Middle-school players play major roles as stat leaders for some high school softball teams

Video: 7th-grader hits walk-off home run for varsity high school softball team
See middle-school slugger Johnna Staggs hit a walk-off homer

Aspen Wesley has yet to set foot in a classroom at Neshoba Central (Philadelphia, Miss.), but she has already pitched the Rockets to a pair of 5A state softball titles and is a two-time All-State Team selectee.

She has a chance to be a six-time All-State Team member, as well as a six-time state champion.

In the state semifinals, she pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a run-rule shortened 11-0 game, then two-hit West Harrison in the title game. She also no-hit New Hope earlier in the state tournament.

With only a few states allowing middle school students to play up, it is a rare opportunity to see such young players leading their teams to state titles. Neshoba Central coach Trae Embry said he's not surprised by anything Wesley accomplishes. He considers the 14-year-old to be the best pitcher in Mississippi.

"She might be an eighth-grade hitter, but she certainly is not your usual eighth-grade pitcher," said Embry, referring to her .243 batting average. "She is the No. 1 pitcher in the state at any age.

"She is a special player."

Wesley isn't alone at making an impact at the high school level though she's yet to be called a prep. A handful of seventh- and eighth-grade students throughout the United States are getting an early opportunity to shine and they're posting numbers worth national recognition.

Not all states allow middle-schoolers to play at that level, but representatives from those states that do say guidelines are in place before a student is eligible. Ron Ingram from the Alabama High School Athletic Association says seventh- and eighth-graders can play if it is a grades 7-12 or K-12 school or a feeder school into a high school. And the player must live in the school's geographic zone.

"Plus, the (middle and high) schools involved must agree on the player playing up," Ingram said.

"There is no distinct advantage to playing up other than the competitive level," he said. "All players in the state are limited to 18 regular season games, not counting tournaments or playoffs. If a player participates in a dozen middle school games, they then can compete in six regular-season games."

Ingram noted that seventh-grader Michaela Morad of Huntsville (Ala.) tied a 6A-7A state record in winning the state's large schools golf title.

"Many youngsters are ready to compete at a higher level," he said.

Ricky Neaves, assistant director for the Mississippi High School Athletic Association, said there are two requirements for youngsters to play at the high school level in Mississippi.

One of Wesley's requirements to be eligible to play up is based upon academics.

"All seventh- and eighth-graders must maintain a 2.0 grade point average in the four core courses (English, math, science and social studies) and they must live in the school district of their high school," said Neaves, who noted that a 2.0 overall GPA is required for high school students. "There is more pressure and more time away from class in high school sports than at lower levels, so we want to make sure students are handling their core classes before allowing them to play up."

Wesley's numbers show that she's handling the classes and opposing offenses. In her two varsity seasons, she has lost just once to go along with 37 victories. Her lone loss was 2-0 to Germantown (Madison, Miss.) early in the 2015 season. However, Wesley beat Germantown twice (4-0, 6-2) in the state tournament.

This season, she went 18-1 with a 0.80 ERA and struck out 163 batters in 114 innings. She had 16 complete games. As a seventh-grader, Wesley was 19-0 with a 0.69 ERA and struck out 209 batters in 121 innings and earned her first of two all-state honors. Her ERA would be tied for seventh in the nation but she has not pitched enough innings to qualify for the MaxPreps stat leaderboards.

"She works hard at being good. She wants to win and works 365 days a year to be successful," said Embry, who noted she has five different pitches in her arsenal. "Her best pitches are her screwball and curveball. It's tough for batters to get the bat on the ball."

In addition to movement, Wesley consistently pitches 61-62 mph and displays excellent control, indicative of just 66 walks in 235 high school innings. In two seasons, she is averaging better than 1.5 strikeouts per inning.

"Despite her age, her strong point is her mental approach to the game. She is so far ahead of any others at her age ... she never gets rattled. She never changes expression. She understands she has a good defense and that her team will score runs. She is very confident," Embry said.

When Embry took over the softball program at Neshoba Central two years ago, he said he had never seen Wesley pitch, but had heard about her.

"But you hear that about a lot of kids," he said. "We have 3,000 students and you get told about this kid or that kid ... some you see it, some you don't."

With Wesley, Embry certainly "saw it."

"No doubt about it," said Embry. "She is my ace."

Though Wesley has had an unofficial visit to a Division 1 school, Embry said "she's focusing" on her immediate future, which will include playing slow pitch softball in the fall.

"Playing slow pitch will help her defensively," he said. "Right now, when she plays, she only pitches. This will make her all-around game better."

Here's a brief look at some other eighth-graders making an impact at the high school level:

- Maddie Webber of King's Academy (Seymour, Tenn.) is hitting over .500 and has already verbally committed to Tennessee.

