2017 MaxPreps National Softball Player of the Year Watch List

Video: Struck out all but one in perfect game
See Texas pitcher Tessa Cantrell strike out an amazing 14 of 15 in a five-inning perfect game.

Nine seniors and three juniors highlight the first look at MaxPreps 2017 National Softball Player of the Year Watch List.

The list is dominated by hard-hitting pitchers. That's right ... hard hitting. While the pitchers have microscopic ERAs and many average better than two strikeouts per inning, they also have impressive batting averages and are big run producers.

They come from schools with nearly 3,000 students and schools with enrollments of about 200. All have signed or committed to play for major college softball programs.

If a player is not named to the Player of the Year Watch List, it does not mean they are not in the running for MaxPreps' National Player of the Year. While some states are wrapping up their softball seasons, others have played only a hand full of games with more than a month to play.



One such player is Meghan Beaubien of St. Mary Catholic Central (Monroe, Mich.). She has played five games due a late-starting season and inclement weather delays, but is 4-1 with 76 strikeouts in 39 innings and has a 0.50 ERA. Combining her sophomore and junior seasons, Beaubien won 60 games and had 794 strikeouts. She was Michigan's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2016 and has signed with Michigan.

And keep an eye on Camryn Ybarra of Mission Viejo (Calif.), who started slowly but has been on a tear with 23 base hits during a 10-game hitting streak. She was 9-for-9 with eight RBIs in back-to-back games recently and raised her average to .488. Ybarra, who has signed with Oregon State, was the MaxPreps 2016 Junior Player of the Year.

P – Taylor Dockins, Norco (Calif.), Sr.
Dockins has led Norco to a 27-0 season, and top ranking in both MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 Softball Rankings and MaxPreps National Computer Rankings. She's earned all 27 Cougar victories with a 0.67 ERA in 157 innings pitched. Dockins averages a strikeout per inning, has walked 18 while giving up 96 hits. In addition, she is hitting .403 with 20 RBIs, four homers, four triples and eight doubles. Dockins, who has signed with Fullerton State University, has a .588 on base percentage and a .745 slugging percentage. Dockins has 102 career wins in her four seasons at Norco, placing her second all-time in California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section history, one win behind the all-time section leader.

P – Annie Willis, Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.), Sr.
Willis, the national leader in strikeouts and wins, is better this year than last. And that's saying something for the Troy State signee. The senior is 35-1 with a 0.35 ERA and 438 strikeouts in 200 innings this season. Her junior year numbers were also impressive – 44-16, 583 strikeouts (second nationally) in 349 innings. Willis also has added 12 home runs and 54 RBIs at the plate. In her lone loss this season (2-0), she struck out 14 in five innings. In six seasons with Westminster, Willis has 152 wins, 79 shutouts and 1,870 strikeouts in 1,167 innings.

P – Chloe Romero, Academy of Careers & Exploration (Helendale, Calif.), Sr.
Romero is a multi-sport athlete who has lettered in softball, soccer, volleyball and cross country. She entered this season with three-year totals of 702 strikeouts in 387 innings with a 1.25 ERA, while also batting .553 with 135 hits, 154 runs scored, 46 stolen bases and a .910 slugging percentage. But this is her best season. Romero is hitting .708 with a base hit in each of the Eagles' 16 game, 27 RBIs, 35 runs scored and 18 extra base hits. She also is perfect in 11 steal attempts. In the circle, she's 14-1 with a 0.52 ERA and has allowed 18 hits and walked six in 80 innings. She has seven no-hitters and 213 strikeouts this season or 2.6 strikeouts per inning. Romero, who has signed with Texas, is a three-time MaxPreps All-American.

IF – Jenna Ergle, Sumiton Christian (Sumiton, Ala.), Sr.
Ergle is headed for a fourth-straight 100-plus RBI season with 99 to date and the postseason underway and Sumiton seeking its third straight Alabama 2A state title. She's clubbed 19 home runs for 46-8 Sumiton, including three grand slams and is hitting .533. She has the national record 435 RBIs (and still counting) for four varsity seasons. Ergle, who has signed with Boston College, drove in 106 runs her junior year, 103 as a sophomore and set the national record as a freshman with 127 RBIs while being named as MaxPreps Freshman of the Year in 2014.



