Five 2028s Who Could Anchor A College Lineup One Day

Members of the class of 2028 may just be heading into their sophomore years in high school and still have a full year before the start of their formal recruiting process. But many players have already made names for themselves with their high school and travel ball teams, and it's clear that this class is chock-full of sluggers, speedsters and other great offensive players who are sure to translate their skills to the college level when the time comes.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five 2028 recruits who could become the anchors of their college lineups one day.    Joley Bennett has been playing varsity softball in northern Louisiana since seventh grade, and she has dominated the competition for three years now. In 96 high school games, Bennett is batting .487 and slugging 1.047 with 44 home runs, 152 runs batted in, 41 walks and just 10 strikeouts. She is equally adept at hitting slicing line drives to the opposite field as she is at launching pulled fly balls over the fence. Bennett has a patient approach at the plate and occasionally uses a high leg kick to generate big-time power. Her defense at third base is excellent, as she can range toward the foul line to backhand a hot ground ball and make the long, flat-footed throw across the diamond to first. She also charges in on bunts and little dribblers well. The scariest part? Bennett still has three years to keep getting better before taking her talents to college softball.     Evie Martin is a two-way star and an outstanding student, carrying a 4.3 GPA. The lefthander excelled in limited work in the circle as a freshman, going 5-0 with a 1.31 ERA, 27 strikeouts and five walks in 26 2/3 innings. She also hit .352 in 30 games with a .900 OPS and was fantastic defensively, making just one error. Martin saved her best performances for the end of the year. In her last five games, which were all postseason contests, she was 10-for-16 with a double, a triple, a home run, eight RBI and seven runs scored. She can both slap and hit away, using a quiet stance and hitting hard ground balls into the right-field corner and line drives over outfielders' heads. Her late-season hot streak suggests that she is adjusting well to high school pitching, and she has been busy on the camp circuit, visiting Virginia Tech, Duke, Notre Dame and Florida, among others.     Mia Hemenway burst onto the scene with a spectacular freshman year, slashing .594/.702/1.522 with 17 homers, 52 runs batted in, 20 walks and five strikeouts in 24 games. She was 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts, made just two errors in the field and started her high school career with a bang, going 3-for-3 with two long balls and eight RBI in her season opener. Her 17 blasts were more than any freshman in Florida high school softball history, and she became the first freshman to ever lead the entire state in homers. She has power from foul pole to foul pole, and the ball explodes off her bat, particularly to center field. Primarily a catcher, Hemenway also played third base last spring, and she has visited Tennessee, Florida State, Duke, Auburn and more.     Clara Lyons is a true utility player, spending time at catcher, first base and in the outfield. No matter what position she's playing, Lyons can hit. She batted .453 as a freshman with a 1.542 OPS in 27 games, hitting 15 homers and driving in 44 runs. That success has continued this summer, highlighted by an impressive performance at the Top Gun Elite Championship, at which she hit safely in every game and went deep twice. Lyons can go up and get a rise ball above the strike zone and drive it over the wall, and when pitchers make a mistake to her over the middle of the plate, they are unlikely to see the ball again. Lyons also has a strong, accurate arm behind the plate, throwing out would-be base stealers from her knees with ease.     Gianna DeLorenzo was more than ready for her first high school softball season in Connecticut, hitting .622 and slugging 1.378 in 25 games with 15 home runs and a whopping 73 RBI, while walking more than twice as often as she struck out. She also stole 15 bases, while hitting safely in every single game, scoring a run in every game as well except for a shutout loss in the state semifinals. DeLorenzo will wait back on a hanging changeup and launch it over the fence, and she can also put an inside-out swing on a pitch on the inner half and drive it to the opposite field. In short, there are hardly any pitches she cannot reach and make solid contact on. DeLorenzo plays both corner infield positions as well as catcher, and she figures to be one of the Northeast's brightest prep stars for the next three years.

Members of the class of 2028 may just be heading into their sophomore years in high school and still have a full year before the start of their formal recruiting process. But many players have already made names for themselves with their high school and travel ball teams, and it's clear that this class is chock-full of sluggers, speedsters and other great offensive players who are sure to translate their skills to the college level when the time comes.