Welcome to the 2022 high school season as it pertains to the national rankings compiled by Extra Inning Softball.
As in previous seasons of the Extra Elite 80, there’s going to be 80 teams mentioned in each installment, but the teams will be ranked in order for the first 50 positions. The next 30 will be listed in alphabetical order. We also will have a bubble list each week that will be kept internally for the teams that have just missed and will be first to go in when others lose.
These first rankings are called “preseason” because for a large part of the country teams haven’t played yet. There are places where games began in the last one to two weeks, such as in Texas, Florida, Alabama and Southern California. Other teams may have played in their first games this week. Early scores were used to rank teams in states that have already begun.
The Extra Inning Softball national rankings are a continuation of the FAB 50 national rankings that were begun in the 1990s by Student Sports Magazine and were featured on ESPN from 2008 to 2012. Extra Inning Softball founder Brentt Eads was part of doing those rankings, which were compiled by editor Mark Tennis (still doing them in partnership with Brentt). Needless to say, no other national rankings in high school softball have that kind of history behind them.
These rankings will go to a weekly release in about one month when more of the states with colder weather will be playing.
Look for the next update in two weeks…
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2023 Extra Elite Eighty Preseason Rankings
(Listed with win-loss records from 2022 season)
1. Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 41-0
It’s for the same reason that the Lions were slotted in front of Roncalli in last year’s final rankings that they are starting out there this spring. It’s simply strength of schedule. The Texas Class 5A playoffs also could be stronger than 6A this season as Lake Creek will get expected challenges from Georgetown, Heritage of Frisco and others. There’s no room for a slip, however, as the odds of Roncalli losing in Indiana seem remote. Both teams have outstanding returning players. For the Lions, it will be Florida-bound Ava Brown, who went 30-0 in the circle with 335 strikeouts and batted .405 with 10 homers, leading the way. Two of the state’s leading offensive players, Maddie McKee (LSU), who had 72 hits, 70 runs and batted .511, and junior Carmen Uribe (Central Arkansas), who had 63 hits and batted .504, also are back. The Lions also have started out with an 8-0 record.
2. Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.) 33-0
She’s what you can call a megastar in high school sports and with Keagan Rothrock back for her senior season the odds remain quite high that barring injury the Royals will roll to another Class 4A state title and unbeaten record. The only reason they also weren’t No. 1 in the Extra Elite 80 last season is that there was a 41-0 unbeaten state champ and historically great team from Texas. Rothrock, headed to Florida next season where she and future teammate Ava Brown can have some fun arguing about their high school teams (which one was better) for hopefully many years to come, went 28-0 as a pitcher for Roncalli last season with a 0.70 ERA and 382 strikeouts in 170.1 innings. She also batted .523 with 14 homers and 55 RBI and was everyone’s national player of the year, including Extra Innings. Much of her supporting cast also returns, including Lyla Blackwell (.523, 53 runs, 57 hits) and Abbey Hofmann (.521, 55 RBI, 10 homers).
3. Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) 30-2
New head coach Todd Lee takes over after the incredible five-year run of T.J. Goelz and the Mustangs are not expected to have much of a drop in what they do if at all. This year’s cast of standouts includes Florida-bound INF Cassidy McLellan, who collected 38 RBI last season and led the team with a .561 batting average.
4. Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 39-0
Our 2022 National Coach of the Year, Alan Jones, only had one senior on the roster, which means the Bruins are a contender to finish near the top nationally this season with another unbeaten season. Pitcher Brooke Gray (Louisville), 1B Emory Donaldson (Kentucky) and junior INF Mikayla Milby (Louisville) are all among the returnees.
5. Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta, Calif.) 25-6
The Rams have begun with one win and will be tested in games this week in Norco’s round-robin tournament. They have a returning ace in Caylea Rains-Campbell (Longwood University), but the real strength is the 1-9 batting order. Ohio State-bound C Jazzy Burns (13 homers, 48 RBI), leadoff hitting soph OF Taelyn Holley (43 runs) and junior INF Paige Bambarger (Oregon State) are the top position players to watch.
6. Clovis North (Fresno, Calif.) 21-3
The season begins for the top preseason team in the CIF Central Section this week. Head coach Courtney Dale is a former Ms. Softball State Player of the Year and she’s got the leading contender for the 2023 honor back to lead this team. That would be Arizona-bound Ryan Maddox, the 2022 State Junior of the Year. INF Kiara Sipe (Fresno State) and junior P/1B Emma Blea (Northwestern) also are among those back.
7. Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.) 32-2
BYU-bound Gianna Mares is back for last year’s Class 4A state champions. She went 18-0 as a pitcher with a 1.68 ERA and hammered 15 homers. The other girls who pitched last season also return as is the team’s other top slugger, Krista Martinez, who hit 12 homers. The Lancers were scheduled to start their season this week.
8. Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) 32-7
The Eagles were the Class 6A runner-up to O’Connor of Heliotes last season, but return a much stronger cast this year and are No. 1 to start by the Dallas Morning News. They also have gotten out to an 8-0 record in their first few games. OF Tia Warsop (Oklahoma State), returning all-state INF Paris Johnson (Texas Southern) and soph P Avery Hoang are the leading players to watch.
9. St. Amant (St. Amant, La.) 33-2
Most of the top players for the Gators after last season are back. They also have a win in their first game this season. The top returnee is P/INF Addison Jackson (Boston College). Junior INF Alix Franklin (LSU) also was hard to miss and the depth of the program over the last few seasons also has been strong.
10. Anthony Wayne (Whitehouse, Ohio) 30-1
This team was rolling along with a perfect record and a likely top 10 national finish until getting upset in the D1 state playoffs. Just about everyone on the roster was a non-senior. Both pitchers were shown with D1 commitments – Kat Meyers (Michigan) and Brooklyn Patchen (Creighton). The other major honors candidates include OF Emily Liskai and C Trinity Nowicki.
*** Scroll down to see the rest of the 2023 Extra Elite Eighty Preseason teams!
