2024 recruiting - Softball

As recently as 3 weeks ago PG had Harley Vestal number 19 in their
2024 class. She can't be too far from the top tier.

Not too far but definitely not the same tier. Kid is a good player and probably should be ranked but absolutely not the #19 player in the 2024 class that's for sure--She's far from that. More than 200 players listed above her in Extra Innings (although they call it #42). She was not a cemented starter on the top team in the organization (Bombers) until recently. Again good player, but definitely next tier.
 
All these discussions about Mike White and only 1 recruit (so far) in 2024 had me thinking if he was shifting towards a more portal-built roster OR that his roster was so large already with young players that maybe he's limiting the number of players for 2024? OR maybe he's just missing out. Although as another person said, what about coming in as the #2 softball team in the country? Why doesn't that give us a bump in recruiting?

I put together a makeup of the teams Mike's had. Examples of what some things mean:

M-pitcher: A pitcher Mike signed his first year as coach. This includes Shea O'Leary. She was a Connie recruit, but I count it as a Mike-pitcher since he kept her commitment and didn't pull the scholarship offer. He pulled offers for a handful of players when he first arrived.

C-fielder: Someone who was there Mike's first year (they would be sophmores) who were signed and played one year for Connie Clark.
mGjNF0V.png


That last sliver of C-Fielder green? Jenae Jefferson.
 
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One thing to consider is that we currently have 21 on the roster with one senior listed (Lou Gilbert). We have 6 commitments coming in the 2023 class.
That makes 26 to potentially start the 2023 season, not considering any potential portal transfers. I understand there will probably be some attrition after Mike's end of year performance reviews as have always been the case. He may be being VERY selective with this recruiting class because of his numbers.
 
Townsen Thomas commits to Florida! Ugh!!
HornsUp is in the know again!!
That one about as surprising as the Arkansas commits. Everyone had her going there. Interesting to see a softball player take the football announcement culture and utilize it. Maybe it’s a play on NLI. The kid seems like a humble kid. Only player I’ve seen do the Big Announcement thing though. Even the present and previous number 1s (Fisher, Heavener and Jones) took more traditional route.

Don’t think we were ever in the running for that kid.
 
I think we will end up nabbing a few second tier players with the hopes of turning them into top tier players. May even be successful. Kids like Vestal or from the previous class in Victoria Hunter or the Wallace kid are not top players but they have some tools to work with that may develop into something. I'm expecting a few adds like that. Not much out there now at the very top. Kids I'm aware of not yet committed that are either for sure top players or alleged to be top players but haven't been here to visit:

--Amayah Doyle--IF (TN, LSU, AL, Mich & Northwestern visits). Power hitter. Probably the top get right now left on market. And pretty athletic given her size. She'd be a good add but again we don't seem to be in the running. EI has her #6 and PG has her #12. Plays for well known Intensity travel club team.
--Gabi Comia--MIF (Oddly no visit noise). Kid ranked #3 by EI (4 ahead of her) and PG has her #3 (EI even has her ahead of Jones by 1 and PG has her behind Jones by 1). Seen the kid play and she is definitely top tier player defensively. Probably one of the top handful of defensive players in the class. But offensively she is limited and not top talent on that end, but she can run. Given the team she plays for (great Bandits Conroy team) and her abilities strange to not hear more on her.
--Kaylie Avvisato--SS/P (No visits I'm aware of). EI has her #5 (13 ahead of her) and PG #15. Rangy SS with decent arm and very good defensive skill set. Top end defender but doesn't have speed on basepaths like a Thomas, Jones or Comia. Has more pop in bat than Comia but not proven against elite pitchers like the others.
--Ella Troutt-P (Only aware of North Carolina visit)--We might be done with arms by getting Salmon but Troutt is a solid pitcher from Impact Gold travel club.
--Morgan Reimer-P (Oddly no visits I've heard of). Canadian that pitched with GA Impact Sampson travel club. Again we probably won't pick up another arm.

Others spoken for, for the most part. We are now focusing on the next level of talent.
 
RE-POST (With updates). Bold and italicized are ranked in both rankings (Perfect Game Top 50 and Extra Innings Elite 100 [400]). Florida has been added with a solid 3 person class.

