Top 2030 Prospects To Watch In Minnesota

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, Prep Softball highlights the top prospects to watch from Minnesota in the high school graduating class of 2030.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":155881,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Presley Petznick","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2030","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"31","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Hawley","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"FM Blaze 14U Blue","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69717139edfef"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">She may still be in eighth grade, but Presley Petznick joined her school's 18U team last summer for the state tournament and helped them win a championship. For her club team, she finished the summer with a .600 batting average, .700 on-base percentage and .911 slugging percentage, hitting four doubles, two triples and two home runs while drawing 13 walks against just five strikeouts. Petznick made contact on 89 percent of her swings and was a clutch performer with runners in scoring position. She hits the ball with authority to all fields and uses her long strides to make herself an outstanding baserunner. Playing catcher, second base and both corner outfield positions, Petznick had a perfect fielding percentage, hauling in fly balls on the dead run and leaving her feet if necessary. She also has a rocket arm, firing one-hop strikes from the outfield to nail runners at home and lasers from behind the plate to catch runners trying to steal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":155926,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kora Olson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2030","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"20","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Rosemount","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"TC Blitz 14U National - Anderson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69717139ee0c5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kora Olson has a quick bat and can turn on any pitch over the plate, hitting sharp line drives into the gaps for extra bases. When the throw from the outfield comes in to try and get a runner ahead of her, Olson has the alertness to take an extra base, moving up 60 feet to increase her team's chances of scoring. And she is just as good behind the plate as she is at it, with a powerful arm that makes many would-be base-stealers look foolish as she guns the ball across the diamond to second base. Even when the runner gets a good jump, Olson can deliver the ball right on the money with enough time to get the out. She plays the outfield when not catching and is dedicated to volleyball as well as softball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":155929,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Samantha Mena","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2030","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bloomington Kennedy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"TC Blitz 14U National - Britten","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6972abcc7a0ae"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Samantha Mena hit her first home run last May, and since then, she has quickly become one of the top emerging power hitters in her class from the upper Midwest. She has a selective approach at the plate and has so much upper-body strength that she does not even need to finish her swing in order to send the ball over the fence. Mena's power surge continued in the fall with two more homers by mid-October, including an opposite-field blast at the Home Runs and Hope USSSA tournament. She nearly went deep at the University of Minnesota's Jane Sage Cowles Stadium in September, pulling the ball over the fence down the left-field line but on the wrong side of the foul pole.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":156031,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Melia Salo","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2030","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"31","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bloomington Jefferson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"Mission 14U National Skibbie","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6972abcc7a140"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Melia Salo is a true jack of all trades as a pitcher, shortstop and outfielder. Her fastball has reached 56 miles per hour, an impressive number for a middle school player, and she hits the ball hard as well, with a 57 mph bat speed and a maximum exit velocity of 66 mph. She also runs well, completing a 20-yard dash in 3.05 seconds. Salo played at the varsity level last spring as a seventh grader, helping her team win conference, sectional and regional championships and take second place in the state tournament. Last winter, Salo competed in the Select 30 Showcase at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Florida. Her pitching helped lead her club team to a 5-0 performance at an early fall tournament in Wisconsin, and at a high school indoor event this January, she hit her 17th home run, a rocket over the wall in left-center field. Salo also runs on the cross country team, and she takes her academics seriously, carrying a 3.5 GPA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":156033,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Vivian Kreb","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2030","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"31","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bloomington Jefferson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"TC Blitz 13U Fredrickson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6972abcc7a1ce"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A future high school teammate of Salo's, Vivian Kreb is another two-way player, playing second base and third base when she's not pitching. She has a clean uppercut swing and good power, hitting the ball hard in the air and on the ground. Kreb has good speed and will take an extra base if the outfielders have a hard time getting the ball back in, even legging out an inside-the-park home run in the fall. While most of her power is to the pull side, she will use the whole field and make solid contact up the middle and the opposite way. Kreb's defense at second is smooth, handling tricky hops easily, ranging up the middle to her backhand side, and tracking down pop-ups in the shallow outfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->