2021 Hot 100: Players 50-41

2021 Hot 100: Players 50-41

FloSoftball 2021 Hot 100 rankings, players 50 to 41.

May 15, 2017 by Brentt Eads
2021 Hot 100: Players 50-41
FloSoftball picks up our look at the Hot 100 for the Class of 2021 with Week 2 of spotlighting 10 or more outstanding players each day on the way through the countdown from 100 to No. 1.

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FloSoftball picks up our look at the Hot 100 for the Class of 2021 with Week 2 of spotlighting 10 or more outstanding players each day on the way through the countdown from 100 to No. 1.

We'll announce the Top 10 of the class this Friday, May 19, and shortly after will profile the No. 1 player and then the "Next In" classes comprising prospects Nos. 101-200, 201-300, 301-400, and 401-500!

FloSoftball has ranked the Hot 100 beginning with the 2014 class and has done every year since: 2015, '16, '17, '18, '19, and '20. And we've also updated most of those years several times (the 2019 Hot 100 being the most recent, updated in February).

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As for the 2021s -- who are just in the eighth grade, even though many are playing up at the varsity high school level already -- we'll update the Hot 100 list several times too over the next five years. So know this is just the starting point!

These honorees were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches as well as our own FloSoftball event and in-person observations. Criteria for choosing and ranking the players includes performances at the club and high school levels and projecting how they will play at the collegiate level.

Today, we feature players Nos. 50 to 41 who come from California (five), Georgia (two), Illinois (two), Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee (two), and Texas.


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50--Maggie McBrayer P... Firecrackers -- Sewell (uncommitted) null
McBrayer is a 6-foot right-handed power pitcher with a strong curve and change-up to keep batters off-balance. She's also working on a rise. McBrayer has been playing softball almost her entire life, starting at age 3, and has been a pitcher since she was 9 years old. The Georgia native has led her team to the region championship all three years of middle school and will step in and compete at Calhoun High, which has won three straight state titles. Her levers and mechanics have college scouts excited, and her ceiling is high in terms of developing at the next level. McBrayer has been on visits to Oklahoma and Missouri recently and is also hearing from ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten programs.

T-49--Lauren Derkowski P/1B... Beverly Bandits Futures -- Stephens (uncommitted)null
Derkowski is a flame-thrower who already has touched the radar gun at 64 mph and hit 68 mph the day before her 14th birthday -- February 10 -- at a workout. She joined Kevin Stephens' team last fall and since then has compiled a 0.14 ERA and also shown she can hit with a .342 average and six home runs. Derkowski is tall and thin and has a lot of interest already from Big Ten programs such as Ohio State and Michigan, both of which she's visited, because of her velocity, but she complements it with a great change-up. Said one Midwest scout about Derkowski, "The sky's the limit with her because of her physical tools and competitive makeup on the mound." Derkowski also has traveled the world and pitched in far-away places such as Sydney, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan, and even in Egypt and China.

T-49--Haley Hoskin SS/C... Firecrackers Lutterloh/King (uncommitted)null
Hoskin has the mobility and range to cover the six-hole and roam the outfield, but some feel the So Cal standout is even better behind the plate. She's strong and athletic with quick hands and feet which help her in the field and at the plate, where she can drive the ball to all fields and is prolific at taking the ball where it's pitched. Hoskin is a prolific power hitter who also hits for a high average and led the Firecrackers this spring with a .543 batting average with 49 RBIs in 44 games played. Hoskin has several SEC and ACC schools interested and will have many more Power Five conference programs after her once she's seen nationally this summer.

48--Taylor Stephens 2B/P... Firecrackers -- TJ (uncommitted)null
Stephens is a deadly hitter who can smash the ball to all fields for power and has the strength to muscle the ball into the alleys and the speed to turn singles into doubles. Said one coach, "She's a great hitter who can flat out rake and has to be one of the better hitter/athletes in this class." Stephens is also an emerging pitcher who throws in the high 50s with solid control of her off-speed pitches. Playing for TJ Houshmandzadeh's Southern California-based team, which is favored as one of the top national candidates at the 14U age division, Stephens is starting to get national acclaim for her complete package of athleticism and softball skills. Pac-12 and SEC schools are showing heavy interest in her, many looking at her as a pitcher/position player.

