Five Young Leaders Setting The Tone For Their Teams

Joining a brand-new team for your freshman year of high school may seem daunting, but it also comes with opportunities. Teams are often looking for a player to provide a spark that gets the team rolling or for a player to speak up in a team meeting to get everyone on the same page. A leadership role can be filled by anyone from a freshman to a senior. What matters most is simply taking that first step forward. The young leaders on this list did just that this season.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five young leaders setting the tone for their high school and club teams.    It has been a busy year for Savannah Vargas. Not only did she help lead the Wilson Wildcats to a postseason appearance, but she also earned a second-place finish with Team Mexico at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-15 Pan American Championship in Acapulco back in March. And to top it off, her travel ball team, 14U Texas Glory (Gold), won the 14U Alliance Super Cup this summer. It's no coincidence that Vargas has been around so many winning teams this year. In her freshman season for the Wildcats, she led the team in batting average (.639), on-base percentage (.788), RBIs (31), slugging percentage (1.306), and doubles (7). At the Pan American Championship for Team Mexico, she batted .435 with 10 hits, including a tournament-leading seven doubles and eight RBIs. And for her travel ball team, she has made the All-Tournament team three times in a row this summer. Every team she has been a part of she has made an immediate impact for. And she's only just getting started.     After going 0-14 last season, MaKaylee Gantt arrived at Highland Tech High School in Gastonia, North Carolina, and quickly helped the squad turn things around. The Rams finished their season with a 14-7 record, their best mark in over 10 years, and a postseason appearance. Gantt led the Rams in the circle with nine wins, 110 strikeouts, and a 4.18 ERA. Meanwhile, at the plate, she was even better with a .636 batting average, 35 hits, 35 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 11 doubles, and four home runs. She finished her freshman season ranked in the top three in nearly every offensive category for the Rams, and led all freshmen in North Carolina in batting average. Overall, the team scored over five times as many runs as they did all of last season. And Gantt was right in the middle of it.     Coming off an appearance in the state semifinals in 2023, expectations were high for the Turner Trojans after a 12-8 finish in 2024. If Olyvia Piranio felt any nerves going into her freshman season, she sure didn't show them. The righthander had a superb year in the circle with a 12-4 record, 1.04 ERA, 121 strikeouts, and an opponent batting average of .185. In the first game of the postseason against the Columbus Cardinals, she pitched a complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts. In the following game, she pitched another complete game, this time with six strikeouts, allowing only one run in a 1-0 loss. She earned First-Team All-Conference honors, and finished ranked first in ERA among all freshmen in Wisconsin. She has already shown remarkable composure and leadership skills, which definitely bodes well for her future.     Tori Detro simply did everything on the softball field for the North Putnam Cougars. In 120 innings pitched, the righthander recorded 214 strikeouts with only 27 walks. She finished her freshman season with a 1.16 ERA, and held batters to a .146 batting average. At the plate, she led the team in nearly every offensive category with a .397 batting average, 25 hits, and three doubles. Among all freshmen in Indiana, she ranked second in ERA and strikeouts. She earned All-Conference honors, and was selected to play in the All-American All-Star Showcase game for Indiana Magic Gold earlier this month. Additionally, in the first tournament of the season, she tossed 11 innings with 20 strikeouts and did not allow a run to score. She is an athlete who is clearly not wary of a big moment, and she's not afraid to put a team on her back.     It didn't take long for Madison Kirby to set the tone offensively for the North Canyon Rattlers. In only her second game as a high school athlete, she collected four hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs. In her third game, she racked up three hits and picked up another triple. By the end of the season, she was the leader in nearly half of the team's offensive categories. She finished her first year with a .625 batting average, 35 hits, seven doubles and five triples. She has continued her hitting exploits this summer for Arizona Rising Rodgers, showcasing her speed and power, as well as her defensive prowess behind the plate, where she has a strong arm. She has the potential to be a leader for other young players on how to excel in multiple areas of the game.

Joining a brand-new team for your freshman year of high school may seem daunting, but it also comes with opportunities. Teams are often looking for a player to provide a spark that gets the team rolling or for a player to speak up in a team meeting to get everyone on the same page. A leadership role can be filled by anyone from a freshman to a senior. What matters most is simply taking that first step forward. The young leaders on this list did just that this season.