Top 2030 Prospects To Watch In Northern California

Prospects from the class of 2030 are already making waves in tournaments all across the country, and in some cases, even for their high school teams. From powerful sluggers to speedy slappers to flamethrowers in the pitcher's circle, Northern California is home to several 2030 recruits college coaches will not want to miss out on.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five 2030 prospects to watch in Northern California.    Batting and throwing left-handed, Malia Johnson has a nice inside-out swing and can hit the ball hard to the opposite field. She has good instincts at the plate, waiting back on outside pitches and using her impressive bat speed to hit sharp line drives past corner infielders who simply do not have enough time to react. Johnson makes running the bases look easy, using her long strides to practically glide in for extra-base hits. She competed in Colorado over the summer and is in the middle of a busy fall, with tournaments all throughout California. Johnson carries a 4.0 GPA and comes from the Sacramento area, which always punches above its weight when it comes to producing top recruits, and will have plenty of opportunities to keep building on what she does well.     Gianna Alejandro has been on a roll lately, with a stellar performance at the 16U level in a championship game last month. She allowed just one hit in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11 and walking two. Alejandro mixes speeds expertly, forcing batters to swing way out in front of her drop ball and changeup as well as under her rise ball—a pitch she throws with arm-side run so that it breaks in on right-handed hitters. She can command all portions of the strike zone and is tough on righties and lefties alike, with her curveball as another effective pitch. Alejandro delivered multiple stellar performances at Alliance Nationals over the summer and also turned heads in Colorado by striking out a hitter five years her senior on three pitches.     Hailey Mann helped her Foothill Area Little League team make a deep run this past summer, winning the Western Region Tournament. Mann hit a grand slam in the championship game while pitching a complete-game two-hit shutout. She was named the Pacific Coast Fastpitch League Player of the Month in September 2024, when she struck out 27 batters in 14 1/3 innings. Mann plays both corner infield spots and right field in addition to pitching, and she consistently tops 60 miles per hour while throwing a fastball, changeup, curveball and drop ball and working to develop a rise and screw. Her lateral movement stands out, with the curveball as the most effective pitch in her arsenal.     We highlighted [player_tooltip player_id='142223' first='Emilee' last='Cosgrove'] in our <a href="https://prepsoftball.com/2025/09/17/2030s-who-could-be-future-no-1-prospects-in-their-class/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">piece</a> on 2030s who could be future No. 1 prospects in their class, but she is worth another mention after her great start to the fall. At a PGF tournament over the first weekend of October, Cosgrove allowed just two earned runs in 13 innings, striking out 15 and throwing first-pitch strikes to more than 70 percent of the batters she faced. In September at another PGF event, she batted .385 with two doubles and three runs driven in while pitching to a 1.75 ERA. Cosgrove's screwball is an especially strong weapon for her, as is a changeup that is simply filthy when it's on. She also has good swing mechanics, working to time up pitchers without trying to do too much. That doesn't mean she can't hit home runs—Cosgrove has easy-looking power and a smooth swing that can drive the ball over the fence.     Kylee Cunningham does a little bit of everything, playing catcher and third base and holding a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She is a left-handed slap hitter, which is a bit unusual for a catcher. Cunningham has a cannon for an arm behind the plate, throwing out runners at second base from her knees and putting the ball right on the money. She also has the alertness to backpick runners straying too far off their bases, firing the ball behind them to steal outs. Cunningham batted above .600 in her first year playing 12U, with the speed to beat out infield hits, and is a solid defender at the hot corner as well, unafraid to make the aggressive play at home rather than taking the easier out.

Prospects from the class of 2030 are already making waves in tournaments all across the country, and in some cases, even for their high school teams. From powerful sluggers to speedy slappers to flamethrowers in the pitcher's circle, Northern California is home to several 2030 recruits college coaches will not want to miss out on.