High school softballl strikeout leaders: UCLA commit from Arizona tops national leaderboard

The million dollar question in Arizona softball circles is how would Kaitlyn Terry fair at the plate if she had to face herself? The Greenway (Phoenix) junior leads the nation — by a wide margin — in strikeouts for the 24-3 Demons.

The left-handed UCLA commit has struck out 348 batters in 134 innings — a remarkable 2.6 per inning — while sporting a 20-1 record and 0.37 ERA. She's walked just 12 (one every 11 innings) and allowed 32 hits (one every 4.2 innings), while recording 13 no-hitters, although 10 of those were less than six innings due to 10-run mercy rules. Nobody else in the nation has more than eight no-hitters.

Greenway has outscored opponents 282-39.

Terry is also the team's offensive standout, hitting .586 (41 of 70) with 15 home runs, 14 doubles and 55 RBI. She's among the state leaders in all categories.

Her most eye-opening numbers are around the whiff. She's struck out at least 15 on 15 occasions, twice going over 20 with a high of 24 in a 3-2 eight-inning win over Coconino. She allowed one hit and one walk in that game. Only one other player — MacKinley Portillo of Douglas (Ala.) — has at least 300 strikeouts.

Terry's bloodlines are strong as her mother Kristy led Florida State to an ACC softball title in 1998 and her sister Kendyl was a standout at Moon Valley in 2019. Terry was the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore when she hit .639 with nine home runs and went 10-4 on the mound and 237 strikeouts in 97.1 innings. .

MaxPreps compiles leaderboards from statistics supplied by high school coaches from throughout the country.