Top 2029 Prospects To Watch In Texas

With its large population and warm climate year-round, Texas is an ideal breeding ground for some of the top softball talent in the United States. Last year's Women's College World Series finals featured two teams from the Lone Star State, and both Texas and Texas Tech's rosters were stacked with in-state stars. In short, any college coaches who do not make a stop in Texas on their recruiting tours are doing themselves a massive disservice.   The class of 2029 is yet another strong crop of Texas prospects, many of whom are already making waves with their high school and club teams.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five top Texas 2029 prospects worth checking out.    A tall, powerful right-handed bat, Lila Peters is always a threat to flip a game on its head with one swing. Pitches on the outer edge of the plate are practically asking to get crushed as Peters extends her arms and launches towering, majestic fly balls and screaming line drives that often carry all the way over the fence. Her home runs go to all parts of the field, but she can also surprise defenses by laying down a well-placed bunt. Peters is an excellent defender at first base, reacting quickly to hot liners on her backhand side and ranging toward the middle of the infield to take charge on high-topspin pop-ups and bunts. She has a strong, accurate arm as well, and also competes in the shot put and discus on the track and field team. She has been to camps at Arkansas, LSU and Ole Miss within the last few months.     [player_tooltip player_id='146025' first='Andrea' last='Armas'] can play all over the infield, and she knows how to barrel up the ball, reaching an exit velocity of 68 miles per hour by the end of the summer. Standing with her legs spread wide apart at the plate, Armas wastes no movement as she waits for the pitch, smoking line drives into the gaps and sharp ground balls up the middle. Armas also plays effective small ball, dropping down bunts without tipping her hand before the pitcher delivers. She sprays the ball all over the diamond, runs the bases well and plays smooth defense up the middle. Armas is an honor roll student with a 4.6 GPA and has been a member of the National Junior Honor Society each of the last three years.     A true two-way player, [player_tooltip player_id='146441' first='Anna' last='Sophia Heffington'] can carve up batters from the circle, changing their eye levels and using late lateral movement on her curveball to generate swings and misses. She paints the corners of the strike zone, mixes speeds well and makes it easy for her catcher to present her pitches favorably to the home plate umpire. Her rise ball and drop ball are effective against righties and lefties alike. Offensively, Heffington has good pitch recognition skills, waiting back on slow changeups and getting her bat around quickly on fastballs. She plays first base and right field when not pitching and is coming off a busy fall with her Lonestar Softball Club Showcase team.     [player_tooltip player_id='148851' first='Gabriella' last='Alcala'] delivered one big hit after another last summer at the Colorado Sparkler, batting .438 with a .971 OPS while driving in four runs. Her bat control is outstanding — there are few pitches Alcala can't reach, and whiffs are highly unusual for her — and she hits the ball to all fields with occasional power. Alcala was 6-for-12 at the Ronald McDonald Showcase in October and threw out the lone baserunner who attempted to steal on one of the best defensive catchers in her class. With a 1.8-second pop time, Alcala rifles the ball down to second base from her knees without sacrificing any zip or accuracy, and she receives the ball extremely well. A third baseman when not catching, Alcala played at the USA All-American games in Oklahoma City over the summer, collecting five hits in seven at-bats with seven RBI at the event.     [player_tooltip player_id='143751' first='Olivia' last='Salesberry'] is coming off a huge fall season, batting .500 and slugging .700 at the Bomber Exposure tournament in November. She also perfectly executed a delayed double steal, firing the ball to second with enough time to receive the return throw to tag out the runner trying to score and then throw back to second base for a double play. Salesberry has impressive bat speed and runs well for a catcher, legging out triples even when she pulls the ball to left field. Her arm strength, though, is her standout quality on the field. She will throw down to catch runners straying too far off their bases, and she also plays solid defense at second base and third base. Salesberry has made visits for camps at Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas State.

With its large population and warm climate year-round, Texas is an ideal breeding ground for some of the top softball talent in the United States. Last year's Women's College World Series finals featured two teams from the Lone Star State, and both Texas and Texas Tech's rosters were stacked with in-state stars. In short, any college coaches who do not make a stop in Texas on their recruiting tours are doing themselves a massive disservice.