RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Addisyn Linton, known to most as “Addi,” is only 13-years-old, but it seems like she’s been known in the softball world for longer than that.
When she was the ripe old age of 9, Addi was playing up at 14U and through her connections with Bret Denio, who runs the Explosion program out of California, she even got to play at the 18U level and held her own against elite competition in Boulder tournaments.
“Addi’s passion for the game at such a young age is unmatched,” begins Coach Denio. “She was an instant hit with all my players and they accepted her immediately. She was our batgirl/outfielder and even batted against several elite 18U teams in Boulder pool play. I can’t wait to watch her play in college. It was her dream and I can guarantee you it will come through. That’s Addi!”
As one of the most talented players in her class and a Top 5 honoree in the 2025 Extra Elite 100, Addi’s already experienced a career’s worth of success including her earning All-PGF Tournament honors in 2019 when she recorded a 0.05 ERA and had 22 strikeouts in 22 innings.
As we researched the 2025 class, the young pitcher/hitter’s name came up repeatedly—almost unanimously—as one of the top performers at her age per elite club coaches. Said one from the East Coast, “This kid completely dominates a game. She’s the best pitcher we’ve seen in the class and has an elite work ethic and she really swings the bat well.”
Though not tall in stature (yet), Addi is well-known as a lefty pitcher who is dominant in the circle and at the plate, according to her club coach, Jay Ross of Mojo 2024.
“She has a cannon for an arm as a lefty hurler that cruises in the low 60’s and has hit 66 mph in a game. Addi has a tremendous work ethic and is always looking to improve, spending hours in the gym and on the field working towards her goal of becoming a collegiate student-athlete.”
“When she is in the circle,” adds Coach Ross, “collegiate coaches crowd the fences while watching her command the field. She gains attention everywhere she goes and she even led our team last year with a .620 on-base percentage.”
The incoming 8th grader is passionate about her sport and perfecting her craft. Her father, Mike Linton, has all but dedicated his life to seeing that his children get the most of their abilities in sports or whatever they do.
But it hasn’t been easy.
“Addi comes from a different background than most because we’ve never had the resources—being from a small town in Kansas—that didn’t have softball,” the athlete’s father begins. “We’ve never had the facilities, we are like Rocky Balboa in “Rocky 4” going against the Russian (Ivan Drago) who had the facility, top trainers, and money.”
“We would have to train like Rocky did, inventing work outside and using outside areas like you wouldn’t believe.”
At one time, while in Colorado, Addi and her father found a creative way to get some pitching work in despite the brutal winter weather.
“We used an underground gutter and would pitch where homeless people and others less fortunate would be to get out of the cold and snow. We would get quite the crowd, but Addi loved pitching in front of them because she would say it takes their mind to a different time or situation.”
With a bright future ahead of her, Addi’s dedication to her sport is intense, but there’s one passion that burns stronger than her love of fastpitch: her family.
The softball star is the middle of five kids sandwiched between her older sister Jacquelyn (18-years-old) and brother Jensen (17) and ahead of younger sister Kambrie (9) and brother Slade (8).
It’s definitely a family of impressive achievements: the eldest, Jacquelyn, is looking to go to med school; Jensen is a college basketball prospect, Kambrie is a “feisty little athlete,” according to her father, who will play basketball and softball while the youngest, Slade, is a national wrestling champ and ranked #1 in Tennessee at the 65-pound weight class.
Going into the 8th grade this fall, Addi has also set her goals very high, including winning club and school championships and one individual accomplishment that would be a first.
“I would love to win the Gatorade State Player of the Year as an eighth grader,” she says optimistically, “because that’s something that’s never been done before.”
*****
Name: ADDISYN LINTON
Hometown/State: Eagleville, Tennessee
Grad Year: 2025
Positions: Pitcher/Outfield
Club Team: Tennessee Mojo 2024 – Ross
School (City/ST): Eagleville Middle/High School
GPA: 4.0
Top Softball & Other Honors/Accomplishments: 2017 PGF Champion, World Fastpitch Champions 2019 Kansas City
Nickname: Addi, Lil Baby Goat, A-Train
Preferred College Major: Anesthesiologist
Camps Attended: none
What have you been doing to keep busy during the COVID-19 shutdown?
Honestly during this time is probably the first time in five years when I just put the ball down and focused more on myself, being more physically fit and mentally ready. I want to get myself ready to compete at the highest level and I want to win. I don’t know what everyone else is doing; I hope they’re sitting on the couch on vacation because I’m using this time to get stronger and work on my weaknesses! Everything is shut down so you have to get creative and find ways to do things you can benefit from and make sure you’re ready when my coaches say we are playing.
Looks like we’re getting back onto the fields, fingers crossed, and June will continue to be a return to softball… your thoughts? Where are you scheduled to be this summer?
