This week we’ll look at the club teams at the 12U level that we think are the top candidates to stand out in 2018.

Each day this week we’ll unveil 10 teams and conclude Friday with the elite programs rated in the top 10. 

Here’s the release schedule for the FAB 50 12U rankings through Friday:

Mon. Nov. 27: Nos. 50-41

Tue. Nov. 28: Nos. 40-31

Wed. Nov. 29: Nos. 30-21

Thu. Nov. 30: Nos. 20-11

Fri. Dec. 1: Nos. 10-1

The deciding factors in the ratings are team performances and results from the summer and fall along with the return of key players and the addition of talented new ones.

Information was acquired by the FloSoftball staff watching teams in person as well as receiving input provided by club and college coaches.

If we've missed anything or you would like to provide input on your favorite teams and players, send your info/insights to: flosoftball@flosports.tv.

10 | Georgia Impact Premier - Lewis

Chuck Lewis’s team finished 17th at PGF Nationals last year and was the 12U Georgia USA Softball State champions despite being a first-year 12U team. The Peach State powerhouse looks loaded to make another serious run at Nationals next summer after playing up at the 15U level in the Scenic City Showcase and just finished its last showcase of the fall going 3-0-2 against 14U clubs. 

The Impact is led by a trio of pitchers: Ella Janish, a 2023 Select 30 All-American; Katelyn Flanders, who led her former 10U team to back-to-back Top 10 finishes at Nationals including a 5th place finish at the 2016 PGF Nationals. A lefty to watch who has beaten several top 14U teams and is also a threat offensively with her excellent speed is newcomer Ahmari Braden. Offensively, Coach Lewis has a multitude of weapons to draw upon in power hitters Kyla Stroud, Grayson Tucker, and Alexia Carrasquillo along with speedy lefty slappers Taylor Anderson, Carrie Green, and Elle Bass. Carasquillo is one of the top catchers in the 2024 class and recently joined the Impact after leading her previous team to a PGF 10U Nationals title.

9 | Diamond Sports Hotshots Premier - Jones

Texas 12U club coaches were nearly unanimous when it came to nominating the top team in Texas. Steve Jones’ squad based out of Pearland is the one to beat. Formerly the Lady Stros Elite, the team recently joined the Hotshots organization and has earned its reputation as one of the top teams in the nation by going 82-20 last year as a first-year 12U program playing almost exclusively in second year 12U tournaments. This fall the Hotshots started off the season 20-0 and won its first three tournaments including a 14U event. 

To cap this year, Coach Jones’s team won the Ronald McDonald tournament going undefeated and beating several of the other top teams in the Southwest. The team is loaded with talent. Key players to watch include lefty slapper Aryana Cruz, an outfielder with great speed; centerfielder Moriah Polar, who leads the team in on-base percentage; pitcher/third baseman Gisselle Solis, who tosses an outstanding riseball and first baseman/catcher Lydia Njus, who is an solid defender wherever she lines up.

8 | Beverly Bandits DeMarini - Yates

Beware of the Bandits, as the older divisions (18U, 16U and 14U) have all won PGF National Championships recently and Jim Yates’ may be the next Bandits to notch a championship. The Columbus-Ohio based team went 33-2 this fall—all of them being PGF or other national qualifiers or showcase tournaments—and won three tournaments including the DeMarini Fall Brawl. The pipeline of talent runs deep and includes a great one-two combination in the circle with Haley Ferguson, who pitched 68 innings in 16 games this fall and recorded 84 strikeouts while compiling a 0.93 ERA, and Sara Phillips, who also pitched in 16 games with 62 innings pitched recording a 1.05 ERA. Phillips was also a force at the plate batting .548 batting. Both pitchers have national championship experience pitching at PGF and USSSA. Ferguson and Phillips both elevated their game when the stakes are highest. The offense is led by first baseman/catcher Haley Winans, who hit .536 with 16 extra base hits and 19 RBI this fall and only had 1 error in 91 fielding attempts. Anchoring the defense is shortstop/center fielder Lauren Swanson, who batted .512 and has what one scout called, “DI college home-to-first speed right now.”

7 | So Cal A's - Medina/Briggs

One thing you’ll notice about the top teams in the FAB 50 rankings is they almost always come from powerful organizations that have a history of winning and few have had the success over the last decade as the So Cal Athletics. So it is with Tony Medina and Ken Briggs’ 12U team mostly made up of players formerly on the So Cal A’s-Whitlock.

