MaxPreps 2015 Preseason All-American Softball Team

A pair of Mission Viejo (Calif.) seniors – Taylor McQuillin and Alyssa Palomino – highlight MaxPreps' 2015 Preseason Softball All-American Team.

McQuillin, who was named MaxPreps' National Junior of the Year, and Palomino have both signed with the University of Arizona. They led Mission Viejo to a 26-1 season in 2014. McQuillin was also chosen as Gatorade's 2014 National Player of the Year.

Palomino, who hit 17 home runs a year ago, is a member of the U.S. Junior Women's National Team. They are the main reason why Mission Viejo is ranked atop the Maxpreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings.

The 33-member preseason team represents players from 18 states and includes 30 seniors and three juniors.


P - Taylor McQuillin, Mission Viejo (Calif.), Senior
Last year she went 25-1 with a 0.72 ERA and 316 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 164 innings. She threw two perfect games, two no-hitters and five one-hitters. McQuillin finished the season with 16 straight games of at least 10 strikeouts. In her five playoff appearances, she struck out 72 batters and scattered only seven hits for a 10-to-1 strikeouts-to-hits ratio. McQuillin, who was the Orange County Register's Pitcher of the Year, was named Gatorade's National Player of the year and has signed with Arizona.

P - Miranda Elish, Crown Point (Ind.), Junior
In two varsity seasons, she hasn't disappointed, with 41 wins in 43 decisions. As a sophomore, Elish went 24-1 with a 0.31 ERA, 233 strikeouts and only 18 walks in 137 innings and was named MaxPreps' Sophomore of the Year. At the plate, Elish hit .462 with 48 hits, 26 RBIs and scored 21 runs. She had 21 extra base hits, including 16 doubles and four homers. Elish was Indiana's Gatorade State Player of the Year. She has committed to Oregon.

P - Taran Alvelo, Bloom-Carroll (Carroll, Ohio), Senior
Alvelo, 27-3 on the season, limited opponents to 45 hits in 182 innings and posted a 0.46 ERA. In seven postseason games, she threw five shutouts (including 91 strikeouts in the final five games). She finished the season with 378 and has a career mark of 1,111. She finished the year with 10 no-hitters and 16 shutouts. She also batted .455 with 32 RBIs and seven home runs. Alvelo has signed with Washington.

P - Tamara Statman, Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Senior
The Arizona signee was imposing in the circle (recording 289 strikeouts and winning 20 games with a 1.22 ERA) and the batter's box (batting .515 with 52 hits, 25 RBIs, a .595 on-base percentage and a 1.437 OPS).


P - Rachel Garcia, Highland (Palmdale, Calif.), Senior
Garcia led Highland to the CIF-SS D3 quarterfinals with a 21-3 pitching record. She also had a 0.36 ERA with 323 strikeouts in 156 innings. At the plate, Garcia batted .492 with nine homers and 36 RBIs. She has signed with UCLA and has been named to the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team.

P - Megan Hensley, Ashland Blazer (Ky.), Senior
Kentucky's Gatorade State Player of the Year struck out 415 batters in 228 innings and posted a 0.99 ERA with a 30-6 record. The Louisville commit also batted .529 with 46 RBIs.

P - Maddie Damon, Kasson-Mantorville (Kasson, Minn.), Senior
Damon, who was 26-0 as a junior and led Kasson-Mantorville to the state 2A title, has more than 1,175 strikeouts in three seasons. She has hurled 20 shutouts, six no-hitters, 10 one-hitters and allowed just 36 base hits. The Purdue commit batted .377 with 26 RBIs.

P - Brynne Fitzpatrick, Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.), Senior
Fitzpatrick allowed an average of two hits per game and more than two strikeouts per inning in winning 21 games and posting a 0.60 ERA. She had 381 strikeouts (186 innings), pitched five no-hitters and eight one-hitters. The Cal signee also is the only pitcher to beat No. 3 ranked Archbishop Mitty (30-1) in 2014.

P - Cheyenne Eggens, Mathews (Vienna, Ohio), Senior
Eggens had 419 strikeouts in 218 innings to go along with a 0.38 ERA and a 28-4 record. In a 1-0, 13-inning victory over Bristol, the University of South Florida signee struck out 28.

P - Maggie Balint, Avon Grove (West Grove, Pa.), Junior
Balint led the Red Devils to a 20-6 record and a berth in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. She owned a 20-4 record in the circle with a 0.46 ERA and 358 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched and allowed just 11 earned runs. She also posted a .405 batting average. She was her state's Gatorade Player of the Year.

C - Ariann Samaniego, Desert Edge (Goodyear, Ariz.), Senior
Samaniego once again put up major stats: 16 homers, 15 doubles, 66 RBIs, .682 batting average, 1.582 slugging percentage and 2.299 OPS. With numbers like that, it's easy to understand why the Scorpions won 22 games. She has signed with the University of Northern Colorado.

C - Reagan Hathaway, Northwest (Olathe, Kan.), Senior
Hathaway hit .759 with 11 doubles, six homers, 36 RBIs and already holds eight career school records with one year remaining. The Texas signee was the Kansas City Star's Metro Player of the Year.

C – Stephanie Abello, Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), Senior
Abello led Benet Academy to a 30-3 record as she hit 22 home runs and drove in teammates 63 times. She batted .481 and was named the Naperville Sun's Player of the Year. The Illinois signee needs seven home runs to set a state record.

C - Bailey Hemphill, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), Junior
Hemphill led St. Thomas More to the 4A state title and was named 4A MVP after hitting 17 home runs, 14 doubles and driving in 56 RBIs. She batted .630 and has committed to Alabama.

IF - Vada Sherrill, Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), Senior
The state's first "60-60" player with 60 hits and 60 runs scored, Sherrill led Central to another state title, a 35-0 record and a No. 2 national finish in MaxPreps' final Xcellent 25. She also stole 51 bases and was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year.

IF - Brianna Tautalafua, Carson (Calif.), Senior
Named the Wave Newspaper Group's Player of the Year for the second-straight year, Tautalafua once again put up big numbers: 19 homers, 60 RBIs, .561 average and 63 runs in 33 games. The UCLA signee had a .669 on-base percentage, a 1.402 slugging percentage and a 2.071 OPS.


IF - Aubrey Leach, The Woodlands (Texas), Senior
Leach batted .589 with nine doubles, eight triples, six home runs, 49 runs batted in and 51 stolen bases. The Tennessee commit scored 66 runs.

IF - Tannon Snow, Chino Hills (Calif.), Senior
Snow collected 61 hits and drove in 58 runs to lead Chino Hills to a 30-win season. The Washington signee scored 43 times and had 21 doubles and 14 home runs.

IF - Sydney Romero, Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.), Senior
Signed with Oklahoma, Romero was named the HSGameTime All-Inland Position Player of the Year after hitting .612 with 30 RBIs, 11 home runs and scoring 41 runs. She has been selected as one of five high school players to play for the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team.

IF - Rebekah Cervantes, Redwood (Visalia, Calif.), Senior
Cervantes had impressive numbers: 1.300 slugging percentage, 69 RBIs, .614 batting average and 11 home runs. She has signed with Boise State.

IF - Kenzi Maguire, River Ridge (New Port Richey, Fla.), Senior
Maguire put up good numbers, as River Ridge won 26 of 30 games. She batted .598 with 34 of her 58 hits going for extra bases. She scored 52 runs and drove in 45.

IF - Julia Hollingsworth, Ennis (Texas), Senior
Named the Dallas Morning News Player of the Year, Hollingsworth scored 83 runs in 44 games and batted .638 with 45 RBIs as Ennis reached the state 4A final. The Tulsa signee also stole 56 bases and has 101 steals in two seasons.

IF - Alyssa Dicarlo, Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.), Senior
Committed to Georgia, DiCarlo homered 16 times and drove in 63 despite being walked 21 times.

OF - Amanda Lorenz, Moorpark (Calif.), Senior
In 30 games last spring, Lorenz hit .642 with eight home runs, 22 doubles and collected 68 base hits.The Florida signee scored 48 times and had base hits in all but two games.

OF - Faith Lowry, Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.), Senior
You want runs? Lowry scores them - 84 to be exact in 55 games - as Gibbs went 50-6 on the season. She batted .604 and collected 113 base hits. She also stole 74 bases in 75 attempts.


OF - Alyssa Palomino, Mission Viejo (Calif.), Senior
Palomino led Mission Viejo with 17 home runs, 36 runs and 34 RBIs to earn her a second-straight Orange County Register Player of the Year honor. With 42 career home runs, she sits four shy of tying the Orange County record set by El Toro's Lauren Chamberlain. Named to the USA Junior Women's Team, she has signed with Arizona.

OF - Falepolima Aviu, Rancho Buena Vista (Vista, Calif.), Senior
The San Diego Hall of Champions All-CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year hit .651 on 54 hits, and had 14 of the team's 23 home runs, four of its five triples, 14 of the 35 doubles, 32 of the 108 RBIs and 40 of the 138 runs scored. Her 54 hits were 25 percent of the team's output as well. The speedy Aviu, who has committed to Oklahoma, also had 24 stolen bases.

UTIL - Colette Robert, McLoughlin (Milton-Freewater, Ore.), Senior
Robert led Mac-Hi to the Oregon 4A state title and was named the state's Pitcher of the Year. She won 23 of 26 games and walked just nine while striking out 257 in 171 innings. Her ERA was 0.99. Robert, who has committed to New Mexico, also batted over .700 and drove in 50 runs with 25 extra base hits in 26 games.

UTIL - Andrea Kindrick, Russellville (Ark.), Senior
Kindrick batted .604 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs and was 21-3 with a 0.30 ERA and 296 strikeouts pitching. The Alabama signee was named the Gatorade State Softball Player of the Year for Arkansas and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Softball Player of the Year.

UTIL - Brittany Finney, Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.), Senior
The Oklahoma commit has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the country after leading BCHS to a fourth Class 5A state title. She went 12-0 in the circle with a 0.46 ERA and allowed only three runs all year, while on offense she hit .553 with 47 RBIs and knocked a team-leading 12 home runs.

UTIL - Morgan Ray, Frenchtown (Mont.), Senior
A two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, Ray posted a 23-1 record along with a 0.72 ERA leading the Broncs (28-1) to a second-straight Class A state title. Ray struck out 280 batters and walked just 28 in 145 innings pitched. She fired 10 no-hitters, including one perfect game, and held opponents to a .114 batting average. The Ohio State signee also batted .598 with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs and a 1.253 slugging percentage.

UTIL - Samantha Show, East Bernard (Texas), Senior
The 5A transfer (from Pearland) led East Bernard to the state semifinals. Show batted .732 with 22 RBIs and 18 extra base hits. She also was 14-1 pitching with 173 strikeouts in 83 innings. She allowed 17 hits and four earned runs. The Texas A&M signee was the MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year in 2013 when she won 30 games and struck out 357 (in 183 innings) for Pearland.

UTIL - Darby Bishop, Newton County (Decatur, Miss.), Senior
Bishop went 21-0 with a 1.53 ERA and batted .621 with 44 RBIs as Newton repeated as the state 4A champion. The Jackson State signee was the state's Gatorade Softball Player of the Year.