Four Uncommitted Juniors Impressing This Season

Junior year is a pivotal point in the young careers of many high school softball student-athletes. It's a time when unknown prospects can leap into the national recruiting lexicon and when already established players often commit to Division 1 programs. All across the country, juniors are dominating their high school softball seasons and showcasing their talents for the next level.   Below, Prep Softball highlights four uncommitted juniors who are standing out in a big way this high school softball season.    Kailey Jackson has already garnered offers from a couple colleges and will likely continue to see the official offers roll in throughout this year. The righty for Andalusia had a difficult transition to the varsity level over the last two years. But she put everything together this offseason, and it paid incredible dividends. In 36 appearances, she posted a 1.25 ERA with 180 strikeouts through 168.2 innings en route to an eye-popping 27-7 record. Along with a dazzling screwball, her changeup has baffled opposing hitters this season. Following this season, she made it onto lists of the top pitching prospects in Alabama, which is a tell-tale sign of her improvement and success.     Ella Lewis is a catcher and third baseman for Design Tech in California who is also a member of the school's varsity soccer team. In her first taste of varsity softball two years ago, she batted a whopping .426 with 14 RBI and four extra-base hits. This year, it all came together at the plate in a staggering way. With the ninth-best batting average in the country and a top-five batting average in the state of California—a mind-boggling .818—Ella catapulted herself into recruiting conversations. She not only possesses a low strikeout rate and tends to put the ball in play nearly every at-bat, but she also has the ability to drive the ball across the field, with eight doubles, three triples and a home run this year. Couple that with a sub-2.0 pop time behind the plate, and Ella's game at the plate and in the field can successfully translate to the college level.     Kiette Cooper has been a staple of Jena's rotation since her freshman year two seasons ago when she went 14-12 with a 2.90 ERA. After watching her ERA shrink further and her strikeout total balloon last year en route to a state championship, Kiette has continued to baffle opponents this year, and Jena is once again enjoying great success. She ranked second in the nation at the time of this writing with 320 strikeouts along with a 1.53 ERA through 164.1 innings. In her career, she's shown she can be a workhorse starter on a championship-level team. The offers should come fast and furiously after this iteration of a postseason run. Anyone who strikes out nearly 900 batters in three varsity seasons should land in a really good spot for their college career.     Madeline Carroll finished her sophomore season as the Max Preps Player of the Year in West Virginia on her way to a state title. Then she came into her junior season uncommitted to a college and ready to showcase that she is the real deal. With an incredible pitch mix that includes an overpowering fastball and a tantalizing rise ball, Madeline has become a strikeout machine for Winfield and at the 18U level in travel ball. Through her first 65 innings in the circle this year, she had 103 strikeouts and walked just six batters, all while holding opposing hitters to a .147 average. Madeline may go to a smaller high school, but she is sure to be known as one of the top pitchers on the East Coast, and one college is going to get an absolute gem of a prospect.

Junior year is a pivotal point in the young careers of many high school softball student-athletes. It's a time when unknown prospects can leap into the national recruiting lexicon and when already established players often commit to Division 1 programs. All across the country, juniors are dominating their high school softball seasons and showcasing their talents for the next level.