- Kaylyn Dismukes of Holtville (Deatsville, Ala.) averaged a strikeout per inning in 194 pitched with a 21-13 record and a 2.63 ERA. She also had team highs in batting (.473), hits (53), RBIs (20) and slugging percentage (.633). She pitched 30 complete games and had a season-high 17 strikeouts against Elmore County.

- McKenna Griffin of Wilson Christian Academy (N.C.) only played in 18 games, but made the most of them as she batted .630, scored 36 runs and drove in 33.

- Lily Tanski of Tuscaloosa Home Educators (Northport, Ala.) led her team to a 17-9 season by hitting .623 and driving in 38 runs. She also was 13-3 in the circle and recorded a 1.62 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 95 innings. Few players in the nation matched Tanski's two strikeout per inning ratio.

- Arianna Burford of Greenbrier Christian Academy (Chesapeake, Va.) hit a team-high 10 homers and helped lead the Gators to their seventh-straight (and 10th overall) VISAA D2 state title. She batted a team-high .507 and drove in 38 runs.

- Maelyn Thompson of Johnsonville (S.C.) led the Flashes to the AA Lower State title game and a 26-5 record by hitting eight home runs, scoring 47 runs and stealing 22 bases without getting caught.

- Ali Settlemires of Biggersville (Corinth, Miss.) won a dozen games and struck out 146 in 122 innings.

- Chloe Culp of North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.) led the Eagles to a 19-6 record with team-high marks for home runs (seven), RBIs (40), runs scored (47) and hitting (.527).

- Kaleigh Caulder starts for Latta (S.C.), which plays in the state A title game this weekend. She is batting .397, has scored 36 runs and stolen 18 bases.

- Caroline Clark of Colbert Heights (Tuscumbia, Ala.) led the Wildcats to a 42-7 record and deep into the state 3A playoffs with a team-high 47 RBIs, a .423 batting average and 58 base hits. Teammate Kinsley Milender, a seventh-grader, batted .357 with 31 RBIs and 18 extra base hits.

- Daniella Wilson of Indian Land (Fort Mill, S.C.) led to the 2A Warriors to an 18-8 season with a .500 batting average and team highs in hits, homers and RBIs.

- Arianna Atchley of Prattville Christian Academy (Ala.) scored a team-leading 52 runs and stole 41 bases to lead the Panthers to a 36-win season. Eighth-grade teammate Melissa Townsend was 11-5 with a 2.66 ERA and batted .324.

- Brylie St.Clair of Sand Rock (Leesburg, Ala.) is a two-time all-state player after putting up big numbers for a second-straight season (48 runs, 26 RBIs, .548 batting average and 31 stolen bases). She was the 3A Wildcats' top offensive player and had 26 more base hits than any other teammate in a 19-15 season.

- Daja Cowan of Resurrection Catholic (Pascagoula, Miss.) stole 47 bases and batted .479 in 16 games.

Not to be outdone by the older eighth-graders, a pair of seventh-graders made headlines. Halle Payne averaged better than a strikeout per inning and had an 0.89 ERA as Hale County (Moundville, Ala.) won Alabama's 3A state title. And Liz Rodebaugh of Dale County (Midland City, Ala.) scored 47 runs and batted .466.

Payne picked up two wins at the state tournament, including a four-hit, 10-inning quarterfinal victory. Her only loss on the season was 2-0 to 4A state champion Curry. Her freshman teammate Savanna Holmes batted .407 and won 15 games as an eighth-grader in 2014 to lead Hale County to the state 2A title.

Also, seventh-grader Johnna Staggs of Rogers (Florence, Ala.) had a pair of walk-off game winners for the Pirates this season.

While some states give the green light for middle-school players to move up, most don't. However, that has not stopped the following Class of 2019 members to verbally commit to play softball for Division 1 universities:

- Paloma Usquiano from Downey, Calif. has committed to Arkansas.

- Maddison Koepke, who will play at Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), has committed to Auburn.

- Sydney Supple, who will play at Oshkosh North (Wis.), has committed to Northwestern.

- Raylee Pogue from Ardmore, Okla. has committed to Oklahoma.

- Kinzie Hansen from Anaheim, Calif. has committed to Oklahoma.

- Ariel Carlson, who will attend Sheldon (Eugene, Ore.), has committed to Oregon.

- Deijah Pangilinan, who will play for St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo, Calif.), has committed to Oregon.

- Kaitlyn Morrison from South Park, Pa. has committed to Penn State.

- Vanessa Oatley from Providence, R.I. has committed to Penn State.

- Michelle Leone from Jacksonville, Fla. has committed to Penn State.

- Caitlyn McCrary from Murfreesboro, Tenn. has committed to Tennessee.

- Natalia Reeves from Liberty Hill, Texas has committed to Texas State.

- Lexandra Sosa from Los Angeles has committed to UCLA.