-LSU now moving into the talk for one of the top classes in the 2024 recruiting class. UCLA has the #1 player but LSU has four Top 10 players with 3 being Top 5 (one of which is a TX resident and top player in country).
-Florida makes it official with the add of another top TX player in Thomas (most expected this one).
-ARK has 3 high level TX residents.
-Added thoughts on recruiting class grade. All of these schools are top end recruiting classes, save for my Longhorns :-(.

LSU: Grade A
Jayden Heavener (#2 EI/#4 PG) Once ranked #1 in the class.
*Samya Jones (#4 EI/#2 PG) Once ranked #1 in the class.
Destiny Harris (#6 EI/#38 PG)
Zoe Calvez (#5 EI/--PG)
Jada Philips (#17 EI/--PG)
Alix Franklin (#27 EI/--PG)

OKLAHOMA: Grade A
Audrey Lowry P (#3 EI/#6 PG)
Tia Milloy IF (#39 EI/#21 PG)
Cori Hicks C (#7 EI/ #22 PG)
Sydney Barker MIF (#8 EI/-- PG)
Gabriel Garcia
Kady Mckay MIF (local kid)(#18 EI/#13 PG)

UCLAl: Grade A-
Addisen Fisher (#1 in both rankings)
Sofie Mujica (#5 EI/#32 PG)
*Rylee Slimp (EI has her 7/--PG)
Kaniya Bragg (#13 EI/--- PG)
Alina Garcia

FLORIDA: Grade A-
Layla Lamar IF (#5 EI/#5 PG)
*Townsen Thomas OF (#2 EI/#17 PG)
Katelynn Oxley P (#4 EI/--PG)

ARKANSAS: Grade B+
*Ella McDowell IF (#3 EI/#26 PG)
Lexi King RHP (#29 EI/#46 PG)
*Cameryn Harrison RHP (#5 EI/-- PG)
*Ashtyn Reichart OF (#28 EI/-- PG)
Jayden Ramos

TEXAS: Grade C (so far)
Cambria Salmon (#4 EI/--- PG)

*Top TX players have all ended up somewhere other than TX:
Samya Jones--LSU
Townsen Thomas--FL
Ella Mcdowell--ARK
Cameryn Harrison--ARK
Peyton Tanner--TN
Paislie Allen--UGA
 
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I think we will end up nabbing a few second tier players with the hopes of turning them into top tier players. May even be successful. Kids like Vestal or from the previous class in Victoria Hunter or the Wallace kid are not top players but they have some tools to work with that may develop into something. I'm expecting a few adds like that. Not much out there now at the very top. Kids I'm aware of not yet committed that are either for sure top players or alleged to be top players but haven't been here to visit:

--Amayah Doyle--IF (TN, LSU, AL, Mich & Northwestern visits). Power hitter. Probably the top get right now left on market. And pretty athletic given her size. She'd be a good add but again we don't seem to be in the running. EI has her #6 and PG has her #12. Plays for well known Intensity travel club team.
--Gabi Comia--MIF (Oddly no visit noise). Kid ranked #3 by EI (4 ahead of her) and PG has her #3 (EI even has her ahead of Jones by 1 and PG has her behind Jones by 1). Seen the kid play and she is definitely top tier player defensively. Probably one of the top handful of defensive players in the class. But offensively she is limited and not top talent on that end, but she can run. Given the team she plays for (great Bandits Conroy team) and her abilities strange to not hear more on her.
--Kaylie Avvisato--SS/P (No visits I'm aware of). EI has her #5 (13 ahead of her) and PG #15. Rangy SS with decent arm and very good defensive skill set. Top end defender but doesn't have speed on basepaths like a Thomas, Jones or Comia. Has more pop in bat than Comia but not proven against elite pitchers like the others.
--Ella Troutt-P (Only aware of North Carolina visit)--We might be done with arms by getting Salmon but Troutt is a solid pitcher from Impact Gold travel club.
--Morgan Reimer-P (Oddly no visits I've heard of). Canadian that pitched with GA Impact Sampson travel club. Again we probably won't pick up another arm.

