The 2025 high school softball season is close to getting underway in many states. Ahead of opening pitch, we are looking at the best player from each state expected to play this spring, as well as those that played in the fall.
Our preseason coverage continues Jan. 30 as we look at the best team from each state.
Alabama
Ava Hodo, Orange Beach
Catcher | Class of 2025Hodo was a big reason why the Makos finished as the top-ranked team in the country in 2024. The Arkansas commit hit .486 with 12 home runs.
Alaska
Sela Rodriguez, Bettye Davis East Anchorage (Anchorage)
Pitcher | Class of 2026The reigning Alaska Player of the Year struck out 123 batters and held opponents to a .123 batting average, leading the Thunderbirds to the Division 1 state title in 2024.
Arizona
Lilly Goodwin, Desert Mountain (Scottsdale)
Pitcher | Class of 2026The lefty fanned 201, finished 16-1 and ended with a 0.54 ERA. The Northwestern commit also can hit, finishing her sophomore season with a .554 average.
Arkansas
Kaylee McDonald, Des Arc
Pitcher | Class of 2026The Southern Mississippi commit led all sophomores with 346 strikeouts in 150 innings. She mowed down 10 more more hitters in 21 games in 2024.
California
Kai Minor Orange Lutheran (Orange)
Outfield | Class of 2025Coach Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooner fans will love what Minor brings to the table. She can hit for average and power, possesses a solid glove and can make things happen on the base paths.
Colorado
Meredith Barnhart, Lutheran (Parker)
Infielder | Class of 2025Tennessee signee wrapped up her high school career in the fall with a fourth-straight state title, batting .536 with 33 home runs and 188 RBI.
Connecticut
Julia Bacoulis, Masuk (Monroe)
Utility | Class of 2025The Florida Gulf Coast commit helped the Panthers win a sixth-straight Class L state championship. She hit .450 with 10 home runs and was also 19-0 in the circle with a 0.80 ERA.
Delaware
Zayda Rocke, Caravel (Bear)
Catcher | Class of 2025She has helped the Buccaneers win four-straight state championships. The Maryland commit is one of the top catchers in the Class of 2025.
Florida
Natalie Cable, Bloomingdale (Valrico)
Pitcher | Class of 2025The UCLA commit has nearly 950 career strikeouts with a season left to play. She also hit 12 home runs in 2024.
Georgia
Caroline Stanton, Buford
Pitcher | Class of 2026The junior plays in the fall and has been lights out her entire prep career. The Florida commit finished 2024 with 0.62 ERA and threw 11 shutouts. At the plate, she batted .409 with 13 home runs.
Hawaii
Jerrell Mailo, Mililani
Utility | Class of 2026The Oklahoma commit plays first and third as well as bringing it in the circle.
Idaho
Delaney Wright, Timberline (Boise)
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Utah Tech commit struck out 263 in 139 innings of work. She also hit .432 with a .577 on-base percentage.
Illinois
Ava Lorenzatti, Beecher
Pitcher | Class of 2026Headed to Florida State, Lorenzatti brings it in the circle. As a sophomore, she struck out 10 or more batters in 19 games and finished with 271 total. She also hit .532 last spring.
Indiana
Berkley Zache, South Bend St. Joseph (South Bend)
Pitcher | Class of 2025The powerful right-handed ace has a career 44-4 mark and over 700 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just 0.76 against the Oklahoma signee.
Iowa
Mariah Myers, St. Edmond (Fort Dodge)
Infielder | Class of 2025The Iowa commit hit .600 with 14 home runs, 36 RBI and 29 walks as a junior.
Kansas
Peyton Hardenberger, Wamego
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Kansas Player of the Year in 2024 threw back-to-back no-hitters in the semifinals and final to lead her team to a state championship. Tennessee commit mowed down 30 batters in a 17-inning quarterfinal game that lasted nearly four hours.
