Five Field Generals Who Control The Infield

Great infield defense can be almost mesmerizing to watch. There is nothing quite like watching a neatly-turned double play, a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle, or a third baseman using catlike reflexes to snag a hot line drive. The high school ranks are chock-full of standout defensive infielders who will soon be on highlight reels at the college level.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five field generals who are playing stellar defense at the four infield positions.    Izzy Cino plays both up the middle and at third base, with second base being her most comfortable spot. She has been stellar with the bat in her hands in her first two high school seasons. She hit .444 as a sophomore with 10 home runs, 34 runs scored and 35 RBI in 28 games, good for a 1.461 OPS, and she was also a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts. Batting from the left side, Cino lets the ball get deep and uses a quick swing to hit high-backspin line drives all over the field. Cino's defense might be even better. She has the reflexes to leave her feet to snare hard-hit liners toward the middle of the diamond, the quick thinking to double off runners who have strayed too far off their bases, and the range to catch balls hit to her backhand side or over her shoulder.     Jillian Wimmer is a complete player offensively, coming off a sophomore season in which she batted .484 with nine homers, 22 walks and just eight strikeouts in 23 games. She had a 1.621 OPS, stole nine bases in 11 attempts and improved her fielding percentage considerably. Wimmer has extra-base power to all fields thanks to her fast, explosive swing, and at both shortstop and second base, she fields tricky hops with ease and gets the ball out of her glove quickly to fire strong, accurate throws to first. She can turn a pivot with the best of them to complete a double play, and has the strength to throw runners out from her knees. Wimmer was a first-team all-state selection in the spring and has been to camps at Tennessee, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma State, among others.     Jenna Caldera had an incredibly productive 2025 season in talent-rich Southern California, hitting .573 with 11 doubles, seven triples and more than twice as many walks as strikeouts in 30 games for a 1.462 OPS. She may not have hit a home run during her sophomore season, but she hit three with her club team at the Colorado Sparkler tournament earlier this summer. Caldera also has the speed to leg out infield hits, stand-up triples and even inside-the-park homers. Primarily a shortstop, Caldera charges slowly-hit ground balls aggressively and can cut down runners trying to score on tag plays in critical situations. She can handle a bad hop and make off-balance throws to first on the run, and she shovels the ball out of her glove quickly when starting a double play.     Mail from college programs has been pouring in for Bryli Seifert this year, and for good reason. She was a second-team all-state honoree last fall in Missouri after batting .437 with 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 16 walks and just two strikeouts. Seifert's bat speed stands out and she has a complete offensive profile. She can also do it all at both middle infield positions, vacuuming up grounders, using her arm strength to throw from her knees to first and making backhanded catches on soft liners in shallow center field. Also an occasional first baseman, Seifert is adept at fielding bunts and throwing runners out from awkward angles. It's no wonder she has received mail from the likes of Washington, Auburn, LSU, Kentucky and more, just in the last few weeks alone.     Mia Wong hit .461 as a sophomore, both scoring and driving in more than a run per game, and she had 14 doubles, 16 walks and five strikeouts in 28 contests. A shortstop through and through, she can range deep into the hole to flag down ground balls, then get a long, accurate throw off to first with her momentum carrying her in the opposite direction. Wong is not afraid to take charge on pop-ups along the left-field line, communicating well with her third baseman and left fielder. She also puts herself in a good position to receive cut-off throws from the outfield fence and can fire a perfect relay throw to the plate to prevent a run from scoring. Wong has attended camps at Stanford, Arizona State and Cal.

Great infield defense can be almost mesmerizing to watch. There is nothing quite like watching a neatly-turned double play, a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle, or a third baseman using catlike reflexes to snag a hot line drive. The high school ranks are chock-full of standout defensive infielders who will soon be on highlight reels at the college level.