Others spoken for, for the most part. We are now focusing on the next level of talent.
I see that Coach White and Coach Singleton follow on Twitter all you listed except for Ella Troutt. Not sure that means anything more than they are on their radar.
 


2023 Class: Katie Stewart, Kayden Henry and Teagan Kavan are 3 skilled kids to be excited about for sure!!! Two great projects in the other two in Hunter (strength) and Wallace (speed). This class needs to be solid along with a couple of big time free agent adds to make 2024 recruiting class a distant memory.
 
UPDATED: Bold and italicized are ranked in both rankings (Perfect Game Top 50 and Extra Innings Elite 100 [400]). Florida has another solid class of 2024's now so added them and upgraded grade to an A. I'd only put them behind LSU and possibly OU. LSU looking good right now in 2024 class.

-LSU in my opinion has top classes in the 2024 recruiting class. Florida moving into #2 spot with OU right behind them. UCLA has the #1 player but LSU has 3 of the best in the class and 3 more high level kids with big potential.
-ARK has 3 high level TX residents.

LSU: Grade A
Jayden Heavener (#2 EI/#4 PG) Once ranked #1 in the class.
*Samya Jones (#4 EI/#2 PG) Once ranked #1 in the class.
Destiny Harris (#6 EI/#38 PG)
Zoe Calvez (#5 EI/--PG)
Jada Philips (#17 EI/--PG)
Alix Franklin (#27 EI/--PG)

FLORIDA: Grade A
Gabi Comia UT (#3 EI/#3 PG)
Layla Lamar IF (#5 EI/#5 PG)
*Townsen Thomas OF (#2 EI/#17 PG)
Katelynn Oxley P (#4 EI/--PG)

OKLAHOMA: Grade A
Audrey Lowry P (#3 EI/#6 PG)
Tia Milloy IF (#39 EI/#21 PG)
Cori Hicks C (#7 EI/ #22 PG)
Kady Mckay MIF (local kid)(#18 EI/#13 PG)
Sydney Barker MIF (#8 EI/-- PG)
Gabriel Garcia

UCLAl: Grade A-
Addisen Fisher (#1 in both rankings)
Sofie Mujica (#5 EI/#32 PG)
*Rylee Slimp (EI has her 7/--PG)
Kaniya Bragg (#13 EI/--- PG)
Alina Garcia

ARKANSAS: Grade B+
*Ella McDowell IF (#3 EI/#26 PG)
Lexi King RHP (#29 EI/#46 PG)
*Cameryn Harrison RHP (#5 EI/-- PG)
*Ashtyn Reichart OF (#28 EI/-- PG)
Jayden Ramos

TEXAS: Grade C (so far)
Cambria Salmon (#4 EI/--- PG)

*Top TX players have all ended up somewhere other than TX:
Samya Jones--LSU
Townsen Thomas--FL
Ella Mcdowell--ARK
Cameryn Harrison--ARK
Peyton Tanner--TN
Paislie Allen--UGA
 
Well, on to focusing on the 2023 Signees! Guess we've thrown in the proverbial white towel regarding the 2024 recruiting class. Watching LSU, OU, UCLA, Florida....for God's sake even VA Tech and UGA eat in this 2024 class just rubs me the wrong way. THEN we have a visit or two with the second level of recruits like the Vestal kid and Texas A&M nabs her!! WTH?!!!! If we win alot this season maybe 2024 class recruiting will fall to the back of peoples' minds but it's gonna come bite us in the a#$ in a couple of years--barring transfer portal action.

For now, I'm gonna enjoy this big season we are about to have. Cross that crickety old bridge when we get to it LMBO :).
 
Earlier list of available top tier players updated:







Kaylie Avvisato and Morgan Reimer both not committed. Avvisato ranked in both Perfect Game (15) and Extrainnings (5). Reimer ranked 3 by Extrainnings and not ranked by Perfect Game. Odd that neither has committed anywhere.
 
Earlier list of available top tier players updated:







Kaylie Avvisato and Morgan Reimer both not committed. Avvisato ranked in both Perfect Game (15) and Extrainnings (5). Reimer ranked 3 by Extrainnings and not ranked by Perfect Game. Odd that neither has committed anywhere.




