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It’s funny how one effective performance can help a player’s recruiting stock skyrocket.
Last month, the College Bound Jocks Uncommitted Games were held and a player who raised eyebrows with her impressive play was 2025 pitcher/third baseman Gabby Gradishar who plays for the Thunder Elite Premier 16U team coached by Jeff Steiner out of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
At the event, which took place at the University of Michigan, Gabby shined on both sides of the ball as she threw six innings with nine strikeouts and no hits given up and, at the plate, she went 4-for-5 with two doubles.
College coaches from close to 30 DI programs were there and one Power 5 coach told Coach Steiner that “Gabby was not only the best pitcher there but also the best hitter.
Another college coach told Steiner:
“Gabby will help a team every third game in the circle, but she will make an impact in the lineup every day.”
What exactly impressed the college coaches so much?
In the circle, the 2025 grad was hitting 62-to-65 mph mixing up an effective combination of a rise, screw, curve and change. And when she gets into the batter’s box, as she did at the CBJ event, Coach Steiner explains that the athlete who will be a “true two-way player at the next level” almost becomes another person.
Here are highlights from her performance at the event:
Gabby Gradishar did significantly well in the box and in the circle today at the 𝐂𝐁𝐉 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬@ggradishar2025 | #CollegeBoundJocks pic.twitter.com/DdpDmSMuwE
— College Bound Jocks (@CollegeBDJocks) July 18, 2023
“When you see Gabby in the circle,” the athlete’s travel ball head coach says, “she is so poised with a calm demeanor, but then when she gets a bat in her hands and steps into the box, it’s like she flips a switch attacking pitches with a controlled aggression.”
Whatever she’s doing between the lines, Gabby’s doing it very, very well.
This summer for her Thunder Elite club team, Gabby batted .423 (41-for-97) with 14 home runs, 10 doubles and 51 RBIs while on the mound she pitched 118 innings with 201 strikeouts, a 1.12 ERA and gave up just a .144 batting average to opposing hitters.
At the high school level, she was equally impressive helping her Champion (Warren, Ohio) High team to the Division 3 Regionals as she batted a sizzling .629 with 18 home runs and 46 RBI and had 249 K’s in 124 innings, averaging 1.86 strikeouts per inning while producing a 0.94 ERA and a .146 batting average against.
Her 18 home runs (in 30 games) were second in the Buckeye State for all levels and, not surprisingly, she was named 1st Team All-Ohio in 2023.
The two-way standout was asked which she like more, pitching or hitting.
“I enjoy hitting and pitching equally,” she said, “knowing that either way I can help my team win. I feel that being a pitcher helps me in the box, knowing a pitcher’s mindset when attacking a hitter. This gives me an advantage on the offensive side.”
Gabby was already being followed closely from DI programs such as Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Kentucky, South Florida and Miami (Ohio) to name a few, but her performance at the College Bound Jocks Uncommitted Games will only add to the increasing attention she’s getting from college coaches.
Coach Steiner is excited about how his prized player did at the event and how the future looks for the underclassmen.
“This Fall,” he says simply, “will be an exciting time for Gabby.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball