MaxPreps 2016 Preseason All-American Softball Team

Video: High School Softball Player Does Flip Before Showing Off Bat Tricks

With seven players selected, California headlines the 2016 MaxPreps Preseason Softball All-American Team.

Texas and Illinois were next with three picks each and four states – Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Louisiana – had two players selected. In all, 17 states are represented.

Headlining the preseason team are top junior and sophomore players from last season: National Junior of the Year Bradie Fillmore and National Sophomore of the Year Kendall Beth Sides.

A year ago, Sides led the nation in hits (116), runs scored (97) and stolen bases (111) when she batted .612 and drove in 48 runs. She also pitched 114 innings and posted a 20-5 record as Sumiton Christian (Ala.) captured the state 2A title. The Alabama commit put her name in the National Federation of State High School Associations Record Book with her 97 runs, setting the single-season record.

Fillmore led Eagle (Idaho) to a 30-1 record and the 5A state championship last season. Named the Idaho Gatorade State Player of the Year, Fillmore posted a 15-1 record with a 0.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 98 innings pitched. Fillmore also batted .609 with 14 stolen bases, 14 home runs, 19 doubles, 61 runs scored and 71 RBIs, recording a .637 on-base percentage and a 1.174 slugging pct. She has signed with California.

The University Oregon, UCLA and Oklahoma University each had three future players (signed or committed) named to the Preseason All-American Team. The 31-player team is chosen based on past honors, recruiting rankings and statistical performance.


P - Miranda Elish, Crown Point (Ind.), Senior
The Oregon signee led the Bulldogs to a 29-3 season with a 15-1 record, 0.65 ERA and had 198 strikeouts in 107 innings. A MaxPreps All-American as a junior, Elish allowed 39 base hits, seven fewer than she collected as a batter. The Gatorade State Player of the Year also batted .479 and drove in 32 runs.

P - Mariah Lopez, Saugus (Calif.), Senior
Limited by an elbow injury in 2015, Lopez threw 124 innings with 194 strikeouts and a 12-2 record (1.05 ERA). As a sophomore in 2014, the Oklahoma signee was named the Foothill League Pitcher of the Year (94 innings with a 15-2 record, 170 strikeouts and a 0.59 ERA).

P - Holly Azevedo, Pioneer (San Jose, Calif.), Junior
Named a MaxPreps All-American and the San Jose Mercury News 2015 Player of the Year, Azevedo went 28-1 with a 0.04 ERA. She allowed only 55 hits and 24 walks in 177 innings while striking out 256. Her only loss was the final game of the season – the only game in which an earned run was scored against her. She has committed to UCLA.

P - Ashlee Swindle, Curry (Jasper, Ala.), Senior
Swindle led Jasper to 4A state title with a 43-5 record, 0.22 ERA and 327 strikeouts. She was named to Alabama Super Softball All-State Team, as well as being named the state 4A Pitcher and Player of the Year. A MaxPreps All-American as a junior, Swindle also batted .345 with a team-high 45 RBIs. She has signed with Auburn.

P - Arissa Paulson, Payson (Ariz.), Senior
Paulson posted a 26-2 record along with a 0.41 ERA, leading the Longhorns (34-2) to the D-3 state title game. The BYU signee struck out 375 batters in 170 innings, allowing just 64 hits and 19 walks in earning All-American honors and Gatorade State Player of the Year honors. The Division 3 State Player of the Year, she recorded 18 shutouts, including six no-hitters, batted .544 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs, and finished the year with a .580 on-base percentage and a 1.097 slugging percentage.

P - Morgan White, Forest (Ocala, Fla.), Senior
White struck out 335 batters last season and won 29 games, pitching to a 1.73 ERA and leading the Wildcats to the state 6A title. She also hit .410, driving in 58 RBIs and hitting a dozen home runs. Florida's Miss Softball was a MaxPreps All-American as a junior and has signed with Florida Gulf Coast University.

P - Brooke Vestal, Canyon (New Braunfels, Texas), Sophomore
Committed to Oklahoma, Vestal posted a 24-5 pitching record and 348 strikeouts. She threw four no-hitters, seven one-hitters, six two-hitters and three three-hitters and struck out 18 in a playoff game. She was 6A all-state and the District 25-6A MVP. The MaxPreps Freshman All-American Team honoree was also named the San Antonio Express POY.

P - Maggie Balint, Avon Grove (West Grove, Pa.), Senior
Balint led the Red Devils to a 20-5 record and a berth in the 4A state tournament and is a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year. In 2015, Balint owned a 19-5 record and a 0.56 ERA with 303 strikeouts in 162 innings. Balint, who also batted .486 with 18 RBIs, has signed with Oregon.

