and the Florida Class 8A regionals. Baylee is a home run threat every time she comes to the plate but she also hits for a high average. With the Storm in 2016, the Florida standout hit .576 with 16 homers, five triples and 52 RBI. She also moves well as she has been clocked at a 2.8 home-to-first. Last April, Baylee was featured as a Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd subject after she homered in three consecutive games. She wears the jersey No. 50 in honor of her father, Jonathan Goddard, a former NFL defensive end and All-American at Marshall, who was killed in a motorcycle accident when Baylee was eight years old. She picked up softball a few months after the tragedy and hasn't looked back since. A great leader on and off the field, Baylee is a franchise-type player and committed to the home-state Gators in November of 2015.12--Taylor Pleasants MIF... Texas Bombers Gold (LSU)
Pleasants already has the frame and physical skills you want in an elite SEC-caliber player. She's a 6-foot lefty hitter with plus power and impressive speed for her size. Pleasants is long and loose and projects as a shortstop due to the amount of ground she covers. The Texas sophomore is reliable and consistent in the field as she makes every routine play as well as the ones that change games. Her ability to slow the game down at the plate and perform in a clutch manner makes her one the top tier hitters in the country. She earned 1st Team All-District 22-6A recognition as a freshman at Dobie (Houston, Texas) High as she hit .447 with 34 RBI and eight triples in 29 games. Taylor committed to the Tigers in November of 2015 after being recruited by Top 25 programs across the nation--from the SEC to the Pac-12 and Big 12.11--Brooke Marquez MIF... Firecrackers-Rico (Notre Dame)
Marquez is the type of player who has the "It" factor in that she becomes the heart of a team and gets her teammates to rally behind her leadership. After a successful several years with the Corona Angels, she moved to Tony Rico's Firecrackers team and had a strong fall until she broke her arm in a November tournament diving for a ball in the outfield, but she will be ready to go full-spead for spring high school ball. Last year as a freshman at Hart (Newhall, California) High she lead her league with a .500 batting average and her 15 doubles tied for the most in the CIF Southern Section Division I. She also had a .554 on-base percentage and a 1.370 OPS and her strong freshman campaign earned her FloSoftball 2nd Team All-American and CalHiSports.com All-State Freshman Team honors. At PGF 16U Nationals, Brooke batted .467 (7-for-15) with six RBI and four doubles and at the Boulder IDT she hit .667 (6-for-9) with a .750 on-base percentage. One coach said she's "a special player who's nicely developing the mental game and has everything it takes to be an elite player." Brooke committed to Notre Dame in November of 2015.