We continue our look at the updated Hot 100 and rank the top players in the 2018 class… we're spotlighting 10 each day as we count down from 100 to No. 1.

We'll announce the Top 10 of the class this Friday, December 23, then profile the No. 1 player on Saturday, December 24 and on December 26--the day after Christmas--we will reveal the "Next In (101-200)."

Finally, on Tuesday, December 27, FloSoftball will unveil our Top College Rankings for the '18 class.

Since we first released the 2018 Hot 100, there has been a lot of changes as players have emerged as nationally prominent recruits.  In fact, 43 of the players in this second version are new!

These junior standouts were chosen based on input and feedback from college and club coaches who've seen them play across the nation. 

Criteria for choosing and ranking the players including performances at the club and high school levels and projecting how they will play at the collegiate level. 

Today we feature players No. 40 to 31 with standouts from California (4), Georgia (2), Illinois, Louisiana, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

T-40--Makena Smith C… So Cal Choppers -- Fausett (Cal-Berkeley)
Makena is an outstanding athlete who can hit for both power and average and is a dominating player defensively both behind the plate and at third base. After leading the 16U Choppers team in all top offensive categories last year, Makena has continued her success this fall with her 18U performances with the Choppers. At the high school level, she batted .403 this year for her Murrieta, California team with 20 RBI in 22 games and in one big win went 4-for-5 and hit for the cycle.

T-40--Karly Heath P/OF… Georgia Impact -- Lewis (South Carolina)
Karly was a FloSoftball 2nd Team All-American and 1st Team All-State selection for her North Augusta, South Carolina high school team after shining both in the circle and at the plate. She hit .500 with 33 RBI and 23 steals and set a school record with 10 home runs. Her pitching numbers were equally strong: 8-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 87 K's in 56 innings. Karly is a 5-foot-11 lefty hitter with great all-around tools. She ran a 2.68 home-to-first at the USA Select Elite Top 30 and throws in the mid 60's with a really good change-up. 

39--Breanna Vasquez P… Athletics TO-Mercado (Central Florida)
Breanna is a fierce competitor. Last year, playing with the A's team that was one of the best in the nation, Bre pitched 162 innings with 252 K's and an ERA of 1.21. This fall at the 18U level, the Norwalk, California junior has stepped up her game, allowing only four earned runs all fall with 95 K's in 61 1/3rd innings and a 0.46 ERA. In high school ball, she's a two-time All-League honoree with 426 strikeouts already and a 0.98 ERA. Bre was highly recruited her freshman year by Pac-12, SEC, ACC and Big 12 schools before verballing to UCF to play with her A's teammates, catcher Karissa Ornelas (#82 in the Hot 100) and centerfielder Tera Testa. 

38--Emily Klingaman MIF/OF… East Cobb Bullets -- Biele (Auburn)
Emily is a 5-tool talent who is a tremendous competitor with 2.68 home-to-first speed as a lefty slapper and double-digit power potential as well. New to Andrew Biele's Bullets team, she hit .501 this past club season for her previous club team. As a sophomore for her Woodbridge, Virginia high school, she batted .629 with 38 RBI, 44 runs, 26 steals and six home runs to earn 1st Team All-State. Emily has a high softball IQ and, with her physical skills, has the ability to play any spot on the infield or outfield. She committed to Auburn over Florida and North Carolina in the fall of 2014.

37--Kassidy Krupit P/3B/IF… East Cobb Bullets -- Schnute (Delaware)
Kassidy is a versatile two-way player--a power hitter who bats clean-up with an excellent glove as an infielder and a pitcher who competes at a high level. Kassidy has elevated her game over the last year and it showed both at the club and high school levels. She is a three-time Georgia All-State honoree and was the Region Player of the Year and County Pitcher of the Year after leading her team to its first ever 7A State Championship appearance, setting school-records with 13 shutouts and a 0.82 ERA. At the club level, Kassidy led her team this past summer in every offensive category and this fall, after moving up to Greg Schute's Bullets team, batted .580. Despite heavy SEC and other Power 5 school interest, the Georgia junior committed to Delaware in part because of the school's outstanding Physical Therapy program.

