2024 softball recruits

Forum to discuss the best softball team in the country
Oldsoftballfan
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Post by Oldsoftballfan »

Bottom post of the previous page:

Riley Zache ranked Tie21 in the final 2024 EIS rankings 20-11 comes out today so far Riley is the only one of our 8 recruits listed! Hoping this means the other 7 are ranked even higher! But Riley jumped several spots in this last ranking, happy for her!
OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Oldsoftballfan wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:45 am Riley Zache ranked Tie21 in the final 2024 EIS rankings 20-11 comes out today so far Riley is the only one of our 8 recruits listed! Hoping this means the other 7 are ranked even higher! But Riley jumped several spots in this last ranking, happy for her!
It is like 200-ish spots that Riley jumped up. The EIS description about Riley Zache as a player ranked in a Tie at the 21st player ranking is below.

I am watching this also. If OU has all 8 players in the top 20 plus ties, the class has really moved up on the rankings from last year according to EIS.

Riley and her younger sister, Berkley Zache, ranked in the Top 10 of the 2025 Extra 100, recently made the headlines when the sisters became a two-for-one special by both committing to the Oklahoma Sooners on their official trip to the three-time defending National Champs. Riley, who had previously verballed to Missouri, is a 1st Team All-State selection and has set many records at St. Joseph (South Bend, Ind.) High including most career home runs… and she still has a year left to play. Riley hit .546 with an OBP of over .600 and belted 14 home runs, 22 doubles, 51 RBIs and scored 50 runs. Head Coach Josh Fisher comments: “Riley is another kid, who defines what we are after. She’s a very difficult out and can hit the ball to all fields as well as over the fence to all fields. She is a very smart hitter and has a high softball IQ. Riley understands what we as coaches want in terms of, pushing runners to the next base, driving in runs and having consistent quality at bats.” Riley can, has and will play catcher at the top level but also can play the middle infield and even third base as needed. Coach Fisher concludes: “She can also play any spot of the outfield and in each of these spots she could also play in college. Riley is a true utility player and has continually improved and has vaulted herself into being one of the better overall players in the 2024 class.

So far out of the seven (7) original Class of 2024 commits for Oklahoma, none of them are ranked yet. I think this will mean that all 7 of them will be in the Top 20 rankings. Last year, only three of the Sooner commits (Lowery LHP T-3 & Top 8 players, Hicks C T-7 & Top 28 players, Barker SS T-8 & Top 35 players) were in the Top 10. In the Top 18 & Top 100 players was McKay. In the Top 39 were (Helton OF T-38 & Top 262 players, Milloy MIF/OF T-39 & Top 270 players) and then Gabriella Garcia was not ranked. If this ends up being true, what a upgrade for an already strong class of 8 players.

Boomer Sooner!
OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Tia Milloy landed at a Tie for the T-18 Player by EIS yesterday. This probably places her in the top 75 players this year. Last year EIS had her at the T-39 spot or in the Top 270 players

Tia Milloy, MIF, NW Bullets 18U – Campos
Tia’s athleticism has made her a standout on the Northwest Bullets’ lineup. With the ability to play anywhere on the field if her team needs it, the future Oklahoma Sooner is versatile and committed to perfecting the small aspects of her game. Coming from an extremely athletic family—a father who played in the NFL and a sister who currently competes with the USA Olympic Softball team—it is no surprise that Tia continues to flourish on the field and off. She is extremely quick on the basepath and hits in the three-hole for both high school and club teams. At Redmond (Wash.) High School, she hit .629 in the spring with 22 hits and an on-base percentage of .729. Building on this success, Tia helped the Bullets to a 3rd place finish at Boulder IDT 18U, 5th at Triple Crown Nationals, and 17th at PGF Nationals this summer. With a true passion for the sport, the Oklahoma commit enjoys speaking and working with young softball players in her community.

Kadey McKay (Caddo OK HS) landed at the T-14 Player yesterday. That probably puts her in the Top 60 players. Last year McKay was in a Tie for the 18th spot or the Top 100 players.

Kadey McKay, MIF, Epic National 18U – Smith
Kadey has won four straight softball titles and is playing for five this fall for her Caddo (Okla.) High team but what makes her story unique is that two of those are in fastpitch and two in slow pitch. During this run playing for coach and father, Dustin McKay, she has helped her Lady Bruins team go 156-13. Kadey will play at the next level in Norman, Oklahoma–where the three-time NCAA DI champion Oklahoma Sooners are located—exactly 100 miles as the crow flies or less than a three-hour car drive. Playing for Scotty Smith’s Epic National program, she helped the team finish in the Top 10 of the 2023 Alliance Nationals this year.

Chaney Helton (Coweta, OK) landed at the Tie for the 11th spot or the Top 50 in this year's rankings. Last year she was in a Tie for the Top 38 position or the Top 262 players.

