Last week, Florida Gator Skylar Wallace was announced as a Top 25 Finalist for the 2022 Collegiate Player of the Year and it’s no surprise why the likely All-American made the list.
As of today (Thursday, April 28, 2022), the redshirt junior infielder is leading the Gators with a .403 batting average, an impressive .564 on-base percentage and 1.215 OPS as she’s had 52 hits in 48 games (all starts) with 60 runs scored, 36 RBIs, 37 walks and 41 steals out of 43 attempts. Defensively, Skylar has a .968 fielding percentage.
Since Extra Inning Softball began in January 2018, we have had Skylar mentioned in stories on our site 96 times and have been privileged to get to know her and her family as she’s progressed on her softball journey from high school and club to success at the college and even international levels.
Her 2017-2018 senior year was one of great success at the personal and team level as the soon-to-graduate student-athlete earned All-State and All-American honors in high school and then helped her Georgia Impact 18U team win a PGF National Championship.
That same Friday night, she played in the PGF All-American Game and then over the weekend was part of the Louisville Slugger Hit Club, which I managed over the five years of its existence, having the great opportunity to be with Skylar for several days as well as several of her other classmates–including future Florida teammate Charla Echols–for several days.
Skylar signed with Alabama and played two years for the Tide before she announced in November of 2020 she would be moving cross-conference to play for the Florida Gators. She sat out the 2021 season because of transfer rules but has come back with a vengeance this year!
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Skyler’s pre-Florida days that demonstrate how she’s been one of the best in the country at whatever level she’s played.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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Skylar was honored as a Top 5 player in the 2018 Extra Elite 100 published in May of 2018 and, as part of her bio write-up, here’s what we wrote about her then:
4—Skylar Wallace, SS, Georgia Impact – Lewis (Alabama)
Whenever Skylar’s name is mentioned, the one word that comes up early in the conversation, if not very first, is “athletic.” She’s a 5-foot-10, lefty hitter who has the frame and physical tools that every college coach looks for to build a team around. Skylar led her Etowah (Woodstock, Georgia) High team to 26-7 record as a junior and to the Class 7A state title game by hitting .542. A two-year All-American and three-time All-State selection, she’s also led her school to the Sweet 16 in the state playoffs two other times. On the club side, she’s experienced success on Patrick Lewis’s Impact teams including a 2nd place finish at the PGF Nationals in 2015. With her 2.6 home-to-first speed and the ability to do anything on the field including run wild on the base paths, Skylar is a franchise player who has a ceiling as high as anyone in the 2018 class.
In June of 2018, Skylar was recognized as an Extra Inning Softball 1st Team All-American (Multi-Purpose) with the following info:
MIF/OF Sr. Skylar Wallace, Etowah (Woodstock) GA
Skylar is considered one of the top athletes in her class and led Etowah to a second-place finish in the Georgia State Championships last fall and was named the 7AAAAAA Region Player of the Year. The Alabama signee hit .560 with a .655 on-base percentage and had eight home runs with 37 RBI and 53 runs scored. She earned PGF All-American honors and was selected by Extra Inning Softball as one of the Top 5 players in the Extra Elite 100 for the 2018 class.
That summer, the Georgia senior was part of a very strong Georgia Impact 18U team coached by Patrick Lewis which included current Washington pitcher Kelley Lynch and current Florida third baseman Charla Echols (who would start her career at Michigan State), among others.
The Impact – Lewis team made it all the way to the title game against a strong OC Batbusters team… here’s our article detailing that game from July 28, 2020:
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PGF 18U Premier Title: Georgia Impact-Lewis Finds Redemption… & Perfection
Originally published July 28, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Georgia Impact organization head Will Tomasello admitted he watched today’s PGF 18U Premier National Championship from his car. Finishing runner-up nine times in national title games will do that to you.
Head Coach Patrick Lewis remembers well the PGF 14U national title game three years ago when his team lost 7-4 to the OC Batbusters, which was coached by Mark Campbell— an assistant coach on Mike Stith’s squad the Impact faced today at Deanna Stadium in Bill Barber Park located in Irvine, California.
And Lewis admitted he was 0-2 this year facing Stith’s OC Batbuster team.
“We just knew to get the championship we’d have to go through them at some point,” he said before the game started.
The two teams from opposite coasts also had very opposite paths to get to the championship game: the Batbusters lost its first game Monday and then had to run off 10 straight wins–six on Thursday alone–including a dramatic 4-3 win over the Corona Angels in the IF game.
The Impact, on the other hand, rolled through its bracket undefeated at 7-0 with the closest game being a 3-0 win over Impact Gold-Jackson. While the Batbusters were fighting for their playoff lives, the Impact run-ruled a strong Cal Cruisers 10-2.
Although the Impact looked to be hitting on all cylinders rolling into the final, Lewis admitted he told his team that this wasn’t just any game.
“I said they would feel different because the stakes are higher here and to not be surprised by that,” Lewis said.
As the coach suspected after seeing , the Impact looked shaky in the early going as ace pitcher Kelley Lynch gave up a single in the top of the first inning to Jasmine Perezchica, Maya Brada reached on an error and Colleen Sullivan was hit by a pitch.
After a flyout, Jadelyn Allchin hit a two-run single and suddenly the Batbusters lead 2-0 just five batters into the game.
But in the bottom of the first the Impact answered back quickly when Skylar Wallace doubled to right-center, Charla Echols walked and Jordan Fabian hit a two-run double that caromed off the top of the 220-foot fence to tie the game at 2-2.
Lewis continued to roll out Lynch to throw for the Impact while Stith used a pitch-by-committee approach–he started with Nicole May for an inning, went with Vanessa Foreman for 2 1/3rd innings, switched to Madi Elish for 2 2/3rd inning and then went with Olivia Rains.
After a shaky start by both teams’ starters, the pitching held the other side scoreless until the sixth inning, but it wasn’t easy–by the end of the game the Batbusters would leave 13 runners on base and the Impact would strand 10–meaning there were a lot of missed opportunities.
The third inning was a good example of how each team failed to push across a run: the Batbusters loaded the bases with one out thanks to two walks and an infield single by Kinzie Hansen but Lynch was able to include a pair of flyouts and the threat was over.
For the Impact, things looked promising when catcher Julia Cottrill tripled down the right field line with one out, but Madi Elish came in and prevented a run by getting a strikeout and a ground out.
In fact, the only time one team went down in order was the top of the 4th when the Batbusters had a hitter fail to get on base.
The four-inning scoring drought, however, ended in the top of the 6th when Janelle Meono walked, Jasmine Perezchica singled and Maya Brady walked.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Terra McGowan singled home the runs to put the Batbusters ahead 4-2 even though the team trailed in hits 9-to-6.
Once again, the Impact trailed by two, but responded quickly. After a pair of walks to Karly Heath and Bailee Zeitler, Vanessa Foreman returned to the circle and saw an infield error on a sacrifice bunt allow the Impact to cut the lead to 4-3.
Skylar Wallace would then reach base on an infield single before the biggest play of the game would take place.
Charla Echols, the pick-up player who has been a rival of the Impact while playing with the Atlanta Vipers over the last several years, stepped up and hit a bases-clearing double that gave the Georgia team a 6-4 lead.
“When I hit it, I thought she was going to catch it,” Echols said of her big hit. “When it got down, I was so happy for the team. I felt that hit was going to do it for us, I felt we were just one hit away.”
The Batbusters wouldn’t go down easily, though. In the top of the 7th, the lead looked shaky as an error and a walk lead to the maroon-clad California team loading the bases for the fourth time in the game, but Lynch was able to induce a ground out for the final out as the Georgia Impact closed out a national championship at the highest level possible.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Lewis would say of getting the trophy at the highest age level and on the biggest stage. “I’m elated for these kids who put in so much and worked so hard. Give it to the Batbusters–every time they would punch, we would punch back.”
The Impact finished the 2018 PGF 18U Nationals with a perfect record, 8-0, and defeated a team that has won two previous PGF Nationals as well as have had the Georgia team’s number.
The victory by two was the closest of the week, but Lewis will take it.
On Friday in Irvine, California, the number of note was “one,” as in being No. 1 in the country at the 18U level and winning National Championship No. 1 for the Impact organization
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Immediately after the PGF Championship that Friday night, Skylar participated in the PGF All-American Game and then participated in the last year of the Louisville Slugger Hit Club, which ran over the weekend Friday-Monday following the busy week of travel ball play and the PGF All-American Game.
Here’s an article Extra Inning Softball produced when Skylar was first announced as being part of that year’s talented crop of players:
Louisville Slugger Hit Club: Invite… Skylar Wallace
Originally published July 2, 2018 on Extra Inning Softball
The fourth year of the Louisville Slugger Hit Club will take place in Orange County, California from Saturday, July 28-30, 2018 and will once again produce outstanding college hitters who earn all types of honors.
