We’ve covered some of the top high school tournaments in the country this spring—from the Kissimmee Klassic in Kissimmee, Fla. to the Michelle Carew Classic in Anaheim Hills, Calif. to the Wendy’s Spring Classic in Ashland, Ohio.

One tournament from the East that is small in size (14 teams) but is growing in stature and popularity is the Alan Jones Super Prep Round Robins Series spearheaded by Alan Jones, the head coach at Louisville (Ky.) Ballard High, host of the event.

High school teams came this year from five states—Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee—and including teams loaded with several Hot 100 players and major college talent.

The three-day round-robin series took place last Thursday through Saturday –from April 16-18—and only one team escaped with at loss, Carmel (Ind.) which was the surprise of the field.

Under the strong play of George Washington-bound shortstop Riley Tejcek, the Greyhounds scored 46 runs while allowing just 10.

Perennial powerhouse Spain Park from Hoover, Ala. was also impressive behind the play of two Hot 100 prospects in power-hitting senior Mary Kathryn Bonamy, who signed with Notre Dame, and sophomore shortstop Mary Katherin Tedder, who has committed to the Univ. of Texas.

“Both Bonamy and Tedder showed unbelievable discipline at the plate and high level athleticism that you would expect to see in high level recruits,” said one of the coaches who asked to remain anonymous.

The only blemish on Spain Parks’ record came from the hosting Ballard Bruins of Louisville in a hard-fought game that featured Hot 100 senior catcher Lex Hull, who is headed to the Univ. of South Carolina, and helped 2017 pitcher Sarah Brill pull out the win.

“The buzz in the crowd was that Brill is an up-and-comer,” commented one scout. “She became quickly known as the spin master. “

Here are some of the other highlights from the Super Preps tournament last week:

• The talk of the onlookers regarding pitching was around the flame-throwing abilities of Cheyenne Eggens, a 2015 pitcher going to South Florida, who was throwing in the high 60’s –and some estimated low 70’s— for Mathews High in Vienna, Ohio.
• The first impression of Keystone High School from Lagrange, Ohio was that the team may have been the most athletic of all the teams.  Said one coach, “Head Coach Jim Piazza is really working magic with his young team behind highly recruited 2017 utility player Sammie Stephan.” Two other impressive players for the Wildcats are a pair of juniors going to the Big Ten: third baseman/catcher Destiny Weber, headed to Penn State, and middle infielder/outfielder Summer Constable, who has committed to Purdue.
• Teays Valley from Ashland, Ohio made its first trip to Super Preps and packed a big punch knocking off the host Ballard Bruins.  The key to their team is hard throwing junior pitcher Alyssa Rothwell who will play at Ball State. She was impressive how she consistently overpowered batters.
• Mt. Juliet High from Tennessee is poised to make another state run behind outstanding senor pitcher Savannah Sanders, an Iowa State commit.

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2015 Final Records at Super Prep (in order of wins)

• Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.) – 4-1
• Carmel (Ind.) – 3-0
• Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) – 3-1
• Teays Valley (Ashville, Ohio) – 2-1
• Mathews (Vienna, Ohio) – 2-2
• Floyd Central (Floyds Knob, Ind.) – 1-1-1
• Glen Este (Cincinnati, Ohio) – 1-1-1
• Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) – 1-1
• Owensboro Catholic (Owensboro, Ky.) – 1-1
• Keystone (LaGrange, Ohio) – 1-2
• Mercy Academy (Louisville, Ky.) – 1-2
• Sacred Heart Academy (Louisville, Ky.) – 1-2
• Mt. Juliet (Tenn.) – 1-3
• Huntington North (Huntington, Ind.) – 0-4