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Extra Inning Softball regularly covers the hottest breaking news from the recruiting side of softball including the latest top players to make the happy decision of where they’ll play at the next level! This week we have three standouts from the Hotshots going to the same college; big commits for Auburn and Clemson and the Beverly Bandits produce another trio of college-bound prospects.
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LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE GETS A TRIO OF HOTSHOTS
It was a huge week for Gerry Gasco and his Ragin’ Cajuns program as the new coach scooped up four talented players including Cayden Baker, a 2021 with Tennessee Mojo, and three players from Troy Falterman’s Diamond Sports Hotshots including his daughter, Kayla Falterman, a 2021 outfielder; Halie Pappion, a 2022 lefty pitcher and likely Extra Elite 100 prospect (hint, hint) and Sam Graeter, a 2021 outfielder/third baseman.
Earlier in February, it was announced that the first Beverly Bandit ever had committed to ULL when 2021 infielder/outfielder Haylie Brunson picked the school.
But the big news this week is that three stars from the same team will be continuing their play together at the next level; also, all three Hotshot commits will play together this summer with the 14U Diamond Sports Hotshots Premier team.
Kayla Falterman and Graeter have played together since 12U.
Says Coach Falterman: “Sam and Kayla committed together this past Sunday after attending the UL walk-off home run come from behind victory over Florida and Hailey committed Tuesday evening.”
Here’s a closer look at the Hotshots with comments from Coach Falterman:
***Kayla Falterman (2021, outfielder)
Kayla’s recruiting journey began during her 8th grade year. She began receiving interest from various Power 5 schools and ended up taking visits to schools both in the SEC and PAC 12. She completed a successful summer with her Texas Sudden Impact 14U team that finished in the Top 10 in the Colorado Junior Sparkler Power Pool, won the Atlanta Legacy tournament, and finished tied for 12th in the PGF premier division.
In the Fall of 2017, Kayla’s team joined the Diamond Sports Hotshots organization and completed a successful season by going undefeated at both the D9 and Birmingham Thunderbolt showcase tournaments.
At the end of the Fall, it was about that time Coach Gerry Glasco became the head coach at UL. Kayla had met Coach Glasco during his time at Texas A&M and had attended a number of his clinics that he had hosted in the Houston area.
In January, Kayla along with her some of her teammates went on an unofficial visit to UL. It was at that visit that she became extremely impressed with UL and all they had to offer. The support for the UL program is second to none and she couldn’t believe the number of fans that were attending an unannounced scrimmage the Saturday she was on her visit.
Coach Glasco and his staff did a wonderful job describing the history of the program, everything the school had to offer from an academic perspective, and their vision for the future of UL softball. After the visit, it was clear UL was her lead school, but she wanted to spend some time researching and confirming it was the right school.
It all culminated this past Sunday when she attended the UL/Florida series finale that ended with a walk-off homerun by the Cajuns to beat the #2 ranked team in the country.
After the game Kayla and her teammate Sam Graeter met with Coach Glasco and then took a tour of the campus one last time before committing to Coach Glasco and the Rajun Cajuns on her journey back to Houston (Kayla and Sam Graeter committed from the rest stop area on the Texas/Louisiana line as they couldn’t wait any longer!).
Kayla couldn’t be more excited about her choice to be a Ragin Cajun and cannot wait to play in front of some of the best softball fans in the country.
Softball career
–Kayla is a two time National Champion (ASA-2015 and PGF 2016)
–She is a two time first team 2021 USA Elite All American
–She is also the starting second baseman as a freshman for the Woodlands –Highlanders Softball that is currently ranked #8 in Texas 6A softball
***Sam Graeter (2021, outfielder/third baseman)
Sam has had recruiting interest from a number of SEC schools including Alabama, Mississippi State, LSU, just to name a few that also began in the 8th grade.
The freshman is an amazing athlete that can play just about anywhere on the field except for pitcher. She is a power hitter from the right side and routinely makes ESPN Sports Center-type plays in the field.
Sam hit over .600 at PGF Nationals during the Texas Sudden Impact 12U championship run and followed that up this past year by hitting just under.500 at PGF Premier Nationals.
Her story about UL is similar to Kayla in that both of them really enjoyed their visit to Lousiana-Lafayette in January. Sam also was attracted by the welcoming feel provided by Coach Glasco and staff and their vision for the program.
It also helped that Lafayette is a short drive from Houston so Sam’s mom and grandparents will be able to attend her games on a regular basis.
Sam is widely regarded as one of the best power-hitters in the 2021 class. She has also been a USA Elite 2021 1st team All American and also has been recognized as a top 100 player in the 2021 class.
She also is a starter at Oak Ridge High School as a freshman on a team that is expected to contend for the Texas 6A state championship.
***Hailey Pappion (2022, pitcher)
Hailey is viewed by travel ball coaches as one of the best 2022 pitchers in the country. She has routinely pitched in big tournaments against some of the best teams in the country. Hailey is known for her devastating change-up to go along with her fastball that is routinely clocked in the low 60s.
Hailey received strong interest from schools such as Oregon, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma just to name a few. She ultimately decided that she also was very impressed with Coach Glasco and his staff’s vision for the program and it was also a very convenient location since Hailey lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana which is only about an hour from UL.
Hailey decided on Tuesday evening to decide to become a Ragin Cajun.
CLEMSON ROARS AGAIN
We reported in the last Roundup how John Rittman and crew are lining up a lot of recruits as well.
Chalk up another outstanding pickup, this time from the Sunshine State
McKenzie “Pie” Clark, a 2020 outfielder catcher with the Tampa Mustangs – TJ team, committed to Clemson while on an unofficial visit this past weekend ending a long process that saw her receive over a dozen offers from multiple SEC, ACC and Big Ten schools.
According to her coach, T.J. Goelz, “McKenzie is a pure athlete who can run, hit for power and average and throw very well. She is versatile defensively and plays outfield and catcher for our team.”
Clark typically hits at the top of the order sandwiched between two Florida recruits, Kendra Falby and Avery Goelz, setting up a powerhouse lineup for the Mustangs. She has played for Goelz since she was 10 years old and has always dreamed of playing big-time softball even though she is a solid basketball and volleyball player as well.
McKenzie is the 12th player to commit for the Tampa Mustangs-TJ squard, with the majority of them just sophomores in High School.
AUBURN ALSO ON A HOT STREAK
It seems we’re hearing the a lot of another Tiger these days when it comes to recruiting verbals—and this is the SEC kind, Mickey Dean’s Auburn Tigers.
Auburn got one of the top 2022’s in the nation to stay in-state as pitcher Emmah Rolfe, who plays for the Birmingham Thunderbolts 04 led by Ted Flannery, committed to Coach Dean on Monday (Feb. 19).
Rolfe already is hitting 62-64 mph on the radar gun and was an All-State pitcher as a 7th grader. Her top pitch, however, may her curve and according to Coach Flannery: “Match that with her ability to throw a nasty dropball anywhere in the count and a riseball that continues to improve, and there is little question as to why Emmah had interest from schools in the SEC, Big 10 and Pac 12.”
THERE’S A REASON THE BEVERLY BANDITS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS: TALENT!
Every week it seems Bill Conroy’s Beverly Bandits organization based in Chicago lists a handful of verbals.
This week, Conroy wrote to his organization: “I would like to congratulate Larissa Ortiz, 2021 C/UTL, who verbally committed to attend school and play softball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Wisconsin.”
He also had two more reasons to celebrate:
“I wanted to also congratulate Hailey Panfil, a 2020 1B/OF, and who verbally committed to Charleston Southern and Addison (AJ) Talbot, 2021 INF/OF, who verbally committed to DePaul University!”
TOP WEST TEAM LOOKING FOR A PITCHER
Finally, last week we profiled a “Club on the Rise” in the West Bay Warriors, a program that is PGF Nationals-bound and is a team making noise in Northern California.
The 14U team includes one of the top 2022 shortstops in the country, UCLA-commit Megan Grant, and according to the organization’s founder and head man, Ray McDonald, is looking for a top pitcher.
“The West Bay Warriors will compete in the Colorado Sparkler Power Pool with the best,” says McDonald, “and we are looking for a strikeout pitcher (14U) to compete with the best in the country. WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!! Great defense and offense. Let’s go!”
If interested, email him at: [email protected].
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