47--Acelynn Sellers P/MIF... Birmingham Thunderbolts 03 (uncommitted) null
Sellers hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and as a right-handed pitcher has been a varsity high school starter this spring though still in the eighth grade. In her first varsity at-bat, she hit a solo home run and recently threw a perfect game. She's a workhorse pitcher who racks up a lot of innings and keeps batters off-balance with some of the best movement pitches in the '21 class. Sellers was a member of the USSSA Elite Select 30 in Alabama last August for her pitching and her power hitting and was also a starter for her prep school's volleyball team. She is receiving strong interest from ACC schools and has taken an unofficial visit to Virginia and camped at Georgia Tech and Duke.

T-46--Priscilla Estrada SS/2B... Explosion - Flores/Lumus (uncommitted) null
Estrada is another outstanding talent on the Explosion team that should be making waves this year. "Cilla," as she also goes by, is a lefty slapper with good speed who leads the team in steals and on-base percentage and, once on base, is always looking to swipe the extra bag. Defensively, she has good range and a high softball IQ, and the right-hander throws like a college player already. Coaches say what makes her a college level player is that "she is a student of the game on and off the field and stays late to take extra cuts or do fielding work." Her leadership helped the team earn a 12U PGF Nationals berth last year, and she's being recruited by programs all over the West with teams nationwide starting to pick up interest.

T-46--Jane Kronenberger 3B/1B... Ohio Hawks (uncommitted)null
Kronenberger is one of the fastest-rising recruits out of the Midwest and is coveted as the prototypical corner infielder who has right-handed power, size, and athletic ability. The Central Ohio standout helped the Hawks win the PGF National Qualifier in Peoria, Illinois, last year and did well enough at PGF Nationals last summer to be invited back for 2017. Kronenberger also helped the team go 7-0 at the prestigious D9 tournament last fall. The slugging infielder isn't just a softball standout. She's also skilled in tennis and plays club basketball, which no doubt contributes to her quick first step and excellent lateral movement. Kronenberger already has an offer on the table and is receiving increasing interest from ACC and SEC schools. She's camped at Notre Dame, Pitt, Valpo, LSU, Miami (Ohio), and Ohio University already.

45--Amanda Johnston P... Firecrackers -- TJ (uncommitted)null
Johnston has good bloodlines as her mother, Debbie DeJohn, pitched at Florida State. As the latest generation of pitching talent in the family, Johnston throws in the high 50s/low 60s and does a great job of moving the ball to both sides of the plate in and out and up and down. Along with her physical tools, Johnston is a fierce competitor and wants the ball in the big games with the confidence in herself and teammates to work through tight situations. The Southern California hurler is being recruited by ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC schools and has already taken trips to several top Power Five programs. Many scouts feel that by the time Johnston enters college, she'll be one of the top 3-4 pitchers in the 2021 class.

44 Corissa Sweet SS/2B... Firecrackers - Brashear/Oakes (uncommitted) null
Sweet is rated by several coaches as one of the top lefty hitters in her class because she can lay down the slap or hit the ball over the fence. She has 2.71 home-to-first speed and the power to bat in the three- and four-holes. Sweet, who is the cousin of former Michigan catcher Lauren Sweet, has led the Firecrackers in batting average the last two seasons and has hit some home run shots coaches estimate to be over 250 feet. Sweet plays shortstop at the club level but could be an ideal second baseman in college. Defensively, she has a great first step and can get to the balls hit up the middle and in the five- or six-hole and then turn a very quick release. A good soccer player as well, her future is on the softball field where Pac-12 and Big Ten schools are showing strong interest.