 

36--Kiley Naomi MIF… Texas Bombers (Oklahoma State)
Kiley is a smooth middle infielder with excellent range and is an outstanding all-around athlete--as an eighth grader, she was the Louisiana State Champion in the 400 meters. Kiley has great hands and fields the ball to either side equally well with her foot speed and strong arm allowing her to defend space on the field that most players can't. Offensively she carries pop in her bat that places her in the middle of the lineup for the Bombers producing a high number of RBIs. What separates her and makes her an elite prospect, though, is the speed she adds to her power. Said one coach, "Kiley really is solid in every aspect and her upside is through the roof." She committed to the Cowgirls in August of 2015.

35--Madison Huskey OF/C… Corona Angels (Washington)
Madison is a versatile athlete with speed to play the outfield and the arm and toughness to line up behind the plate. She has excellent bat speed that allows her to drive the ball to all fields with power. This year she helped lead her Cerritos, California team to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Div. 3 playoffs and hit two home runs in her final game as part of a 1st Team All-Area campaign. Madison has been an elite player in the Angels organization for several years and two years ago helped her 14U team win a title at the PGF 14U Nationals, batting in the 3-hole for that team. That high-profile success drew interest from major programs from all over the country including Oklahoma and UCLA in her backyard before she picked Washington.

34--Hallie Hall C/3B… Beverly Bandits (James Madison)
Big-time players step up in big-time situations and that's what Hallie is known for, coming up clutch when it counts. She helped lead her Illinois high school team to the Class 4A Regional title and at the club level hit two home runs in the championship game of the PGF Shootout this fall to help her team win 3-1. She's a great power hitter who led her Bandits team in home runs last year and her quick bat and reflexes help her offensively and defensively too. Hallie has the physical and athletic skills to pounce quickly on bunts whether she's behind the plate or at third base. She will be a key cog on the Bandits team coached by Jen Tyrrell that is one of the favorites to win the PGF 16U Nationals next summer.

33--Kelli Godin OF/3B… So Cal Athletics -- Richardson (UCLA)
Kelli hasn't been a national name in softball recruiting circles until recently, but few have a ceiling as high as this outstanding two-sport athlete. Kelli is an outstanding sprinter and as a sophomore last spring took 1st place in the 100 meters and 4x100 at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational track meet. Her brother, Curtis, won the state 100 and 200 meter titles in 2014 for Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei and Kelli excels in not just track, but in softball as she helped Mater Dei win the CIF Southern Section Div. 1 title and finish #8 in the FloSoftball FAB 50 rankings. She hit .434 on the year with a .487 on-base percentage. A slapper and skilled bunter, Kelli has a good arm and is a strong defensive player. As her hitting improves, she'll have the chance to be a Top 20, perhaps even Top 10, level player.

32--Bailey Parshall P/1B/OF… Ohio Outlaws (Penn State)
Bailey is a 5-foot-9 lefty who throws in the 63-65 mph range with a screw, curve, rise and change-up to complement her fastball. Playing for the Outlaws PA Premier team this year in top tournaments like PGF Nationals, Boulder IDT, Team NJ and the DeMarini Invitational, she compiled a 14-4-1 mark against many of the top teams in the nation and led her squad to 5th place finishes in Colorado and New Jersey. As a freshman southpaw pitcher for her Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania team in 2015, she went 21-2 with 214 K's and a team-high batting average of .418 to win a WPIAL AAA championship. This year Bailey again was dominating, setting a school record with 18 K's in one game, compiling a 0.84 ERA for the season and again leading the team in batting average as she hit .431.  A two-time 1st Team All-State pick, she committed to the home state Nittany Lions in October of 2014.

 

31--Arielle Oda MIF… East Cobb Bullets -- Biele (Duke)
Many scouts feel Arielle is one of the top 2-3 shortstops in the nation because of her great all-around game including 2.65 home-to-first speed and lock-down defensive skills. She's a high-level hitter who is almost impossible to strike out--just one strikeout in over 40 plate appearances this fall in three 18U events in which she batted .600--and is a five-tool threat with solid fundamentals and physical gifts you can't teach. Arielle is the consummate leadoff hitter with the ability to place the ball exactly where she wants to all parts of the field. Last season for the Bullets she was the leader in several categories including hitting (.420) and steals (81). In high school, Arielle led her team to a Georgia state championship this fall hitting .420 with 44 runs scored and 42 hits while garnering Region 8AAAAA Player of the Year and 1st team All-State honors.  Arielle had offers from multiple SEC, Pac-12 and ACC programs before committing to Duke.

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