2027 Avannah Cuevas Can Hit The Right Notes

Avannah Cuevas doesn't break out into song in the dugout, although she is very capable. When she was younger, Cuevas took part in mariachi at school in San Antonio, Texas. She learned all the Selena songs and could play them on the guitar. Cuevas eventually joined a local mariachi group and would sing and play at concerts.

Cuevas stopped performing when softball became more serious in her life and consumed more of her time, but the 2027 recruit still keeps music as a hobby.

“I love playing the guitar,” she said. “I play more country now and I have an electric guitar as well, so I'll go into more 80s rock like Metallica and AC/DC.”

Cuevas, who goes by Vanni, started playing softball at age 3 and joined a travel ball team at age 10. Her dad, Andrew, was her coach during the early years of her career.

“He didn't really know anything about the sport. But as I grew up, he learned with me. We learned together, and I think he was a really big part in developing me into the player I am today,” Cuevas said. “We didn't really know what to do. I think he looked like those people on TikTok that have rubber bands connected to players. But he really helped me.”

Cuevas joined the Bombers Academy as a seventh grader and currently plays for Bombers Gold American 18U Black. She pitched until her freshman year of high school and now mainly plays the corners.

“Bombers Academy is developing me so much as a player,” Cuevas said. “Not just mechanics and as a softball player, but as a person as well. My IQ on the field has improved. They make you feel like you're playing at a high level all the time.”

At the plate, Cuevas considers herself a power hitter with a penchant for spraying doubles.

“I feel like I'm really good in tense situations. I'm very at ease,” she said. “I never really overthink it. If the bases are loaded or we need to score a run, I think I'm good at focusing on what I need to do and what ball I'm looking to hit.”

Cuevas is a two-time all-district selection and All-American scholar-athlete at South San Antonio High. She is in the top 10% of her class and will graduate from high school with an associate of arts degree in liberal arts because she's in the early college program.

Cuevas remains uncommitted for college, but hopes to find a place where she can contribute on the field while studying business and marketing.

“I'm just trying to show coaches how hard I work, and how dedicated I am to the sport,” she said. “I want to show that I can play for a program, no matter what division.”

Along with her mariachi background, Cuevas also performed in the musical Matilda when she was in middle school.

“I'm a big theater kid at heart. People really think I'm a shy person, but when it comes to that, I am very outgoing,” she said. “If I was able to do theater arts through high school, I would have done it. But I was never able to do it because it interfered with softball.”

Cuevas cited her grandmother, Estella Almendarez, as a major part of her softball journey. Cuevas would often skip certain college camps to help take care of her grandmother until she passed away last May.

“She's a big reason I want to go play college ball,” Cuevas said. “I really want to make her proud and be a better softball player and be a better person.”