FAB 50 16U Club Rankings: 20-11

Pictured: the Texas Glory - Naudin team.We continue our look at the top 2016 club rankings for the 16U age division by spotlighting the teams ranked 20-11.E

Dec 17, 2015 by Brentt Eads

Pictured: the Texas Glory - Naudin team.

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Pictured: the Texas Glory - Naudin team.

We continue our look at the top 2016 club rankings for the 16U age division by spotlighting the teams ranked 20-11.

Each day this week we’re revealing 10 teams as we march to our Top 10 squads to be listed on Friday!

Teams were selected based on fall performances and results in events (showcases and tournaments) as well as how they did last year and the
amount of talent returning for this upcoming run at Nationals.

Input was also provided by dozens of top club and college coaches from around the nation.

Click here to see previous rankings lists: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21

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Rank	Team	Bio
20	Tulsa Elite	The Tulsa Elite program keeps getting better at the 16U age group and last summer finished Top 5 at the PGF Nationals. Jeff Filali’s organization has three 16U teams and will combine the best players from the three to make another serious national run. In addition to the impressive performance at PGF, the Elite’s ’99 first year 16U team finished 13th at Colorado Fireworks Super 32 and the ’00-Jacks squad took Top 10 finishes at Boulder IDT 14U and ASA/USA 14A Nationals. Some of the young talent to watch includes 2020 third baseman/pitcher Paige Knight who committed to Oklahoma this week and another Sooner commit in 2019 outfielder Riley Boone. Two Oklahoma State-bound standouts are a pair of 2018’s: outfielder/pitcher Mary Collins and catcher Taylor Tuck.
19	Beverly Bandits Premier	The Beverly Bandits organization is loaded with talent at the 16U level and some within the program think the Premier team coached by Cray Allen is the most talented. What remains to be seen is which team will emerge this year: the explosive squad that won the Boulder IDT or the one that lost to Bandits - Conroy 7-1 in the semis in a tournament in Crown Point, Indiana this fall. Almost all the players are second year 16U players and all but three are committed. Wisconsin-bound 2017 catcher/third baseman Taylor Johnson was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois and pitcher/first baseman Abby Herbst is one of the top 2019 players in the nation.
18	DFW Firecrackers - Greenwell	The Firecrackers – Greenwell team filled in for its 18U Gold team this fall and beat some Top 20 teams in the country while outscoring opponents 46-12. Last summer the Firecrackers finished 5th at the Colorado Super 32, 7th at TC Nationals and 17th at PGF Nationals. Jason Greenwell’s team lost eight D1 players but still has five D1 commits including two going to Texas A&M: 2018 pitcher Torrey Stubblefield and 2018 outfielder Taudrea Sinnie. The team’s strength is speed and four players run in the 2.6 home-to-first range and another five are 2.7-2.8. Once the bases are filled, 2020 third baseman Trinity Cannon, who is getting SEC interest, has the power to bring them home.
17	Birmingham Thunderbolts 00'	The Thunderbolts ’00 team finished 5th at PGF Nationals 14U last summer and continued to roll this fall going 16-3. Everyone is back and the Shawn Maze’s team has added a pair of power pitchers to make the squad even more deep. Remember the name Megan Robertson: the 2018 pitcher from Florida is one of the best sleeper prospects in the sophomore class and could have gone anywhere but chose Jacksonville close to home. Offensively, the line-up is loaded with speed and strong bats from 1 through 5 with little drop off after that. Tate Mosely, a 2018 outfielder committed to Auburn sparks the attack and if the Bolts can put a few runs on the board, the pitching usually gets the “W.”
16	Sorcerer - Williams	The Sorcerer 16U team finished 17th at PGF 16U Nationals and had an excellent fall going 19-2-3 with wins against several FAB 50 teams. The only losses came against the very strong So Cal A’s TO-Mercado team (split with them) and to the Ohana Tigers. Mike Williams’ team won the PGF NorCal Organizational Challenge for the second year in a row to remain the team to beat in Northern California. The pitching is strong with 2017 Michigan State commit McKenna Gregory and 2018 Cal Poly verbal Krystyna Allman. At the plate, the Sorcerers will be led by 2018 Arizona commit outfielder Riley Kuderca to set the table with Gregory, who also plays first base, and uncommitted 2018 corner infielder Riley Ehlen providing the power to score runs.
15	Texas Blaze Nationals	The Texas Blaze National team is comprised of two teams: Texas Blaze White coached by Mike Prinzo and Texas Blaze Bonola coached by Jim Bonola in San Antonio. The organization combines the two squads to field its best prospects for competition in out-of-state events even though both teams have competed well individually at PGF the last two years and several years before that at ASA events. The Blaze was 24-9-2 this fall against top completion and uses speed on the bases— averaging close to five steals per game—and shut-down pitching to win games. Players to watch include 2019 lefty pitcher Rylee Trlicek, who recently committed to Florida and 2018 second baseman Madi Jatzlau, a Texas A&M verbal.
14	Texas Glory - Naudin	The Glory is battle-tested and has a strong nucleus of 2018 standouts coming back. Last summer Ed Naudin’s team was undefeated until the PGF National semis and ended up finishing 9th. The Glory staff believes it has five D1 pitchers led by sophomores Mya Stevenson (Virginia), Brooke Blackwell (Texas Tech) and Reagan Richardson (Texas State). Shortstop Jayda Coleman could be the top 2020 in the country and has offers from every team in the WCWS except Michigan. The feeling around the Glory program is last year’s team was power oriented while this year’s version is more versatile while being hungrier and having more swagger.
13	AZ Suncats 99	Surveying club coaches across the country, a surprisingly large number of them mentioned Coach Kyle Carney’s Suncats as a team that impressed this year and is one to watch. The Suncats’ strength is up the middle starting with Isabel Pacho, a 2018 catcher committed to Arizona and 2019 shortstop Alynah Torres who is headed to Arizona State. The pitching is equally strong with Brianna Hardy (2018, Cal State Fullerton) and Marissa Schuld (2018, Arizona) giving the Cats a one-two punch. Many of the players have been on teams together for five years and the cohesiveness is one reason the Arizona team took 1st place finishes this summer and fall in events like the Colorado Sparkler TV Tournament, the TCS Fireworks NIT and the TCS FroShow.
12	So Cal Athletics - Briggs	Ken Briggs led his 18U OC Batbusters to a Top 10 finish at the PGF Nationals and has moved the A’s organization to spearhead one of the top 16U teams in the country. The team has speed and power and, although some good players moved up to 18U teams, a strong nucleus returns in shortstop Abby Robertson (2017, Utah), outfielder Ciara Briggs—the coach’s daughter (2019, LSU)— pitcher Taylor DeTinne (2018, uncommitted), pitcher Naomi Dickerson (2017, uncommitted) and catcher Macy Simmons (2019, uncommitted). Simmons is typical of the hard-working players on the A’s: she drives to Southern California every weekend from Arizona to practice with the team and is being heavily recruited by schools from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.
11	Texas Bombers	The Bombers finished thirteenth at PGF Nationals 16U and have been on a roll ever since, going 27-2 this fall and winning the Texas Gold Cup to end the season. Equally impressive, Scott Smith’s team beat seven teams who played in the PGF Nationals last summer. Like many organizations, the Bombers are putting top players together on the team—in this case 2017 through 2020 classes—to create a “super team.” The talent is deep on the team and includes Big 12 commits like infielder Kayla Garcia (2018, Texas A&M), catcher Cait Call (2019, Texas), pitcher Maddie Lindsey (2018, Baylor), pitcher Randi Carroll Phillips (2017, Texas A&M) and infielder/outfielder Kylie Naomi (Oklahoma State).