They have been one of the top ’05 teams in California over the last two years. With the experienced new coaching staff and some key pick-ups, the team blends an impeccable defense with high-average batters from top to bottom, and solid pitching. The A’s are a threat to win it all at every tournament they enter. Case in point: the talent-heavy PGF Shootout in October where the A’s made it to the finals before losing to Athletics –Mercado/Hovermale. 

6 | Mizuno Storm - Appel

Based out of Arizona, Steve Appel’s team returned all 11 age-eligible players and currently has a roster of 13. A dozen of the players have been together since 10U when the Storm finished in the Top 10 at PGF Nationals in 2016. Last year as a first-year 12U squad the Storm went to the USA Elite Select Nationals in Kansas City and finished in the Top 10 at the Zoom Into June tournament. 

This fall, Coach Appel and crew went 5-1 at the PGF Shootout and had wins over the two teams that made the finals, Athletics – Mercado/Hovermale and the So Cal A’s – Medina/Briggs squads although the Medina/Briggs team did knock the Storm out in the semis. Still, the Storm are well coached and has a roster of skilled players with good mechanics at every position and always seems to be playing on the last day of any tournament they enter. The strength of the Arizona squad could be its strong defense up the middle led by shortstop Kate Vance and second baseman Sierra Daniel. Not afraid to play anyone at anytime, the Storm started the fall going 10-1 against top California teams and has future events scheduled in Las Vegas at the St. Paddy’s Blas, the Zoom Into June in California, the Colorado Fireworks/Sparkler tournament and will end the summer of 2018 competing at the PGF Nationals. The team also plays all of its competition locally against 14U teams.

5 | Birmingham Thunderbolts 05

The Thunderbolts 05 team is coached by Shane Cahalan and is a nice mix of speed and power and had a strong spring and summer in 2017 taking 4th place at ASA Nationals with 1st place finishes at the ASA Alabama State Championship and the Mustang Stampede and finishing 2nd at Turf Wars. This fall, the Bolts have continued its winning ways, capturing the title at the Fall Brawl and named co-champs at the Atlanta Fastpitch Classic. The Birmingham-Alabama based team also played in the Power Pool at Scenic City as a 14U team. The depth of talent is impressive when you watch four of the Bolts players who were named as 1st Team 2023 USA Select 30 All-Americans: outfielder Kenleigh Cahalan, a natural lefty and triple threat hitter who covers the middle infield as well as centerfield; third baseman Jaysoni Fowler, a shut down infielder with great hands, bat speed and power; catcher Ansley Armstrong, who holds down the game behind the plate with her strong arm and blocking skills and fellow backstop Maddie Terrell, a 5-foot-10 athlete with a 1.82 pop time. Other players to watch include pitchers Makayla Coffield and Ramsey Montgomery who control the temp on the mound and varies their speeds and spins effectively well.

4 | Firecrackers - Holcomb/Knight

The Firecrackers had a phenomenal fall going 35-1 capped by winning the TCS Pre-Thanksgiving tournament which had 60 top teams and also won the title game of the Monster Mash in San Diego. One source described Ted Holcomb’s team as “Scrappy, there’s no other way to put it, they don’t look big, they don’t hit the ball over the fence, but they are well coached and refuse to quit.” The Firecrackers have great team speed and find ways to get on base and then steal runs. 

Last year as a first-year 12U, the Socal-based squad won the TCS World Series and have returned 10 players from that team. The Firecrackers have five lefty slappers in their starting lineup and all of them can fly.  The outfield is arguably the fastest in 12U with Kanisha Anderson, Sophia Knight and Julie Holcomb, who plays like her older sister, Jenna Holcomb, the starting outfielder for the University of Tennessee. Another top slapper to watch is Kaylynn Jones, who also has outstanding speed and quickness. After the table is set by the slappers, Casey Fazzini, Lesle Sereno, Audree Mendoza and Kaylin Garcia have plenty of pop to drive them in.  The Firecrackers also have two of the most consistent pitchers in 12U with Emma Francisco, Daphnee Cantrell, and great defensive catching by Taryn Clements.  

3 | Tennessee Mojo

The Mojo 2023 team coached by Michael Danley made a national splash in 2016 at the 10U level when it went 92-3 and won the PGF National Championship, beginning the first team east of the Mississippi to win a title in the age groups 10U to 14U. This year, the team went undefeated to win the USSSA 11U World Series in Orlando, winning every game but one by run rule.