OF – Kendall Beth Sides, Sumiton Christian (Sumiton, Ala.), Sr.
Sides, the University of Alabama signee, has is hitting .605 and has scored 87 runs, stolen 81 bases, driven in 58 and knocked out 33 extra base hits. Her junior year stats included 101 base hits (.571 batting average), 104 runs scored and 82 stolen bases as Sumiton won 57 games and the State 2A title. Sides owns national record with 280 runs scored and 450 stolen bases, and was named the State 2A Player of the Year and to the All-Alabama Super Softball Team as a junior. As a sophomore, she had 115 base hits, second all-time nationally.

P – Kathryn Sandercock, Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), Jr.
Sandercock is 20-0 for the 22-0 Knights, having struck out 241 in 115 innings. She's allowed three runs, but only one earned and has given up 22 hits (1.1 per game) as opponents are hitting 0.60 against her. She's issued 14 walks to help her paltry 0.06 ERA. Offensively, Sandercock, is hitting .435 with 40 RBIs on 30 hits. Committed to James Madison, she's hit six home runs, six triples and eight doubles. A member of the U.S. Junior National Girls Team, Sandercock has a .986 slugging percentage.

P – Montana Fouts, East Carter (Grayson, Ky.), Jr.
Fouts is 15-2 with 233 strikeouts in 102 innings for the 20-3 Raiders. The University of Alabama commit has tossed four no-hitters and allowed seven walks and 29 hits this season. She's hitting .565 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs. Last season, Fouts was the 2016 MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year, the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and was 33-2 while guiding East Carter to a 37-2 mark. She fanned 479 in 221 innings and pitched 24 shutouts with a nation-leading 14 no-hitters, nine of which were perfect games.

IF/P – Marissa Schuld, Pinnacle (Phoenix), Jr.
Schuld is 20-0 with a 0.50 ERA, 220 strikeouts in 111 innings and a the major reason the 32-1 Pioneers are No. 2 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rankings. Opponents are hitting .103 against her and she has nine shutouts. Schuld, the University of Arizona commit, is hitting .520 with 15 home runs, 56 RBIs and 30 extra base hits.

P – Allison Muraskin, Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), Sr.
Muraskin, who has signed with Central Florida, is 23-1 with a 0.27 ERA as the Panthers are No. 5 in the Xcellent 25 rankings. She has 214 strikeouts in 128 innings and has allowed 58 base hits. Her lone loss was by one run. She is hitting .324 with 21 RBIs. A two-time MaxPreps All-American, Muraskin is closing in on 100 career varsity wins and 1,000 career strikeouts. Dating back to her sophomore season, she is 72-4.

C – Mia Davidson, Orange (Hillsborough, N.C.), Sr.
Davidson, who has signed with Mississippi State, has picked up where she left off last season. She is hitting .657 with 35 runs scored, 17 stolen bases and has been walked 20 times in 17 games. Still, she's managed to hit nine homers, seven doubles and drive in 41 runs. Her on-base percentage is .824 and has a slugging percentage of 1.657. Last season, Davidson led the Panthers to the third round of the Class 3A North Carolina state playoffs with a .740 average, 18 home runs, 49 RBIs and 57 runs scored. The 2016 state Gatorade Player of the Year, Davidson has committed three errors in 100 fielding chances (.970).



P – Grace Baalman, Calhoun (Hardin, Ill.), Sr.
Baalman, who struck out 39 batters in one state playoff game as a junior, has signed with Kentucky. She is 16-4 this season with nine shutouts and 263 strikeouts in 125 innings with a 0.50 ERA. In the batter's box, she is hitting .562 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and has a 1.055 slugging percentage. She has combined to score and drive in 57 runs despite being walked 19 times in 22 games. As a junior, she hit 18 home runs and batted over .500. Baalman struck out a combined 1,017 batters as a sophomore and a junior.

P – Kaitlin Beasley-Polko, Leonardtown (Md.), Sr.
Beasley-Polko's three previous seasons have been outstanding, but her senior year is her best. She is batting .644 and has a base hit in each game this season. More importantly, she is 17-0 with a 0.25 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 111 innings. Opponents are batting just 0.84 against her and she has issued 24 base on balls as Leonardtown is unbeaten through 17 games. She has signed with Coastal Carolina.