Past Hit Club participants have included such current college standouts as WCWS MVP Shay Knighten (Oklahoma), National Player of the Year finalist Amanda Lorenz (Florida) and 1st Team NFCA All-American Aubrey Leach (Tennessee) from the Class of 2015 to recently named NFCA 1st Team All-Americans such as Nicole “Sis” Bates (Washington) and Aaliyah Jordan (UCLA) from the 2016 Hit Club to last year’s group which included National Freshman of the Year Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma) and 1st Team All-SEC and Conference Freshman of the Year Mia Davidson (Mississippi State).
Louisville Slugger and Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) have partnered to give 10 elite players in the Class of 2018 the chance to spend three fun and education-filled days that will include:
- spending time at Disneyland
- watching a home game at the Los Angeles Angels’ stadium in Anaheim
- participating in a rope course
- competing to see who ranks as the most impressive hitters and earns the MVP award
Extra Inning Softball is the exclusive media partner for the Louisville Slugger and in the weeks leading up to the three-day event will unveil this year’s class.
We’re happy to announce today that Skylar Wallace, the outstanding athlete who signed with Alabama, is the fourth publicly announced confirmed player who will attend!
Here’s a closer look at 2018 Louisville Slugger Hit Club Invite #4…
NAME: SKYLAR WALLACE
Hometown: Woodstock, Georgia
Positions: Middle infield
Club Team: Georgia Impact – Lewis 18U
High School: Etowah (Woodstock, Georgia)
GPA: 3.75
College: Alabama
When Committed: January, 2014 (freshman year)
Height: 5-foot-10
Other Sports: track
Top Stats/Honors: Extra Inning Softball 1st Team All-American (Multi-Purpose); Extra Elite 100 (#4 overall); PGF All-American; Georgia 7AAAAAA Region Player of the Year; led Etowah High to state title game; hit .560 as a senior with a .655 on-base percentage; hit eight home runs with 53 runs scored and 37 RBI; for her prep career was a two-time All-American and three-time All-State pick; team finished 2nd at Boulder IDT this past weekend.
Other Universities Considered: Florida, Tennessee
Preferred College Major: Business
Scouting Report: Skylar is a lefty hitter who has all the physical tools to be a dominating player in the SEC. She has the size, speed (2.6 home-to-first) and power to be an impact player early on at Alabama. Has the physical tools you can’t teach and has the experience and skills playing elite competition to quickly make the field for the Tide with All-Conference potential at the minimum.
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What’s your approach to hitting that you believe has made you successful?
Going into the box with confidence and strike zone discipline.
What’s been your highlight of your career and why?
Honestly, my highlight hasn’t happened yet. Although I have had a lot of good highlights, I feel as if the best one has not happened yet and that is what drives me every day.
What’s been the #1 thing in your mind that’s helped you develop as a good hitter?
I want to be considered one of the best hitters of all time.
What goes through your mind as you step into the batter’s box?
The first thing that goes through my mind is that the pitcher cannot beat me. I am going to do my job and get on base somehow.
Other than the obvious, getting on base, what would you qualify as a successful at-bat?
An eight or more pitch at-bat even if the result is a strikeout or putting the ball in play and making the opponent make a play.
Who’s a player, past or present, you look up to and why?
Amanda Lorenz, because her character is one of a kind and she inspires me to be the best I can be.
When did you first realize you had the ability to play at the next level?
When I was 10. That was my goal, playing at the next level, so I put the work in to make it become true.
What is it you love about softball if you were explaining your passion for the sport to someone not familiar with it?
The competitiveness in the game. Everybody is out to win at the highest level and it makes it fun when everyone is competing for the same thing: winning PGF.
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All of that was a prelude to a great 2019 which saw Skylar have an outstanding freshman season at Alabama in the spring of 2019 and then help lead the U-19 Team USA to great success including a championship in August of 2019: WBSC U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup: Team USA Walks Off in Extra Innings to Beat Japan 4-3.
I did an article in 2019 looking back on 10 Favorite Memories from PGF’s First 10 Years and Skylar made the list!