There is Avvisato. Reimer sure to commit soon, although I think we got our arm (all we got, but we got it). Reimer could go anywhere from UW, Stanford, MSU to OU. She has a lot of interest I'm told but slow playing. Again, it's a moot point for us as she is a pitcher.

Not much else out there in the 24 class.
 
I believe we can say that Coach White is finished with the recruiting of the 2024 class. As mentioned we will only have 1 senior with no eligibility remaining for the 2023 season. That could leave 26 on the roster for the 2024 season if no one decides to transfer. Absolutely no reason for him to pick up a second tier player when we have the numbers for this year and next. Coach Singleton has been very active on Twitter following and liking many of the 2025 elite players posts. We will certainly lose a few off that 2024 roster by transfer and I expect him to be scanning the transfer portal for his type of player. I doubt it would be a pitcher. We are pretty full there but could use a power hitter. Really looking forward to getting this going!
 
Hoping some of these state of Texas recruits who have verballed to Florida, Arkansas, and LSU are paying attention as none of those teams survived the regional weekend.
 
I was wondering about our only 2024 commit, Cambria Salmon, and how she did in her High school season. I found through Maxpreps that she ended up her junior year with a 13-4 record and an ERA of 1.14. Nothing to shout about. She did have one game that was a 2-12 loss and she showed a 17.77 ERA for that game alone which really skewed her final ERA number.
It shows in Extra Innings that she plays her summer ball with Athletics Mercado 18U and I could not find anything specific to her team.
She is a very private girl on her social media accounts. She has an IG and twitter account. Her last post in her IG account was when she committed to Texas in Oct 2022. She only had 3 retweets in 2023 in her twitter and 2 were about Texas softball and the other was where a friend had committed to play softball in Oregon.
She still seems to be highly ranked, top 10, in the softball rankings of Extra innings, Softball America, etc. so it appears she is doing well. Hope we can find information about her summer team successes and it can be reported. We need great pitchers in the pipeline.
 
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Cambria Salmon pitched on espn yesterday at the Colorado triple crown for Athletics Mercado and let’s just say she’s going to be special! She has everything in her arsenal with a change up that could not be picked up the entire game. From what I saw yesterday her change up looks equal to if not better than Simpson’s
 
Cambria Salmon pitched on espn yesterday at the Colorado triple crown for Athletics Mercado and let’s just say she’s going to be special! She has everything in her arsenal with a change up that could not be picked up the entire game. From what I saw yesterday her change up looks equal to if not better than Simpson’s
Gosh I would have really enjoyed seeing her play on ESPN. Sorry I missed it. Great news that she appears to be an elite pitcher (Jacob’s eyeball test) as her ranking suggests. Coach White said that Kavan was going to be “special” so we are looking strong for the future! But Still hoping he can pull in an elite pitcher (maybe one named Alana Vawter) out of the transfer portal!
 
Gosh I would have really enjoyed seeing her play on ESPN. Sorry I missed it. Great news that she appears to be an elite pitcher (Jacob’s eyeball test) as her ranking suggests. Coach White said that Kavan was going to be “special” so we are looking strong for the future! But Still hoping he can pull in an elite pitcher (maybe one named Alana Vawter) out of the transfer portal!
Kavan pitched yesterday as well in the future stars game. Only pitched two innings and gave up 2 runs with about 2-3 strikeouts. She does slow down her motion a lot on her change up as another poster said before but has the tools to be great.

Ryan Brown played as well and got an at bat against Kavan. She hit a ball extremely hard down the first base line fair but it hit off an umps leg and caused her to get put out at 1st. The ball was smoked nonetheless so there is no shortage of power there.
 
Found an interview by a local sports caster with Cambria Salmon from 7/31/2019 while playing for her travel squad, Athletes Marcado Ornelas. It is not easy finding much information on her.
 
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So, we have only two recruits for the class of 2024?

Ryan Brown
Cambria Salmon

?
Ryan Brown is a 2023. She will be on the team this upcoming season!
Cambria is our only 2024 recruit that has committed. She will be a Senior in High School.
 
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