Top 2029 Prospects To Watch In Minnesota

Minnesota may be famous for its many bodies of water and its cold, unforgiving winters, making hockey the sport of choice for many kids growing up there. But softball has a strong foothold in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, thanks to a consistently strong Big Ten program in the Golden Gophers and several competitive club softball organizations.   From the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to the western plains to the Iron Range mountains near the Canadian border, Minnesota produces a strong pipeline of softball recruits each year, and that is not showing any signs of slowing down soon.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five 2029 prospects to watch from Minnesota.    [player_tooltip player_id='106235' first='Nola' last='Hazard'] is also a goaltender on her hockey team, and the transferrable skills to playing catcher are obvious. Not only does Hazard receive the ball well, but she also has a strong, accurate arm and makes firing the ball to second base to catch would-be base-stealers look effortless. She blocks the plate effectively while avoiding the dreaded obstruction calls and puts down smooth tags on runners sliding in. Last summer, Hazard batted .385 with a .472 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging percentage, hitting 10 doubles and three triples while driving in 40 runs. She was a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts and struck out just eight times in 105 at-bats. In the fall, she changed travel teams and hit .500 with a 1.533 OPS in her first tournament with the West Metro Thunder. Hazard has a nice, inside-out swing and hits the ball to all fields, and she has well above-average speed for a catcher. She plays volleyball in addition to softball and hockey, and she carries a 4.0 GPA.     [player_tooltip player_id='99710' first='Emalyn' last='Streifel'] has been playing varsity softball at Washburn High School in Minneapolis since she was in seventh grade, and she has more than proven her readiness for that level at such a young age. Over the last two seasons, Streifel has slashed .371/.461/.588 with more walks than strikeouts to go along with nine doubles, six triples, 29 RBI and 37 runs scored in 33 games. She also stole 16 bases as a seventh grader. Streifel's approach is to the middle of the field, and she hits solid line drives with good power to the pull-side gap. Her hard ground balls can produce tricky hops that infielders sometimes struggle to handle. A middle infielder who primarily plays second base, Streifel does a good job keeping the ball in front of her and making routine plays. She was a 12U All-American in 2024, representing her region in Oklahoma City. Streifel currently plays for Mash 15U National and can also be found on the court during basketball and volleyball season.     [player_tooltip player_id='109126' first='Sophie' last='Simons'] hit her first home run with her travel team, TC Blitz 14U National, in October — at a tournament where she was behind the plate for two shutouts and helped her team capture first place. She remains busy even in the winter, playing at a Perfect Game Softball indoor tournament in Iowa earlier this month and pounding out several solid hits. Simons can barrel up the ball and hit it hard to the opposite field for extra bases, and she plays two of the most demanding positions on the diamond defensively, guiding her pitchers through opposing lineups as a catcher and also handling the hot corner at third base.     A dominant two-way player, [player_tooltip player_id='152607' first='Annika' last='Antonson'] is coming off an outstanding performance at an indoor varsity tournament in January, where she hit a triple and a home run, and also pitched four scoreless innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts. She showcased her impressive bat speed, with the ball exploding off her bat on both hits. Antonson's curveball is her best pitch, as she uses late horizontal break to catch batters swinging at air, and she also uses a rise ball that many hitters find too enticing to lay off. She homered twice at the 14U Fall State Tournament and hit another at the South Dakota Fall Showcase against a 16U team, which was part of a 10-for-14 performance in that event that included four doubles. Antonson played varsity softball last spring as an eighth grader, which helped set the stage for her spectacular fall. When all was said and done, she struck out 171 batters in 87 2/3 innings and allowed a .146 on-base percentage, while also hitting .496 with 14 doubles, five homers and 54 RBI.     Pencil in [player_tooltip player_id='153366' first='Violet' last='Wood'] at or near the top of any lineup, and you're highly likely to have a baserunner in the first inning. Wood is a classic slap hitter and center fielder, who had a .469 on-base percentage in her most recent travel ball season, and her speed serves her well both on the basepaths and in the outfield. She can split the outfield gaps with line drives for extra bases when defenses overplay the slap, and will even leg out an inside-the-park home run. Wood has excellent range in center, getting on her horse to track down long fly balls over her head, and she will fire the ball back to the infield — her overhand throw has reached 66 miles per hour — to double off runners who assumed the ball would drop. She worked her way back from a torn meniscus and is active in her local community, writing letters to people in nursing homes and leading softball camps for 6U and 8U players.

Minnesota may be famous for its many bodies of water and its cold, unforgiving winters, making hockey the sport of choice for many kids growing up there. But softball has a strong foothold in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, thanks to a consistently strong Big Ten program in the Golden Gophers and several competitive club softball organizations.