One of my favorite memories will forever be the last inning of the championship game in PGF where the Impact was holding on to a narrow lead in the final inning. Here’s how it played out…
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- The Georgia Impact-Lewis Wins One For the South
Last year one memory stands out above all overs for me in a humorous way: the 18U Premier Game was a great one as the OC Batbusters-Stith team, having played five games in the Loser’s Bracket the day before, was making a game of it against the Patrick Lewis-led George Impact squad in the title game televised on ESPN. I was on the field down the left field line waiting for the game to end and it looked good for the Impact as Kelley Lynch—this year’s Gatorade National Player of the Year—was in the circle. A hard-hit shot was hit to shortstop Skylar Wallace who stabbed the ball and threw to first, only to have the ball dropped. Skylar turned her back to the infield and muttered something that, let’s just say is more HBO-appropriate than to be repeated here. Third baseman Charla Echols calmed down her competitive teammate and Lynch closed the door, giving the South its first 18U PGF Nationals crown after the Beverly Bandits the year before became the first non-California team to win the highest level of the prestigious tournament.
Now she’s a Gator with more greatness expected from her. We wish Skylar and her family all the best in her new endeavors on and off the field!
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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Wallace Chooses Gators as New Home
Originally published Nov. 18, 2020 on FloridaGators.com.
Wallace comes to the Gators with a wealth of experience on the dirt as she started 68 games at second base her freshman year in 2019, and 22 games of the shortened 2020 season at shortstop for the Crimson Tide.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida softball program and Head Coach Tim Walton announced the addition of infielder Skylar Wallace Wednesday. Wallace, a transfer from the University of Alabama, is set to join the program this upcoming January.
“We’re very excited that Skylar has decided to be a Gator.” Walton said. “She plays the game with an incredible amount of energy and passion, and we look forward to her bringing those to Florida. This is a tremendous opportunity to coach Skylar and help her achieve all of her goals personally, academically and athletically.”
Wallace comes to the Gators with a wealth of experience on the dirt as she started 68 games at second base her freshman year in 2019, and 22 games of the shortened 2020 season at shortstop for the Crimson Tide.
“This is an incredible opportunity and I am very thankful that I have found a home with the Gators.” Wallace said. “I made plenty of great memories at Alabama and am also thankful for the opportunities I had there, but now I’m focused and ready to get to Gainesville, so I can start building relationships with my new teammates and coaches.”
During her freshman campaign in 2019, Wallace was a consistent contributor in Alabama’s lineup throughout the duration of the season. Her success led her to being named to the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team, along with NFCA Third Team All-South Region honors.
The left-handed hitter posted a .295 batting average her freshman year and showed signs of growth at the plate in 2020 as she upped her average to .387, posted an on base percentage of .524 and slugged .581 through the shortened 22-game season.
In addition, Wallace was also able to reach base safely in 53 of the 68 games played in 2019, along with 19 of the 22 games played in 2020 and is 27-of-28 over her career in stolen base attempts.
“This is an incredible opportunity and I am very thankful that I have found a home with the Gators.” – Skylar Wallace#GoGators https://t.co/sfIRwjfZmk
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) November 18, 2020
Skylar Wallace File
Career Honors:
- 2020 Easton Bama Bash MVP
- 2019 U-19 USA Women’s National Team
- 2019 WBSC U-19 World Cup Gold Medalist
- 2019 USA International Cup Bronze Medalist
- 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team
- 2019 SEC All-Tournament Team
- 2019 NFCA All-South Region Third Team
Career Notables:
- Went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a home run in Alabama’s last game of 2019 against Oklahoma at the Women’s College World Series.
- Tied 1-1 in the 8th inning, Wallace hit a walk-off home run against Georgia (May, 9, 2019) to send Alabama to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Was responsible for both RBI and was 2-for-3 at the plate in the 2-1 win.
- Drove in a career-high five RBIs against Louisville (Feb. 23, 2020), including a game-ending three run home run.
- In 2020, tallied career-highs in hits (3 – vs. Louisville), doubles (2 – vs. Wichita State), runs scored (4 – vs. Penn State), assists (4 – vs. Arkansas) and putouts (4 – vs. UCLA).
- Able to reach base safely in 53 of the 68 games played in 2019, along with 19 of the 22 games played in 2020.
- In her career, Wallace is 27-of-28 in stolen base attempts and stolen a career-high three bases against Georgia (April 13, 2019).
- In 2019 with the U-19 USA Women’s National Team, she earned was a WBSC U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup Gold Medalist and hit .448 (13-for-29) with one home run, 6 RBI and 19 runs scored.
- She was also a USA Softball International Cup Bronze Medalist in 2019 and hit .310 (9-for-29) with two RBI and eight runs scored.
— Herb Brooks, Florida Sports Information Dept.