P - Lainey Stephenson, Veritas Prep (Phoenix), Junior
Stephenson struck out 468 batters in 186 innings to go with a 0.45 ERA and 26-4 record. She walked just 15 batters and limited opponents to a .076 batting average and batted a team-high .478 with 31 RBIs. The two-time Underclass All-American Team honoree has committed to Lehigh.

P - Julia Jensen, Reed (Sparks, Nev.), Junior
Jensen led the Raiders (37-2) to the D-1 state championship after posting a 34-2 record and a 0.80 ERA, along with a .477 batting average, seven home runs and 43 RBIs. A MaxPreps All-American honoree and the Las Vegas Review-Journal Player of the Year, Jensen struck out 346 batters in 211 innings. The Nevada commit was also named the Northern Nevada D-1 Player of the Year.

P - Meghan Beaubien, St. Mary Catholic Central (Monroe, Mich.), Junior
Beaubien, named to the MaxPreps All-American Underclass Team in 2015, led the Kestrels (36-5) to the D-3 state title and threw a no-hitter in the title game. In compiling a 28-3 record, she threw 10 no-hitters and struck out more than 400 batters last season. Named the Gatorade State Player of the Year, she has committed to Michigan.

C - Bailey Hemphill, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), Senior
Hemphill was walked 49 times in only 25 games in 2015, but she still hit .489 with nine homers and a .758 on-base percentage. A 4A all-state pick, Hemphill is also a three-time all-district catcher and was a second team all-district selection in basketball. The Alabama signee hit .630 with 17 homers and led her team to a state title as a sophomore in 2014 and was a 2015 MaxPreps all-American.

C - Kayla Konwent, Westosha Central (Salem, Wis.), Senior
A junior all-American, Konwent led the Falcons to a 28-4 record and a berth in the D-I state final. The two-time D-1 Player of the Year batted .627 with a state-record 21 home runs to go along with 35 runs scored and 46 RBIs. A two-time WFSCA First Team All-State Team honoree and Wisconsin signee, Konwent worked 37 walks and collected 26 extra-base hits, recording a .681 on-base percentage and 1.486 slugging percentage.

C - Taylor Johnson, Beecher (Ill.), Junior
Johnson batted .624 with 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and 58 runs scored in 2015, leading the Bobcats (24-7) to the Class 2A sectional semifinals. A Chicago Sun-Times two-time first team all-area selection, Johnson had 24 walks and collected 31 extra-base hits, recording a .706 on-base percentage and a 1.312 slugging percentage. The Wisconsin commit was the Gatorade State Player of the Year and a MaxPreps underclass all-American as a sophomore.

IF - Nicky Dawson, Parkview Baptist (Baton Rouge, La.), Senior
Dawson set school records in batting average (.602), hits (74), triples (14), on-base percentage (.660), runs (76) and stolen bases (59). She had 29 extra-base hits and 59 steals in 35 games to go along with five homers and 41 RBIs as the leadoff hitter. The LSU signee was named first team all-state, District 6-3A MVP, The Times-Picayune All-Baton Rouge Area Small Schools Player of the Year and the The Advocate's All-Metro Small Schools Player of the Year.

IF - LaShara James, Bayshore (Bradenton, Fla.), Senior
James led the area with a .683 batting average and six homers, four triples, eight doubles and a team-high 38 RBIs. She stole 25 bases and scored 29 runs while playing catcher, outfield and second base for the Bruins. The MaxPreps Junior All-American Team selection has signed with Southern Florida.

IF - Alissa Dalton, Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), Senior
Dalton was limited to only nine games as a junior, but they were impressive, as the Bobcats won all nine: .679 batting average, 18 runs, 19 hits, 22 RBIs and nine steals. She's healthy and has signed with Oklahoma.

IF - Jessica Harper, West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.), Senior
As a junior, Harper was named the All-SCV Player of the Year, 2015 Foothill League Player of the Year, D-1 All-CIF Southern Section First team, Los Angeles Daily News First Team and Cal-Hi Sports first-team All-State when she hit .519 on the season with seven home runs and a slugging percentage of .898 with 56 hits. She has signed with Arizona.

IF - Maggie Gallagher, Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wash.), Senior
The Seamount League MVP and MaxPreps all-American had a .719 batting average along with 42 runs scored and 34 RBIs. A Washington-bound shortstop, Gallagher helped the Lancers to a league title.

IF - Reyna Carranco, Oxnard (Calif.), Senior
Carranco batted .650 with 53 RBIs, 40 runs, 16 homers and was chosen the Pacific View League Player of the Year as well as being chosen to the first-team All-CIF Southern Section Team. The MaxPreps all-American has signed with Arizona.

IF - BreOnna Castaneda, Rio Rancho (N.M.), Senior
A MaxPreps Junior All-American Team selection, Castaneda led the Rams (23-8) to the Class 6A state championship a year ago when she owned a .558 batting average with nine home runs, 41 runs scored and 48 RBIs. The two-time first-team all-metro honoree also posted a .617 on-base percentage and stole 25 bases. The state's 2015 Gatorade State Player of the Year has signed with Utah.

IF - Bradie Fillmore, Eagle (Idaho), Senior
The MaxPreps National Junior of the Year played shortstop when she was not pitching and led the Mustangs to a 30-1 record and the 5A state championship. Named the Gatorade State Player of the Year, Fillmore posted a 15-1 record with a 0.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 98 innings pitched. The California signee also batted .609 with 14 stolen bases, 14 home runs, 19 doubles, 61 runs scored and 71 RBIs, recording a .637 on-base percentage and a 1.174 slugging percentage.

OF - Kendall Beth Sides, Sumiton Christian (Ala.), Junior
The MaxPreps National Sophomore Player of the Year, Sides led the nation in hits (116) and stolen bases (111) while batting .612 and driving in 48 runs. She also pitched 114 innings and posted a 20-5 record as Sumiton Christian captured the state 2A title. In addition to her national record for runs scored, her 111 stolen bases were third-best in a single season (117 is the record). The career mark for runs scored is 278 and the career mark for stolen bases is 320. In two seasons – and with two seasons remaining – Sides has scored 189 runs and swiped 287 bases.

OF - Julie Rodriguez, NV - Old Tappan (Old Tappan, N.J.), Junior
Rodriguez earned all-American and all-state honors when she batted .658 with a .740 on-base percentage. She also had 31 RBIs and 23 walks (15 intentional) with no strikeouts in 2015. In two playoff games, the UCLA commit was walked in all eight at-bats.

OF - Hannah Edwards, Catasauqua (Pa.), Senior
Edwards set a state record for stolen bases with 57 (twice she stole six in a game) and also had 57 base hits in batting .687 and scoring 40 times. The Pittsburgh signee was a 2015 MaxPreps all-American.

OF - Tianna Batts, Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), Senior
Batts batted .602 with 53 hits and was a perfect 43-for-43 in stolen base attempts as the Cougars went 29-1. She has played in only one losing game in high school in three seasons. A two-time MaxPreps Underclass All-American Team member, Batts has committed to Tennessee.

OF - Mia Camuso, Shasta (Redding, Calif.), Senior
Camuso's power numbers included a CIF Northern Section record of 16 homers plus 61 RBIs and a .604 batting average – giving her the Northern Section's Triple Crown. A multi-time MaxPreps postseason honoree, she has committed to Oregon.

UTIL - Madilyn Nickles, Merced (Calif.), Senior
The UCLA commit pitched five no-hitters, including four in conference play, and was 22-6 with a 1.18 ERA and 287 strikeouts in 178 innings. She was the only junior on the USA Junior National Team and was a MaxPreps all-American last season.

UTIL - Maribeth Gorsuch, Lewisville (Texas), Senior
In 2015, Gorsuch was 24-5 — giving her a career record of 66-15 — and the junior finished the season with a 0.90 ERA and 343 strikeouts in 210 innings. A MaxPreps All-American as a junior, the LSU commit led Lewisville in batting average (.463), hits (50), doubles (14), home runs (eight) and RBIs (32).

UTIL - Cayla Drotar, Hartsville (S.C.), Senior
Drotar led the Red Foxes (29-3) to the Class 3A state championship series in 2015. The state's returning Gatorade State Player of the Year posted a 21-3 record and a 0.68 ERA, along with a .635 batting average, 14 home runs and 62 RBIs. The South Carolina commit is a five-time all-state selection and last year struck out 209 batters in 143 innings, allowing just 48 hits, adding to her legacy as a repeat MaxPreps Underclass All-American Team honoree.

UTIL - Grace Baalman, Calhoun (Hardin, Ill.), Junior
The MaxPreps Sophomore All-American Team member supplied the power in the circle (34 wins, 428 strikeouts) and at the plate (19 homers, 17 doubles and 69 RBIs) en route to a state D-1 championship. She pitched 48 innings in postseason games for Calhoun and allowed only seven hits, seven walks and struck out 106 batters. Baalman, who had a 0.16 ERA, has committed to Kentucky.