MaxPreps 2015 California Large Schools All-State Softball Team

State Player of the Year: Tannon Snow, Chino Hills, senior
The future Washington Huskie had an offensive year like no one has before her. In just 32 games, she hit a state-record 28 home runs and drove in 89. She added 13 doubles and three triples among her 62 base hits. She batted .573 and walked 16 times with a slugging percentage of 1.513 and OPS of an unheard-of 2.129.

For her season-long offensive explosion, Snow was named both California High School POY and MaxPreps National POY.

Snow averaged a home run every fourth trip to the plate. Break that out over a Major League Baseball season and it totals 140 home runs.

There are more impressive numbers for Snow: in 21 games, she had two or more base hits. She drove in a teammate in 27 of Chino Hills' 32 games and in 22 of the games she drove home more than two. Snow homered in 19 games and had eight multi-homer games. Twice during the season, she homered in five or more games in a row. She hit three home runs and drove in seven runs in one game.

But the most amazing statistic is that in her final seven games, she homered 11 times.

Large Schools Team of the Year: Yucaipa

It took the Thunderbirds three tries before they beat Mission Viejo, but they did so at the most important time – in the finals of the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.

Led by pitcher Brooke Bolinger, catcher Kelly Martinez and Annie Bakenhus, Yucaipa finished the season with 18 straight wins and a 31-3 record.

The Thunderbirds lost to Mission Viejo by one run two times early in the 2015 season, but won the finale by a 1-0 score. The win snapped Mission Viejo's 35-game winning streak and knocked it from the top spot in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings.

Large Schools Coach of the Year: David Kivitt, Yucaipa

The third time was the charm. Yucaipa lost twice to Mission Viejo in tournament play, but when the two teams played a third time it was in the Southern Section D-2 final and counted the most. Yucaipa won to spoil Mission Viejo's magical season and won the title.

Yucaipa finished the season with a 31-3 record and won its final 18 games. Two of the three losses were by one run to Mission Viejo, the other was to 21-game winner Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga), 2-0.

In the CIF playoffs, the Thunderbirds outscored their opponents 21-2. For the season, they scored 216 runs and allowed just 26. They also won four extra-inning games.

Kivitt, who has coached the Thunderbirds for 10 seasons, is a Yucaipa native and has taught at the high school for 27 years. He was also named American Family Insurance National Coach of the Year.

"It's all so surreal. All of these accolades haven't really sunk in yet, and they might not ever fully sink in," Kivitt told the Riverside Press Enterprise. "It's a tremendous honor for me and my staff. It really validates all of those extra hours we put in to try and make our program successful."

Kivitt's career mark is 216-98.


Video: Taylor McQuillin Interview - Gatorade POY Awards
See what Taylor McQuillin had to say last season at the Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards.

P - Taylor McQuillin, Mission Viejo, Senior
Arguably the most dominant pitcher in Orange County history with 103 career wins, McQuillin finished her senior season in impressive fashion. In 206 innings, McQuillin fanned 389 batters to go along with a 0.31 ERA. In addition, she batted .352 and will attend Arizona. A three-time MaxPreps All-American, McQuillin was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2014.

P - Brooke Bolinger, Yucaipa, Senior
Bolinger led Yucaipa to a 31-3 record and the Southern Section D2 championship, beating undefeated and then-No. 1 ranked Mission Viejo. She had 306 strikeouts for the year with a 0.26 ERA and limited opponents to a .088 batting average. She will attend Nevada-Reno.

P - Holly Azevedo, Pioneer (San Jose), Sophomore
Named the San Jose Mercury News POY, Azevedo went 28-1 with a 0.04 ERA and allowed only 55 hits and 24 walks in 177 innings while striking out 256. Her only loss was the final game of the season – the only game in which an earned run was scored against her. She has committed to UCLA.

P - Madilyn Nickles, Merced, Junior
Nickles pitched five no-hitters, including four in conference play, and was 22-6 with a 1.18 ERA and 287 strikeouts in 178 innings. She is the only junior on the USA Junior National Team. She has committed to UCLA.

P - Danielle Williams, Amador Valley (Pleasanton), Freshman
Williams, who has committed to Missouri, had a 24-3 record with a 0.79 ERA and a .532 batting average with 41 hits in leading the Dons to a second-straight North Coast Section D-I championship.

P - Natalie Lugo, South Hills (West Covina), Sophomore
Lugo had 15 wins, 263 strikeouts in 143 innings and a 0.73 ERA. She has committed to Florida.

P - Kourtney Shaw, Poway, Senior
Shaw led Poway (26-5) to the San Diego Section Open Division title. Shaw, who will attend Cal, compiled a 22-5 record with a 1.43 ERA with 170 strikeouts and pitched three no-hitters — one in the playoffs.

P - Gianna Mancha, Central (Fresno), Sophomore
Mancha, who has committed to Boise State, went 22-4 with 15 shutouts, 256 strikeouts and a 0.62 ERA in 170 innings for a team that went 34-9.

P – Brynne Fitzpatrick, Valley Christian (San Jose), Senior
Fitzpatrick earned 20 wins and had 240 strikeouts in 172 innings. She has signed with California.

P - Meehra Nelson, Westlake (Westlake Village), Senior
Nelson was 20-8 with a 1.09 ERA and struck out 318 in 173 innings. She struck out 10 or more in a game 20 times, including 23 in a 1-0, 13-inning win over La Habra. She has signed with Oregon State.

