RANKINGS
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ABOUT
This weekend I listed 10 favorite PGF Nationals memories I had over the course of last decade as the prestigious club event hits Year 10.
Thanks to all those who sent in their top memories too… one of these I wanted to share, because it was also one of mine that I could have included too.
It goes back five years ago when an unknown team with a very corporate sounding name from Texas almost won the PGF 12U National Championship.
Reader Asani Charles wrote about this team as her daughter, Karlie Charles, a pitcher who just finished her prep career at The Colony as the national leader in 2019 with 37 wins and was a 1st Team Extra Inning Softball All-American, was on this runner-up squad that also included the top-ranked player in the 2020 class, Jayda Coleman, who is currently player of the USA Softball U-19 Women’s National Team.
The Genies lost a close game to the So Cal A’s – Mercado team, 4-3, but it put many Lone Star State young players on the recruiting map at that time.
Below is that memory and some fun highlights of Jayda already showing great athletic abilities even back then.
And, by the way, I’ll be at PGF Nationals from Tuesday on watching the 18U and 16U bracket games so if you see me in my gray shirt with the Extra Inning logo, come up and say hi!
— Brentt Eads, President & Executive Editor of Extra Inning Softball
[email protected]
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Asani writes…
Hey Brentt,
My favorite PGF Moment will always be the 2014 DirecTV Genies Elite campaign.
Our girls qualified in Birmingham and went to Orange County with only 10 players! It was a bit of a homecoming for our native Californian daughter Karlie and the first big stage for her, the team, and of course powerhouse Jayda Coleman!
The recruiting adventure started for our team after the championship game and Jayda’s championship plays!
This year neither Karlie or Jayda are at PGF because both are playing at JO Cup (editor’s note: Karlie is with the Glory 18U Gold team) of course Jayda’s playing as a Junior Olympian. We’re so excited to watch her and the U1-9 team live and in person!
Thanks for letting me share my favorite PGF Nationals moment!
— Asani Charles, mother of Karlie Charles