We start looking at 2016 prospects of note across the country including one who’s our Pic of the Day.  We also profile an SEC-bound talent from Georgia and get some sophomore recommendations from coaches in Texas and California.

 

*****

CLASS OF 2016: PLAYERS TO WATCH

In response to our note yesterday about moving on to the sophomore class to look at top players, we got a huge reaction and thank those who’ve contributed info. 

Below are some players that will make the Watch List for sure and will be serious candidates for the Hot 100 national list.

So how many in this class (2016’s) would you guess have committed already?  According to our list—and we’re probably missing many—there are about 200 players committed already!

This is only the beginning so send in your nominations and recommendations and we’ll gather them and spotlight some…

*** A top club coach from Texas sent us a good list of players he/she likes (keeping identities top secret here!):

— IF Shannon Rhodes (Mizuno Impulse, committed to Oregon)
— C Devin Cantu (Firecrackers DFW, Iowa)
— OF Jade Miller (Texas Glory, Arkansas)
— P Mariah Denson (Firecrackers DFW, Oklahoma State)
— P Maribeth Gorsuch (TG Adkins, LSU)
— IF Morgan McCallum (Firecrackers DFW, Kentucky)
— OF Tuesday Dermargosian (TG Adkins, Texas)
— SS Braxton Burnside (Germantown Red Devils, Missouri)
— OF Sydney Parr (Oklahoma Gametime Stars, Arkansas)
— C Kennedy Legg (American Freedom, Middle Tennessee State)
— OF Maddison Kettler (Texas Glory, Baylor)

 

*** Another coach from the Southwest wrote in to say:

Definitely take a look at Lindsey Stewart, a 2016 outfielder with the Texas Impact Gold.

“Lindsey led the Pearland (Texas) Oilers, who were ranked No. 1 in the state in 5A and Top 20 in the country for most of the year, in average (.483), on-base percentage (.520), hits (56), runs scored (42) and stolen bases (37) in her freshman campaign.”

“She is a natural lefty slapper with outstanding speed who patrols centerfield with the best of them. Lindsey was voted an All District selection, Texas Sportswriters All-State, NFCA South Central All-Region and MaxPreps Freshman All American Team. She is still uncommitted.”

 

*** And the West Coast will be well represented off course and here’s a player that will definitely be discussed:

“Kiana Pancino is the Firecrackers-Ensey’s No. 1 pitcher and is a right-hander who is tought to hit against because of her riseball and killer changeup,” writes her club coach, Kim Ensey.

“She started at Huntington Beach (Calif.) Edison High School as a sophomore and is an amazing student of the game and learns from every pitch she throws. Not only is she a strong pitcher, but she is a consistent hitter with home run power,” continues the coach.

“Kiana went 8-1 as a freshman pitching for the Edison Varsity team including two All-Tournament team selections including the TNT and Woodbridge tournaments. She is getting a ton of attention from colleges based on her combination of high athletic and academic performance (4.3 GPA) as well as her distinctive and strong mound presence.”

 

*****

RECRUIT SPOTLIGHT OF THE DAY: SHELLEY WARMOLTS

High school: Glenbard West
City: Glen Ellyn
State: 
Ill.
Grad Rear: 2015
Club: Illinois Chill Gold-Edwards
Position(s):  catcher/outfielder
Height: 5-6
GPA: 5.28/5.0
ACT: 27
College: uncommitted
Home to 1^st:  2.83 (clocked at NCSA Pennsbury Camp)
Pop time: 1.7 measured at the Univ. of Penn Skills Camp (last week)
Stats: batted .512 with .548 on-base percentage and .774 slugging percentage
Honors: 1^st Team All-Area
2014 Plans: “I am hoping to play at the D1 level in college and have attended a couple college camps this winter.  My team, Illinois Chill Gold Edwards, will be playing this summer at Pennsbury in June, Colorado Fireworks in July, DeMarini (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) in July and a few other Chicago and Illinois tournaments.

*****

FRESHMAN SPOTLIGHT:

A freshman (2017) to watch over the next several years is Kiara “Kiki” Kennedy from the Arizona Storm.

The Phoenix third baseman/outfielder is 5-foot-7 and is versatile enough to play several positions.

She’s getting significant recruiting interest already and has received Elite Showcase camp invites from the University of Arizona, San Jose State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Utah Valley University, and most recently Cal Berkeley.

This weekend she will be participating in her first Elite Showcase camp at Cal Berkeley and then will likely head to Arizona or San Jose State.

*****

 

RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Savannah Huffstetler, a 2015 middle infielder with the Atlanta Vipers-Akins team, has committed to Tennessee.

Savannah got the best Christmas present she could have hoped for when Ralph and Karen Weekly offered the Georgia junior right after she worked out at the Tennessee Christmas Camp on Dec. 22-23 last month.

“It was my third time up there and I kept going back,” Savannah explained this afternoon.  “They were my No. 1 school and finally they told me they’d love to have me come up here and be part of the program.”

The 2^nd Team All-State player says Tennessee coaches told her they “love how I hustle and that they think I’m a great player and could be a good player there.”

Last fall for Lambert High (Suwannee, Ga.), Savannah hit .425 with four home runs and 34 RBI and was a key cog for her team finishing with a school-record 30-5 mark and making it to the second round of the state playoffs for the first time ever.

She had played club ball in the summer with Team Georgia, but when the coach quit to focus on coaching baseball, Savannah says she and four other teammates looked around to find a new team… in her case, it was joining the Atlanta Vipers-Akins program.

Her persistence paid off and now she’ll be joining the Vols who yesterday were voted the No. 1 preseason team in the country.

 

*** I love when coaches go out of the way and, unsolicited, write or call to praise one of their players.  Love. it. For example, check out the comments from Robert Armentrout of the GT Shockers (from Texas and tied in with the Impact Gold program) as he contacted me today to talk about his 2015 outfielder Kennedy Cline, who’s going to McNeese State.

“Kennedy has played for me since her freshman year in high school,” Coach Armentrout begins.

“She plays both left and centerfield and has always hit either third or fourth in the lineup. She goes to Parisi Speed school to work on both her speed and agility and is a dedicated player who does a ton of work on her skills.”

“Kennedy shows up to practice early to get extra work in and she does what others are not willing to do to achieve her goals. Everyone says that they want it but few are put in the work and Kennedy is one of those few. I am really proud to coach this kid. She is what keeps me coaching, these special kids make it all worth it.”

 

*** Kendall Ohman, a 2015 outfielder for the Colorado Stars Gold-Burns team, has committed to Utah Valley.

 

*****

PIC OF THE DAY

Love this photo of Lindsay Kuss, a 2016 shortstop/second baseman who started as a middle infielder for Murrieta Valley High (Calif.) as a freshman.  This photo was taken by the Riverside Press-Enterprise and was on the main sports page (though Murrieta did fall 2-1 to Vista Murrieta High).

Known for her arm and excellent defense, Lindsay plays for the California Cruisers-Mel team and also has some pop in her bat as shown by her two-run homer to dead center in the Irvine Invitational to beat the Beverly Bandits 3-2.

Carrying a 4.0, she recently took an unofficial to Indiana University and has strong interest from Dartmouth, Brown, and Harvard along with BYU, Missouri, Seton Hall and others.

 

*****

Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

 

*****

 

If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.