Kentucky
Anna Kemp, Henderson County
Pitcher | Class of 2025At the dish in 2024, Kemp crushed 10 home runs and batted .409. In the circle, the Southern Indiana commit went 25-1, struck out 195 hitters and guided the Colonels to their first state championship.
Louisiana
Kynzee Anderson, Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport)
Pitcher | Class of 2026The Georgia commit has already struck out nearly 800 batters. She finished last year with a 25-2 mark and 274 strikeouts.
Maine
Addison DeRoche, Cheverus (Portland)
Pitcher | Class of 2027As a freshman she struck out 21 batters in the state title game, lifting Cheverus to its first state title. The sophomore was named the 2024 MaxPreps Maine Player of the Year.
Maryland
Mackenzie Knight, Patterson Mill (Bel Air)
Outfielder | Class of 2025The Syracuse commit has already piled up over 100 hits during her prep career. She is also a major threat on the base paths with 68 career stolen bases.
Massachusetts
Ali Gill, King Philip Regional (Wrentham)
Utility | Class of 2026The Colgate commit is an all-around stud athlete. She can hit for power, has tremendous speed and does work with her glove in center field.
Michigan
Aubrey Jones, Gaylord
Utility | Class of 2025Oklahoma State commit had a season most could only dream of in 2024. She batted .444 at the plate and led the nation with 26 home runs and 84 RBI. In the circle she was just as dominant, going 15-0 and striking out 122 batters in 81 innings of work.
Minnesota
Carter Raymond, Randolph
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Minnesota commit finished 27-1 in the circle in 2024 while striking out 310. She helped the Rockets bring home the Class 2A state championship.
Mississippi
Kinley Pittman, Corinth
Utility | Class of 2026The power hitter played a big part in the Warriors first ever state championship in 2024. She spent most of her time at first base last spring but look for the Ole Miss commit to damage in the circle as well.
Missouri
Olivia Hemme, Concordia
Pitcher | Class of 2025The team's top hitter and pitcher was money in the Class 1A state championship game, pitching a complete game two-hitter, striking out 12 and leading her team to a 1-0 victory.
Montana
Olivia Mills, Belgrade
Pitcher | Class of 2025The right-handed pitcher made big improvements year-over-year, striking out 96 more batters as a junior. She finished 2024 with 189 Ks.
Nebraska
Alexis Jensen, Gretna
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Nebraska signee was a major reason the Dragons finished 38-0 in the fall. The powerful lefty hit a walk-off blast to win the Class A state championship.
Nevada
Bailey Goldberg, Coronado (Henderson)
Infielder | Class of 2026The Oregon commit struck out only two times in over 100 plate appearances, finishing with a .533 average and leading her team to a 5A state title.
New Hampshire
Zoey Lord, Newport
Pitcher | Class of 2026The UCF commit is a strong right-handed pitcher who also is a playmaker on the basketball court. The junior can hit the upper 60s in the circle.
New Jersey
Madison McDougall, St. John-Vianney (Holmdel)
Pitcher | Class of 2026The right-handed pitcher struck out 300 hitters and finished with a 0.85 ERA in 164 innings pitched. The Monmouth University commit will look to win a third-straight title in 2025.
New Mexico
Malie Satete, West Las Vegas (Las Vegas)
Utility | Class of 2028As an eighth grader she blasted 25 home runs, finished with a .773 batting average and drove in 76 runs. She also helped the Dons win their first ever state championship in the circle, going 14-1 and mowing down 143 batters.
New York
Ava Papaleo, Ursuline (New Rochelle)
Utility | Class of 2026The Virginia commit had a monster sophomore season batting over .600, with 56 RBI and 10 home runs.
North Carolina
Kina Davis, South Brunswick (Southport)
Pitcher | Class of 2025Committed to North Carolina, Davis was sensational in leading her team to a Class 3A state championship in 2024. She led the state with 328 strikeouts while batting .416 with 10 home runs.
North Dakota
Jocelyn Berg, Red River (Grand Forks)
Pitcher | Class of 2027Berg was named a first team all-state player for the second time as a freshman. She was 13-1 with a 1.41 ERA and also hit .493.