C - Cameryn Reichle, Clovis, Senior
Bound for Fresno State, Reichle had 54 RBIs while hitting .468 with seven doubles, three triples, two homers and 35 runs for Clovis (33-6).

C - Paige Halstead, Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga), Senior
A member of the USA Junior National Team, Halstead batted .568, scored 38 times and had 36 RBIs. She has signed with UCLA.

C - Kelly Martinez, Yucaipa, Junior
Martinez, who handled All-American Brooke Bolinger, drove in 42 runs on 45 hits (eight homers) as Yucaipa won its final 18 games (31-3 overall) and the Southern Section D-2 title. She has committed to Utah.

C - Allysa Shipman, Valencia, Freshman
Shipman earned first-team All-Foothill League Team and All-CIF Southern Section honors. The Tennessee recruit hit .506 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs.

C - Abby Lockman, Norco, Senior
Lockman batted .457, set the program's single-season mark with 14 home runs and led the team with 38 RBIs. Lockman, who has signed with Tennessee, finished her career with a school-record 32 home runs, many of those being the tape-measure variety.

IF - Shay Knighten, Sunny Hills (Fullerton), Senior
The Oklahoma-bound shortstop batted .494, drove in 30 runs and scored 34. She totaled 12 doubles and hit seven home runs, while striking out only twice in 108 plate appearances. Behind Knighten, the Lancers shared the Freeway League title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section D-2 playoffs.

IF - Aniesa Maulupe, Carson, Junior
Maulupe batted .538 with 47 RBIs and 50 hits in a 26-6 season.

IF - Ali Wester, Edison (Huntington Beach), Senior
Wester was named her league's co-MVP. She batted .520 with 52 hits and 30 runs scored. She was 27-for-27 in stolen base attempts. Her next softball team: Notre Dame.

IF - Briana Perez, Alhambra (Martinez), Sophomore
The UCLA commit and Diablo Foothill Athletic League MVP batted .608 with 14 home runs, 42 RBIs, six triples and six doubles for the CIF-NCS D-2 champion Bulldogs.

IF - Reyna Carranco, Oxnard, Senior
Carranco batted .650 with 53 RBIs, 40 runs and 16 home runs and was named the Pacific View League POY.

IF - Lindsay Rood, Monte Vista (Danville), Senior
The future Cal Bear batted .529 with 46 hits, eight doubles, four triples and five home runs, leading the Mustangs to the NCS semifinals.

IF - Joelle Krist, Petaluma, Senior
Krist, who has signed with Arizona, was the Redwood Empire Player of the Year and Redwood Empire Athlete of the Year. She batted .529 and knocked in 47 runs. She struck out just three times and committed only one error.

IF - Morgan Lamb, Elk Grove, Senior
The Boise State-bound third baseman batted .562 with seven doubles, seven triples, four home runs and 42 RBIs for a Thundering Herd team that went 28-4, including 14-0 in the Delta League, and reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II finals.

OF - Amanda Lorenz, Moorpark, Senior
The Florida signee was the Coastal Canyon League's Player of the Year, batting .525 with seven homers, 25 RBIs, 31 runs scored and seven doubles. She also earned first-team All-CIFSS honors for the CCL runner-up.

OF - Kennedy Clark, Ayala (Chino Hills), Senior
Clark had a .620 average with 50 hits, 16 doubles, six triples, five homers and 29 RBIs. Clark is headed to South Carolina.

OF - Taylon Snow, Chino Hills, Sophomore
The younger sister of POY Tannon Snow, Taylor has committed to Washington. She batted .496, scored 42 runs and drove in 41 as Chino Hills went 24-8.

OF - Danielle Bowers, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), Senior
Bowers, the co-player of the year in the WCAL, hit .426 with 14 extra-base hits. She has signed with Cal.

OF - Marisa Given, Notre Dame (Salinas), Senior
The Monterey Herald Athlete of the Year led Notre Dame to its third-straight CIF Central Coast Section D-2 title. Given, who has signed with Oregon, batted .577 with 45 hits, 35 RBIs and 28 runs scored. She did not commit an error in 2015.

OF - Alyssa Palomino, Mission Viejo, Senior
A member of the USA Junior National Team, the Arizona-bound Palomino concluded her MVHS career with 16 home runs and a .532 batting average (.619 on-base percentage). In four seasons, MVHS won 106 of 116 games as Palomino hit 58 home runs, second in California history only to 2015 National POY Tannon Snow.

OF - Falepolima Aviu, Rancho Buena Vista (Vista), Senior
Aviu batted .596 with 62 hits, 48 runs and 26 RBIs. She has signed with Oklahoma.

UTIL - Madison Aurin, Centennial (Bakersfield), Senior
Aurin was 7-3 with a 2.12 ERA and batted .493 with 42 RBIs and 15 home runs.

UTIL - Tallie Woodson, Birmingham (Lake Balboa), Senior
In the circle, Woodson was 26-8 with a 0.88 ERA and had 161 strikeouts in 216 innings. In the box, she hit .500 with team highs for RBIs (42), hits (56), doubles (11), triples (4) and home runs (6). She has signed with Long Island University.

UTIL - Belinda Gonzalez, Lincoln (Los Angeles), Senior
Gonzalez struck out 237 in 147 innings and posted a 25-3 record with a 0.48 ERA. She pitched 14 shutouts, batted .518 and drove in 47 runs as the Tigers lost in the playoffs.

UTIL - Hillary Edior, Carson, Senior
The catcher/first baseman batted .592 with 61 hits and combined to score and drive in 83 runs as Carson went 26-6 and reached the LA City Section D-I final for the third-straight season.