Mother Nature interrupted the Rising Stars Fall Showcase with rain again on Saturday, but not before some elite softball was played at the Bamford Sports Complex.

If you missed yesterday’s action, you can Log in or Join FloPRO and watch Sunday’s games from the Bramford Sports Complex LIVE on FloSoftball! All streamed games will be archived following the event. 



In its 21st year this season, the Triple Crown Sports’ showcase draws the very best teams from SEC country while also attracting top talent from across the country. Many of these are among the top competitors in prestigious summer tournaments like the Colorado Sprinkler, Triple Crown Nationals, and the Junior Olympic Cup. 

We caught up with a few of the top teams Saturday to check in on how their fall seasons are coming along and see what their expectations are for the summer club season:

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Wagner 3n2 18U Coach Reese Kiple discussed how his team is “a different breed,” indicating that his players come from all over the East Coast, so they often don’t have the opportunity to practice. He also mentioned that his team is getting a bit of a late start this fall.

“This is the first time I’m seeing the girls since July," he said. "Since most of the team has now verbal or signed, I’ve given them some freedom to do things like attend homecoming and enjoy a break, so we’re starting later than normal this fall.” 

With the late start this fall, Kiple has told his team to keep things in perspective. He’s really only looking for improvement game-to-game and is less concerned about wins at this point. He has laid out specific expectations for his team going into the spring and summer.

“We’re no longer a young team. This is my third year with this core roster, and I’ve told them it’s time to go to the next level."

The next level for Kiple and his team will be competing for a national championship at next summer’s Junior Olympic Cup. Doing so will require some of his players to step up.

“We’re probably going to lose (Hot 100 honoree) Delaney Elling (2016, Penn State University) for the summer since she’ll be going to school early. She’ll be a significant loss for us because she’s been a great leader on the field as has had a great presence."


A leader for Wagner 3n2, Elling will miss next summer as she starts her time at Penn State early.

Some players he’ll be expecting to see a lot of production from come this summer will be the Dolby sisters, Alexa ( 2016, Georgetown University) and Camryn (2018, uncommitted), as well as 2017 Troy University commit Hope Hernandez and 2019 Penn State University verbal Michelle Leone. 

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Carolina Elite co-coaches Dana Fusetti and Tony Genovese put together a special team for the Rising Stars Fall Showcase, including players from four of their different teams and ranging from 2016-2020. Fusetti and Genovese have been co-heads of the organization for seven years now, and they recently swapped teams, Fusetti dropping down to take the 16U team and Genovese heading the 18U team. 

Fusetti’s 16U team brings in a majority of new kids, so she is using the fall to evaluate their commitment level and see which kids are ready to go the extra mile.

“I take the philosophy of ‘everyone plays’ in fall ball. I need to see which kids are willing to put in the work, and that extra work will show off on the field.” 

Genovese is in the same position with the 18U team, having lost a majority of his team from last season.

“We lost so many 18U to graduation,” explained Genovese. “Right now, we’re just trying to put together a team by hosting tryouts almost every weekend.” 

Both the 16U and 18U teams have high expectations for the summer, expecting to compete in top tournaments like the Boulder, Colorado IDT, Atlanta Legacy, the Junior Olympic Cup for the 18U team, and PGF Nationals for the 16U team. 


Hailey Caswell (2017, uncommitted) swings away at the Rising Stars Fall Showcase

Some key players for Fusetti’s 16U team will be newcomers Danielle Bieberle (2016, uncommitted) and Bryce Maldonado, as well as Hope Goodwin, a 14U that Fusetti will bring up who has already received interest from top schools in the Pac-12 and SEC. 

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Event director and head of the Gold Coast Hurricanes, ​Marty Cooper​, is taking a different approach to fall ball with his teams.

“We’re using the fall as a tryout process for our teams," he told FloSoftball on Saturday. " Instead of holding a one-time tryout and trying to decide which kids to take, we’re giving players the opportunity to play themselves onto the team,” Cooper explained.

His “tryout” team for the 18Us has been playing pretty well, going undefeated so far at their hometown event. 


Gold Coast Hurricane Jade Caraway slides in safe stealing second at the Rising Stars Fall Showcase

Consistently a top 10 team at major summer tournaments like the Colorado Sparkler and Triple Crown Nationals, Cooper expects his team to finish better this coming season than their 2015 season.

“We were young in 2015 — younger than normal — and a lot of the team hadn’t experienced playing in top tier tournaments like the Sparkler, TCS Nationals, and the Junior Olympic Cup,” Cooper revealed. “We should have a group of returners this season that I’ll expect to lead the team with their experience from last season.”