Ohio
Pitcher | Class of 2025Georgia Tech commit was the centerpiece for the Falcons, who won a second consecutive Division 1 title last spring. Finished 22-1 in the circle with a .044 ERA and 273 Ks while batting .500 with 11 home runs.
Oklahoma
Allyssa Parker, Pocola
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Oklahoma signee is one of the top athletes ever from the Sooner State. Her senior season was unreal, finishing 28-1 with a 0.10 ERA and 224 punch-outs. She also hit 15 bombs and batted .667.
Oregon
Ellie Joseph, Oregon City
Pitcher | Class of 2025The lefty ace finished with a 0.85 ERA during her junior campaign. The Yale commit can also hit, finishing with a .477 batting average.
Pennsylvania
Addy Frye, Neshannock (New Castle)
Pitcher | Class of 2025Providence commit helped the Lancers finish with a 26-0 record and Class 2A state title. Frye struck out 212 batters, had a 0.59 ERA and held opponents to a .136 batting average.
Rhode Island
Phoenyx Silva, La Salle Academy (Providence)
Infielder | Class of 2025Silva has propelled the Rams to back-to-back state titles, including a 25-0 record in 2024. The Iowa commit batted .493 with 24 extra-base hits, 10 home runs and a .579 on-base percentage.
South Carolina
Ansley Bennett, Summerville
Pitcher | Class of 2025The South Carolina commit was about as dominant as a player could be for a team that finished 30-0 and won back-to-back state titles. She finished with a 0.16 ERA while opponents batted just .079 against her in 89 innings of work.
South Dakota
Madelyn Ducheneaux, Harrisburg
Utility | Class of 2025The University of Central Missouri commit finished her junior season with a .659 on-base percentage. She had 38 hits, was walked 17 times and had 17 extra-base hits.
Tennessee
Kailey Plumlee, Gordonsville
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Tennessee commit helped her team repeat as state champs in 2024 after striking out 359 batters and brought that same fear at the plate, smashing 22 home runs and batting .551.
Texas
Hannah Wells, Coahoma
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Texas commit helped her squad go 32-0 in 2024. She was a beast on both sides of the ball, batting .685 with 15 home runs while going 20-0 in the circle and surpassing the 600 Ks mark with a season to go.
Utah
Anne Wallace, Ridgeline (Millville)
Catcher | Class of 2025After hitting 27 home runs as a sophomore, opposing teams walked her 37 times in 2024. The Texas commit has 45 career bombs heading into her senior season.
Vermont
Anastase Bourgeois, Oxbow (Bradford)
Pitcher | Class of 2025The ace and power hitter has helped her team win 48 in a row and four consecutive state championships. Bourgeois went deep and pitched in the 2024 state championship.
Virginia
Rylie Johnson, Fredericksburg Christian (Fredericksburg)
Outfielder | Class of 2025The LSU commit hit an eye-popping .818 last spring. She has a career .708 batting average and 30 home runs.
Washington
Maddie Milhorn, Skyview (Vancouver)
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Oregon signee finished 21-1 in the circle during her junior year with 270 strikeouts. She also smashed eight bombs.
West Virginia
Madeline Carroll, Winfield
Pitcher | Class of 2026Carroll was a huge reason the Generals won 24 of their last 26 games en route to their second consecutive state championship. She finished her sophomore campaign by striking out 28 batters in the final three games of the season.
Wisconsin
Karly Meredith, Kaukauna
Pitcher | Class of 2025The Virginia commit struck out over 300 batters last spring, tossed 20 shutouts and was also the team's biggest threat at the plate. She helped her team win 108-straight games before finally losing in the state semifinals.
Wyoming
Aleah Brooks, East (Cheyenne)
Infielder | Class of 2025The Louisiana Tech commit had a remarkable junior season, hitting .570, blasting 16 home runs, walking 37 times and driving in 52 runs.