T-43 Lauralee Mealer SS... Tennessee Fury Platinum (uncommitted)null
Mealer has all the physical tools and intangibles to be an elite player as she combines a great natural skill set, strong defense abilities, a blue-collar work ethic, and excellent offensive skills, including the ability to hit for power and a high average. She also has above average speed and showcased her all-around athleticism by earning all-district and all-region in basketball as an eighth-grader. Mealer has been hot this year on the softball fields. She batted .625 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in just 10 fall club games and then came back this spring and batted .542 with five home runs and 30 RBIs for her high school varsity team. Not surprisingly, Mealer has multiple Power Five schools in the hunt, including heavy interest from several SEC schools.

T-43--Riley Hull C/UT... Birmingham Thunderbolts 03 (uncommitted) null
Hull is a newcomer to the Bolts organization and brings a big arm behind the plate and excellent situational awareness. As a catcher, the Louisville, Kentucky, varsity athlete -- who plays for Ballard High, a top Class 3A program -- is known for stealing strikes for her pitchers. Because of her excellent all-around athletic ability, Hull can play almost anywhere on the field. When not in catching gear, Hull's versatility and athleticism allows her to help anchor the middle infield for the Bolts. Offensively, she consistently hits hard drives into the gaps and can go with a pitch to take it anywhere line to line. Her older sister, Lex, is a sophomore catcher at South Carolina and Hull has SEC-caliber talent as well with interest from many Power Five schools. She's taken unofficial visits to Auburn, South Carolina, and Mississippi State and also has received contact from Big Ten programs.

42--Kalista "Kali" Case 2B/CF... Beverly Bandits -- Harkness (uncommitted) null
Case is a small, fast lefty with jackrabbit quickness who can play middle infield or the outfield because of her range and glove. She can bat leadoff or second and is a pesky hitter who uses her speed in the short game, power slaps in the gaps, or can swing away and drive the ball to the fence. Case does a great job of reading the defense and putting the ball into play according to what the opposition gives her. She's also willing to fill the two-hole responsibility of sacrificing the runner over. In the fall, she had an on-base percentage of .400 with a dozen steals. Derek Allister of OnDeck Softball says, "Kalista is going to be good, she's really good athletically and has solid mechanics. She's certainly one to watch in the next two years." She has garnered the attention of Duke and Wisconsin so far and other Big Ten schools are set to follow her this summer.

T-41--Lyndi Rae Davis C/3B... Atlanta Vipers -- Trowell (uncommitted) null
Davis is a 5-foot-11 lefty power hitter who also hits for average and is called "a pure hitter at the plate and maybe one of the top five hitters in the class" by one coach. Nicknamed "LR," she had a monster fall, batting .689 with 26 RBIs. Her strength offensively is her consistency -- she's one of the toughest out in the country. Davis consistently throws 1.8 pop times in games, making her hard to steal on behind the plate. She is at the top of the list for some SEC and ACC schools and will take visits this fall to five SEC programs and a couple of ACC campuses before making her decision. Schools like LSU, Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, and Michigan State have been in the hunt and many more schools are expected to jump in over the summer.

T-41--Kaci West P... Texas Dirt Divas (uncommitted) null
West is the ace for the Dirt Divas -- an unusual team in that it's not part of a huge club organization like most teams these days -- but the Texas squad has a chance to win any tournament it's in because West throws 63-65 mph and, as a five-tool athlete, also bats at a high clip (.650) and can play any position at a dominating level. This past weekend,West helped the Divas go undefeated at a PGF Qualifier in North Texas, with the team scoring 27 runs and allowing only three. For the tournament, West gave up no earned runs in nine innings while striking out 15. She became a national star at the Scout High School All-American Games at age 13 when she was already hitting 63 mph and showing her variety of pitches. A multi-sport talent, she also excels in volleyball, basketball, and runs track. The Texan is getting offers from schools throughout the Southwest and is receiving heavy interest from in-state Big 12 programs such as Baylor, Texas, and Texas Tech.


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