I can’t wait! I actually got to play recently in a Mojo friendly to where we played other Mojo teams and I freaking loved it! The Mojo organization has studs and some of the best teams in the country and best players in the country and I definitely loved being back on the field playing against the best. I don’t know our schedule but I know my coaches will find the best tournaments with the best competition to make us better.
We played some in Florida this weekend, only four pool games and no bracket ones because it got rained out. I’m pumped we are going right in playing the best and getting better. You have no choice or you will get beat badly so you have to compete every pitch. I’m so happy we don’t have to wear those masks either. I see some teams wearing those. I always want to play the big Nationals tournaments so I hope we get to. Those babies are special, you find out if you have what it takes.
What’s been your most memorable softball experience?
Well, I love winning big tournaments always when it’s stacked like Nationals. Softball has also allowed me to travel the country and see different areas of the country and meet amazing people. I also remember my first perfect game. One that truly I still think about is when I was 9 years old; I actually got to play in one of the biggest tournaments in the country in Colorado with every D1 coach watching. I was 9 playing with 14U and I played 18U with Explosion from California. Thank you, Coach Bret Denio! I love that guy. I remember seeing all the big D1 schools watching me. I actually played well and hit off of committed pitchers. God helped me that day, he knows my dreams and knows who was watching. I get goosebumps. You, Mr. Eads, actually interviewed me, that was so cool!
Talk about your performance last year at PGF Nationals… did you feel you were in a zone or playing in a way you couldn’t be stopped?
I’m still mad about PGF! I know my team is the best team in the country and I know we didn’t do our job. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a zone yet. I think being in a zone is where everything is working and sometimes I may have one or two things working and that’s good enough but it’s not that special zone. I’ve dominated at times but I know I can be better at where everything is working and, if so, I will be in a zone. It will be amazing when I have it all put together. I think the same way with my bat. I love to swing the bat to and help my team score runs. I want to win the three Nationals in the same year and the state championship for my school.
Everyone seems to know about you and thinks you’re a Top 10 player in your class… How do you think you’ve become so well-known so young?
I have some special people in my life because of softball and who they are in the sport that has always supported me and encouraged me to believe and chase my dreams. Those people have big voices for the sport and I love them and they love me. Everyone knows I work hard and knows my passion for the game. I think people love that and respect that about me. I want to inspire and motivate. I think social media has allowed the country to get to know me also and playing with the Mojo people know you if you play for a team like that.
A lot of coaches and scouts we’ve talked to rave about your competitiveness… where do you think that fire and drive comes from?
At my very first pitching lesson—before I ever even threw a pitch—it was me and my dad. Driving on our way there my dad tells me that he wants me to be the best pitcher in the building. He didn’t care who was there, he wanted me to be the best! So, from that day it set the tone of how my mentality was going to be. I still think that way and every time we go somewhere or play at a tournament my dad say, “Be the best player on the field.” My dad always told me and still says today, “There is no excuse as to why you can’t be the best; no matter if girls are a lot older or already committed to college. The ball doesn’t have a brain and has no idea who has it in their hand.”
Can it be too much sometimes, do you think? Are there times where, for example, losing is so much harder to take than the joy that comes from winning?
In 2019, we lost PGF Nationals. Losing like we did was the worst lost ever to me. We were the favorite going in, but some things didn’t go our way and we lost a lot sooner than expected. I sat in the dugout and cried and cried. Until, the lights were about to shut off at the park. The other team coach and parents actually came over to see me in the dugout by myself because I was taking it pretty hard. They told me some very positive and encouraging things. Then my dad took me to centerfield and the lights went off and I was still very emotional. My dad wanted me to feel that pain and it hurt and it still hurts. But losing is what makes you better and more motivated to not want to lose again. Losing will build you or break you. Nobody is undefeated in life. There is no better feeling than winning and there is no worse feeling than losing and that is what makes the special players special. That’s the 1 percent.
How would you evaluate yourself? What are your strengths on the field in addition to that competitiveness?
I would say if I was to evaluate myself that I still have so much more room to be better! I like that because it tells me if I continue to work hard, I’m going to get better and I want to be the best in the country. I think I have the right mentality and work ethic. I just have to keep building until it all comes together and I get excited about that. I believe my strengths on the field I can help my team win either with my bat or in the circle and I play the game to win. I will give everything I have. It’s like a fight, the other team gives us their best shot and I give them mine and what I contribute to the fight I know my teammates have my back. I hope it helps my team win the fight.
Have you set personal goals for yourself for this year? Or in general?
Yes, here is a few goals I set for the 2021 season:
- I want to hit 68 mph in a game and throw consistently 64-66 mph
- I want to throw my change-up on a full count base loaded situation and have it anytime. It’s dirty when I have it!
- Exit speed off a bat: 80 mph
- I want to bat .600-plus with 10 home runs!
- Win three national title with my team
- Take my high school team to its first state championship as an 8th grader. I can play high school ball. My school has never been to state or won a state title and I really want to make that happen!
- Squat 300 pounds
I always want to stay healthy so I don’t ever have to slow down so I can get better.
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