2029s Who Played Beyond Their Years This Summer

Most college coaches are currently focusing on finalizing their 2026 recruiting classes, starting to reach out to 2027 prospects and getting an early look at the class of 2028. But several 2029 recruits are already making waves for their travel teams, and some have even made their marks at the high school varsity level before starting ninth grade this fall.   Below, Prep Softball highlights five players from the class of 2029 who played beyond their years this past summer.    Lola Joffee, from Sydney, Australia, is making her presence felt in the international softball circuit. She represented her country at the WBSC U15 World Cup in June and July in Italy, and hopes to make the jump to the United States for college. Batting from the left side, Joffee has very good swing mechanics, keeping both hands on the bat and driving her hands through the ball. Her technique also serves her well as a slapper, where she stays short to the ball and keeps her feet in the batter's box. Joffee is the type of player who will slap singles all over the field, stretch them into doubles and steal third while she's at it. Also a soccer and Australian rules football player, Joffee uses her speed in all three sports and should be able to adjust well when she makes her way across the ocean.     Madison McCormick does a little bit of everything. She is a star lefthander in the pitcher's circle, a steady hitter at the plate and an exceptional student, with a 4.86 GPA. McCormick mixes speeds well and has good command on both sides of the plate, making her stuff effective against lefties and righties alike. She finished with more than 100 strikeouts this summer and also fields her position well, pouncing on slow rollers in front of the circle and throwing just as well overhand as underhand. McCormick has a quick, explosive swing that can send the ball over the fence in straightaway center field. She has been busy on the camp circuit, visiting Clemson, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, among others.     Makenna Perry is a true two-way star, playing first base or third base when she's not pitching. She has a dastardly drop-change that keeps batters on their toes and is effective in any count, and she complements that with a rise ball that most hitters can't resist swinging under. Perry also has good lateral movement on her pitches, and even when she allows contact, opponents rarely find the barrel against her. That arsenal guided her to a stellar summer, helping her team at the Fire in the Sky tournament with 16 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed in 13 1/3 innings. She also tossed six scoreless frames with nine strikeouts at the D1 Outlaws Summer Invitational in June. Perry is nearly as dominant offensively, with impressive bat speed that produces home run power.     Cate Robertson played at the varsity level as an eighth grader, helping her high school team win a state championship last spring. Her role will expand as she gets older, but she pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts in her first exhibition game in February. Robertson has good arm-side movement on her rise ball and also throws a screwball, drop, curve and changeup. At a tournament in October 2024, Robertson was 3-0 with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings, allowing just six hits, and she also batted .455 with three extra-base hits. She uses a leg kick to generate gap-to-gap power, which will continue to come along as she gets stronger.     Audrey Haywood first played varsity softball in seventh grade and had a breakout year as an eighth grader, batting .532 in 19 games with eight doubles, five triples, three home runs and 28 runs batted in for a 1.529 OPS. She also had a 1.67 ERA in 42 innings pitched with 42 strikeouts against just 12 walks, holding opponents to a .209 average. Haywood followed up that excellent spring with a strong summer, hitting .625 at the P5 Patriot Games in June and continuing to swing the bat well at the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series in July. She has a wide range of velocities and throws a curveball with especially sharp break. Haywood is a dead-pull hitter with power that should keep improving over the next few years.

Most college coaches are currently focusing on finalizing their 2026 recruiting classes, starting to reach out to 2027 prospects and getting an early look at the class of 2028. But several 2029 recruits are already making waves for their travel teams, and some have even made their marks at the high school varsity level before starting ninth grade this fall.