Can’t believe we’re in October already and the end of 2014 is less than three months away!

I’ve had a dozen e-mails or more asking when the 2017 Hot 100 list will come out as well as what are some other features FullCountSoftball.com will be offering in the near future.

With that in mind, here are some of the things you’ll see rolled out by the end of the year.

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1. Revised 2015 Hot 100 list
This week I’ll be working on updating the Hot 100 2015 list as well as the Watch List and the Top 25 college team rankings. As you’d expect, many top players have emerged… will this mean they jump onto the Hot 100 and bump some others out? We’ll have to see! Also, some players will jump up, others will move down and there have been some college switches which will definitely impact the Top 25 colleges. For example, South Carolina picked up a Top 10 player… expect the Gamecocks to make a big jump up just in time for Signing Day.

2. FAB 50 Club Team Rankings
Something I’ve wanted to do ever since starting the site is mirror our FAB 50 high school rankings with equivalent FAB 50 club rankings. Expect to see later in October the 50 top teams in the divisions of 18U, 16U, 14U and 12U. My plan now is to update these monthly throughout the off-season. How will they be ranked? As I do with the Hot 100 players, I’ll use a large pool of knowledgeable coaches to help decide which teams in their division deserve to be included and where on the list.

3. Signing Day Coverage
One of my favorite times of the year is Signing Day as dreams are realized by players and their families. I’ll be posting official signing lists as well as signing photos and this is where I NEED YOUR HELP! If you’re a 2015 player signing with a school, please forward your photo and I’ll include like I did in this example here from last year. Also, look for first-person write-ups from players on what Signing Day means to them and how it’s the realization of years working hard to make it to the next level.

4. 2017 Hot 100’s
Already the research has begun for the Hot 100’s for the sophomore class, the 2017’s. For example, yesterday at the Showcase at Big League Dreams I saw players like Bri Perez of Sorcerer Gold who’ll be strong candidates to make the prestigious list (note: go back to the link above for Signing Day photos and scroll down and you’ll see profile on this very talented shortstop). There are about 200 players committed in this class already and the talent looks very strong so this will be a challenging but fun list to compile! Players, coaches and parents: please start sending me your info and photos for consideration—the research process has begun! Email: brentt@fullcountsoftball.com.

5. Event Coverage
If you ready the article on the Top 10 Fall Club Events you know that there is a lot of softball to be played by the end of the year. This weekend’s Showcase at Big League Dreams event is the first of 10 major tournaments and showcases that will take place over the next two months and we’ll be covering them all in some capacity. Also, look for coverage from the OnDeck National Elite Camps coming up soon.

6. Fun Stuff!
As we head into the holidays, starting with Halloween, look for player feedback on questions like What I’ll be dressing up as for Halloween, What I’m most thankful for and What Christmas/Hanukkah means to me. Players: feel free to e-mail me now with your choice for your upcoming Halloween custom! Also, look for some contests with prizes to start in the near future and this week you’ll see a space on the site where we’ll have Motivational Sayings that we’ll rotate often.

7. Breaking News & Continued Coverage (NEED YOUR HELP!)
The softball world is constantly changing and we’ll continue to focus on what’s relevant in the space including features on up-and-coming players and teams and whatever is happening of note. This is where YOU get involved: this site is really about you and what you want to see. Please feel free to reach out and send info, questions, suggestions… whatever you feel important. Full Count Softball and my work on it is simply a reflection of what the softball world wants; I use the analogy of I’m just a mirror reflecting what’s important to you, the community! E-mail me anytime at brentt@fullcountsoftball.com with your thoughts.