They had a strong fall playing top 2004 teams and are considered serious National Championship contenders because the team has two of the top 05 pitchers in the country in Mack Huddleston and Ashtyn Danley. Huddleston travels from Ohio to compete and was the winning pitcher for the 10U title team and is already getting invites to visit SEC schools. A power pitcher, she throws in the high 50s with a change, drop and curve. Danley took an unofficial visit to her home state Tennessee Vols as a seventh grader. The Select 30 honoree and 1st Team All-American is a dual threat pitcher, who also hits the gun in the high 50s, but also is dangerous at the plate with a .571 batting average and can hit for power and run with good speed. The Mojo also is talented on the field and at the plate with the power hitting of Angelee Bueno, who had 13 out-of-the-park home runs last season and is complemented by rising stars like Emilee Hawkes and Blair Cherry at catcher, Rosie Davis and Jace Jackson in the middle infield.

2 | OC Batbusters - Mascarenas

When you have coaches from programs like Oklahoma, Florida, UCLA and Washington coming to your practices and games, you know you must have some serious talent and few would argue that Toni Mascarenas’s team out of Orange County (Calif.) is stacked. Few teams have the power supply that the Batbusters have and there is not a weak spot in the starting nine. 

While the offense can bludgeon opponents mercilessly, the pitching alone is enough to win a national title with Ella Parker, one of the top hurlers in the 05 class and has the aforementioned college powers watching her closely. Parker has a 60-62 mph fastball but she’s not the only talented player in the circle. Fellow pitchers Jiselle Hernandez and Tiara Westbrook would be the ace on 90 percent of the teams in the age group. Parker, Hernandez and Westbrook are also sluggers who can go deep in any at-bat, as can Sky Johnson and Zaniah Puni, younger sister of Oklahoma-commit Zaida Puni, No. 2 Hot 100 player in the 2020 class. There’s a real “family feel” to the Batbusters, which also has the little sisters of Tiare Jennings, Sydney and Sierra Romero on the team. 

Another star in the making to watch is Maya Bland, an infielder/outfielder who sets the table as an extremely fast slapper but has pop too. She has been invited to USA Elite Select 30 and OnDeck camps and will likely go to a Power Five program. And be sure to watch one of the top power hitter in the 12U division, Jaeya Butler. There’s too much talent on this team for it not to be a dominant force in 2018 and it showed what it can do in the first tournament of he fall when it won all five of its games at the Brenda Marsh tournament and the pitching didn’t give up a single run.

1 | Athletics - Mercado/Hovermale 

It’s not unusual these days for Dave Mercado’s teams to be on top of the rankings as three of his teams have won PGF National Championships in the last four years. Rick Hovermale has assembled what is the clear-cut favorite to win it all this year after being the last first-year 12U team standing this past summer at PGF Nationals. Like the Batbusters, this team is deep with talent and at a recent Las Vegas OnDeck Showcase, the team went 5-0 playing 14U age teams with over 15 Power Five schools scouting. Since then practices and games have drawn out the likes of coaches from Oklahoma, LSU, Arizona, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Florida, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Baylor, Ohio State, South Carolina, Michigan State and many more. 

Look for the Athletics to continue playing 14U teams through the spring to prepare for a Nationals title run as they return their core group of players including two of the best pitchers in the 05 class in Alexa Rosales, who clocked at 61 mph and consistently hits her spots, and lefty Pricilla Llammas, who throws 58 mph-plus. Alyvia Hernandez is also a part of this rotation which is one of the strongest in the country. 

The Athletics squad also has a lot of firepower at the plate as Karis Ford and Jasymn Burns can go deep at any time and can run up RBI totals behind the speed of their slappers at the top of their order who continually get on base for the big hitters.  This team is stacked and will make a run at PGF Nationals this year as Hovermale’s team has already secured its PGF Nationals 12U berth after winning the PGF Shootout in convincing fashion this fall. 

Before then, you can see the A’s in the spring and summer at tournaments like the Colorado Sparkler Jr and Atlanta Legacy Prospects (Memorial Weekend). Says Coach Hovermale, “We chase the best competition we can find, like we did last year playing all the best 04 teams across the country.” Battling the older teams obviously worked as the team’s record in 2017 was 125-26. Expect big things in 2018 as Hovermale’s team is the odds-on favorite to bring a fourth PGF Nationals title to the Athletics – Mercado organization.