RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Extra Inning Softball announced on Tuesday that the 2023 Extra Elite 100 rankings will begin on April 26. Following that will be the Class of 2024 and today we spotlight one of the top players in that class…
Sydni Burko, the talented freshman infielder from a small town in West Virginia, has made it to the big-time as a member of one of the top travel ball organizations in the nation, the Beverly Bandits.
The third baseman was ranked as one of the Top 15 prospects in the 2024 Extra Elite 100 last fall and made the Top 10 in the 2024 Position Rankings as well.
Here are excerpts from her bio write-up in the Extra Elite 100 in Sept. 2020:
Sydni Burko, 3B, Beverly Bandits Premier 06 – Michalski
Sydni can hit with the best of them as she showed at the PGF Labor Day Showdown where she went 6-for-7 with three home runs. Hitting primarily in the 3-hole for the Bandits, she had another strong and productive season, finishing in the Top 3 of several offensive categories… Syd is a sure-handed infielder with a strong arm that’s well-equipped to play the hot corner at a high level. At the plate she’s a line drive hitter with pop who makes contact consistently. Syni is from Ona, West Virginia and is known by colleges after going to several ACC, Big Ten and SEC camps.
Sydni also made the Extra Inning Softball 14U All-Summer Team in 2020 as she hit .393 with a .451 on-base percentage and had 48 RBIs with 30 runs scored in 54 games.
In the fall, the Bandit standout had even better stats: a .491 batting average, a .525 on-base percentage, 53 hits in 43 games (a 37-3-3 team record) with 20 doubles, seven home runs, 54 RBIs and 41 runs scored.
According to her mother, Jennifer, the only girl of the four Burko kids has always had a passion for sports and started out competing in soccer, tennis, basketball and gymnastics, but, ultimately, playing softball became her passion.
“While other kids chose birthday parties or going to a swimming pool,” the athlete’s mother recalls, “Sydni just had a drive to want to get better at her softball game. Never being told to get out and work, she just did it or bugged her Mom and Dad to take her to a field.”
The dedication to her craft has certainly paid off, according to those who’ve worked with her.
Ty McKinney, a former Team USA Jr. Men’s and Women’s coach and Sydni’s personal hitting, fielding and pitching instructor since she was 8 years old, raves about the prospects of his promising pupil.
“At this age Sydney, is one of the most well-rounded ball players I have ever seen,” he begins. “She’s a kid that has the work ethic to be one of the best in the game as she is very defensively solid and swings the bat great. Sydni can hit for average and has some pop in the bat as well, but she’s also a very good pitcher—she was the first 10-year-old I’ve ever seen throw a rise ball!”
“I have been blessed to coach and be around some the best players in the world on the USA team and Sydni has the make-up to be one of those elite athletes, hands down… she’s one of the best players I have ever coached.”
Adam LaLonde, who is a former University of Missouri assistant coach and now runs the Adam LaLonde USA Softball Training Academy in Kenova, West Virginia, works with over 200 athletes each week. He believes Sydni has already reached rarefied air.
“In my opinion,” he explains, “Sydney is easily in the top five position players in the country at her age. She stands out in all aspects of her game in that she has unbelievable hands, a strong arm, hits with power and has a gift that I like to say is ‘softball sense.’ Sydni thinks well-ahead of others her age and is capable of making big-time plays all the time.”
“She’s definitely that game-changing kid for any team she’s on and, if I were still at Missouri, I would definitely be recruiting her right now. I look forward to seeing where she ends up going in the future but I will say she’s definitely a Power 5 kid. Sydni will be a huge asset to whoever gets her on their team.”
EXTRA STAR POWER Q&A
Name: SYDNI BURKO
Hometown: Ona, West Virginia
High School: Cabell Midland (West Virginia) High School
Club Team & Age Group: Beverly Bandits Premier 14U – Chow
Graduation Year: 2024
Height: 5-foot-5
Position(s): 3B/UT
Nicknames: “Syd,” “Burko,” “Hollywood”
What has been your favorite vacation or place you visited?
Huntington Beach, California to play in the PGF Nationals. It was so fun to fly to Cali and get to play.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one thing you would have with you?
Iced coffee! I would definitely bring that with me.
If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead who would it be?
I would definitely have dinner with Inky Johnson and talk to him about his experiences as a collegiate athlete and making a positive impact on people’s lives as a motivational speaker.
*** Scroll down to read more about Sydni including the biggest obstacle she’s had to overcome (and how doing so improved her softball game)…