2031 Players Poised For A Big Fall Ball Season

As another school year begins, the excitement for the upcoming fall softball season continues to grow. From Florida to Minnesota, the goal is to keep the bats hot while the weather cools down. The athletes on this list are primed to do just that.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five players from the high school graduating class of 2031 who are poised for a big fall ball season.    It has been the year of the long ball for Raylyn Montes. The talented slugger has little to no stride at the plate, an easy swing, and plenty of pop. Right as the pitch is being delivered, she lifts her left foot, puts weight on her right, and brings her left foot back down when it's time to swing. It's a simple enough mechanism that she has mastered. After hitting two bombs on April 11, one to left field and one to the opposite field, she launched a rocket to center a week later. Opposing outfielders can play wherever they choose, but she will still most likely hit the ball over their heads.     The target for a catcher's pop time is under two seconds, and Haley Grigel easily meets that goal and then some. At the Midwest Fastpitch Showcase this summer, Grigel clocked in at 1.77 seconds for her pop time. She also hit 70 mph for her exit velocity and 67 mph for her pull-down velocity. Unsurprisingly, she's adept at throwing runners out with her strong arm and impressive accuracy. Her strength is not just limited to behind the plate, however. She has big-time power on the pull side. Any pitch left down and in is most likely headed to the moon. At the TC World Series in Ogden, Utah, a pitcher did just that and paid the price with a grand slam off of Grigel's bat.     Hayden Heinze has a good mix of pitches to choose from when she's in the circle. Her rise has plenty of steam and is an effective strikeout pitch. Her drop does its job in fooling hitters into thinking it's a hittable pitch. And her location is on point, as she will use all four quadrants of the strike zone. She recently clocked in at 60 mph for her fastball, and her changeup sits between a disarming 38 and 42 mph. Perhaps most impressive is her composure. She faced stiff competition all summer, and each time she rose to the occasion. As her confidence continues to grow, she will only get better.     Olivia Konczol enters the fall ball season with one year of high school ball already under her belt. The tall right-hander had a record of 1-0 in the circle for the Doyle Tigers over 11 appearances, and racked up 21 strikeouts. She only allowed one home run and held batters to a .278 batting average. All of her pitches are effective, as very few hitters can catch up to her rise or fastball, her changeup is a knee-buckler, and her drop is absolutely filthy. More important than all of that, however, is the fact that her lone hit of the season was a home run, a frozen rope to dead center. There will be many more where that came from, and many more strikeouts as well.     Everything off of Allie Northcutt's bat tends to sound good. It helps when you have impressive bat-to-ball skills and are able to generate plenty of power without trying to do too much. Add in her speed, and she is a threat for extra bases every time she comes up to the plate. Defensively, while her primary position is in the circle, she can flash the leather at shortstop as well. In one of the final games of the summer season, she put on a clinic by making several diving stops, completing an on-target throw from her knees, and handling routine plays with ease. Simply put, she is really good at playing softball.

As another school year begins, the excitement for the upcoming fall softball season continues to grow. From Florida to Minnesota, the goal is to keep the bats hot while the weather cools down. The athletes on this list are primed to do just that.