Five Club Teams No One Wants To Face Right Now
Nine times out of 10, we put the spotlight on individuals stars here at Prep Softball. But softball is a team sport at the end of the day, and many of these various standouts are integral components of winning formulas for their respective teams.
It is always the case throughout the year that teams establish themselves as squads to beat. And below, Prep Softball highlights five exceptional club softball teams no one wants to face on the field right now.
Athletics Mercado Tidd 2010
This team had a time to remember recently in Colorado. Based in Southern California, it was one of the 14U groups that took part in the Colorado Sparkler in Westminster as well as the P5 Patriot Games in Fort Collins. The team took home championship hardware from both events in the Centennial State. Out of the 17 games that it played during those national invites, it was placed in the loss column on only one occasion. Athletics Mercado Tidd 2010 is a PGF Nationals finalist from last year.
Impact Gold NTX 16U Gold Holguin
This travel team calls the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex its home base. It was part of the 25-team 16U field that took part in the TCS Southwest Summer Nationals in Round Rock. The team concluded the weekend having gone 6-1 en route to finishing at the top of the 16U gold bracket. One of the wins Impact Gold NTX 16U Gold Holguin earned was in the gold bracket final when it pulled off a hard-fought, 7-6 victory over Texas Blaze National DSTX – Corona. Among its stars from that weekend was middle infielder Mia Favela from Chisholm Trail, who hit .526 with an on-base percentage of .550 plus nine RBIs, six runs, three doubles and a .684 slugging percentage.
Georgia Impact Premier Taylor 18U
When a team has nationally-recognized standouts on its roster, as is the case for Georgia Impact Premier Taylor 18U, this will cause many opposing coaches to gulp and sweat. The team finished 10-1 throughout the Colorado Sparkler at the beginning of the month and advanced to the 18U National Power Pool Bracket. On its roster are a pair of junior pitchers who have built national profiles in Braylee Spence and Hannah DeMarcus (Prep Softball’s 2025 National Player of the Year). This is a team that won a PGF 18U Georgia state championship and a Show Me The Money championship last year.
OC Batbusters Stith 18U
The Super Cup Finals hosted by Alliance Fastpitch recently emanated from Colorado with the 18U championship being claimed by this team. OC Batbusters Stith 18U prevailed over Corona Angels Tyson—another California club—to come out on the good end of that championship contest. OC Batbusters Stith 18U was also one of the teams that was a part of the 18U National Power Pool at the Colorado Sparkler and won all three of its games that were on its schedule. Not only did the Anahaim-based travel team prevail in all three contests, but it also outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 40-5. The two-time national champions are in search of a three-peat, and their stacked roster that includes Camrynn Gordon, Riley Hilliard and others are poised to get the job done.
NY Inferno DuVal-Luchese 16U
It wasn’t long ago that the 2025 Champions Nationals took place in Oswego, New York, right outside of Buffalo. The team was one of four that went undefeated through pool play, and it advanced to the knockout stage where those other three undefeated teams (Rochester Lady Lions Showcase, Fury Fastpitch 09, Monsters 16U O’Connor) were also part of the field. A 13-3 win over Monsters 16U O’Connor and a 7-0 victory over Fury Fastpitch won the 16U age group for NY Inferno DuVal-Luchese. In addition, the team also took part in the Aunt Rosie’s International Fastpitch Tournament, which features teams from both the United States and Canada. NY Inferno DuVal-Luchese 16U qualified for bracket play and advanced to the final eight. There were once separate DuVal and Luchese teams, but they merged prior to the start of the 2024-25 club campaign.