Chaney Helton, OF, Iowa Premier 18U – National
Chaney is a naturally gifted athlete with all of the tools according to program head Greg Dickel who explains: “She has top level speed, can hit for power and average, and is an elite defender in centerfield for the Iowa Premier 18U National squad.” Widely regarded as one of the top outfielders in the country, the University of Oklahoma commit had a great summer and led her team to a 3rd Place finish in the Tier 1 AFCS. Chaney batted .420 with 11 home runs, 48 RBIs, 15 doubles, six triples, 31 steals and scored an impressive 73 runs. The talented outfielder is coming off being named the Oklahoma 5A-3 Player of the Year as a junior, where she batted .519 with 67 hits, eight home runs, 15 doubles, 12 triples, 19 steals and an OPS of 1.584. The excellent all-around athlete has also racked up several top accolades in track as well.

The new rankings for these three players is good news for the Sooners,

That probably leaves the final four of the Sooner 2024 commits to be in the Top 10 rankings this year. Those four are Gabriella Garcia (unranked in 2022 by EIS) who will be a MIF that rockets in the rankings as she moves up, Sydney Barker (SS) was a Top 8 (Top 35) player in 2022 and Corri Hicks (C) Top 7 (Top 28) player and lastly Audrey Lowry (LHP) who was a Top 3 ranked player in 2022 or in the Top 8 players.

The best thing about this class is their versatility. The players are all very versatile player who can play many positions on the field. Only Coori Hicks is really in a set position at Catcher who can probably play 1B as well. The rest of the players Bache (will be a catcher first for OU), Milloy, McKay, Garcia and Barker can play all of the infield positions and probably the OF with little transition. Helton could be a staple in the talented OF for the Sooners. Lowry will be a staple in the circle also.

Boomer Sooner!
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Post by TropicalSooner »

OUBeliever56A wrote: Wed Oct 12, 2022 1:50 pm
Do we have any more information or articles about Garcia? This looks to be the only post about her---can't find her high school or travel info or any SI articles or anything...
Help?
aka Crimson47
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

At least thoru last spring in 2022, Garcia did not play HS Softball but she plays summer ball and had played for an Arizona team until 2023 when she joined the OC Batbusters. In HS, she is on the track team and throws the Javelin and owns the state record for the event. I think she has won 1st in State as well.

For the Batbusters, here is her stats for this summer.

PCFL Gabriella Garcia OC Batbusters Stith 2024 0.459 BA 48 G 136 PA 122 AB 31 H 56 R 7 SB 35 singles 8 doubles 4 Triples 9 HRs 41 RBI 0.811 Slug%
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

We are down to the final 10 ranked positions from EIS. First of all let me say that I am a bit disappointed in EIS. A little bit ago, they said that there were going to revise their rankings to not include several players at each ranked position to make the rankings (my words) "more simple and more meaningful". Well they must have changed that idea. With their next rankings the Class of 2024, they ranked 40 players in the Top 10. How does that figure? Anyone that looks at rinkings like that they are a #6 player, but it is really a player that is in the Top 25, not the #6 player. I guess we just get to shake our heads on this one. On to which Sooners are in the "Top 10" rankings for EIS from the Class of 2024.

All four remaining Sooner commits are in the "Top 10". That is great news.

Gabriella Garcia is the #8 position and one of the Top 30 players in the Class. That is a huge rise in the rankings from her unranked position in 2022 by EIS. When I saw her play here in the Norman area last June I thought she would defiantly be raked this year as she played SS for the Batbusters. She now is ranked and ranked very highly. Here is what EIS said about her. (BTW, I did not know that she played HS Ball until now. Maybe doing so, she did that for the first time in the spring of 2023 before playing with the Batbusters.

Gabriella Garcia, MIF, OC Batbusters 18U – Stith - T#8 - Top 30 Players.
The future Oklahoma Sooner is a powerful hitter with impeccable skills on defense, holding down the middle infield well for the Alliance Championship winning OC Batbusters 18U team led by Coach Mike Stith. The Arizona native has received several notable accolades, including All-CUSD Player of the Year and a spot on the 2023 All-Premier Region Team for the third time for her play for the Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) High Bears as she batted .550 with 12 home runs and helped the Lady Bears win the Arizona 6A State Softball Championship. A tremendously accomplished track athlete as well, Gabriella throws the javelin for her high school’s team. and she owns the Arizona state record for the javelin event.

Corri Hicks is in the #7 position and in the Top 25 players in the Class. That represents a slight improvement in her ranking of a #7 and Top 28 players in 2022. Hicks had joined the Batbusters to play. I think that EIS might be incorrect about Hicks joining the Batbusters in the summer of 23. I think it is the fall. Hicks was not playing for the Batbusters when they were here playing this summer. But if she joined the Batbusters in the fall, the Batbusters gor better with her on the team. Here is what EIS had to ay about her.

Corri Hicks, C, OC Batbusters 18U – Stith - T#7 - Top 25 Players
Corri, a future Oklahoma Sooner, killed it in all aspects of the game this summer season with the OC Batbusters, utilizing her strength and elite hand-eye coordination to rake extra-base hits no matter the pitch. Behind the plate, the athlete’s pop time and arm velocity make it difficult for opposing teams to even lead off too far on a base. At Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif) High School, Corri helped her team to a CIF-Central Coast Section Championship victory and had five home runs on the season with 16 RBIs. Defensively, she had 179 total chances and only made four errors for a .978 fielding percentage. Prior to playing for Mike Stith’s Batbusters team out of Southern California, Corri was a member of the Sorcerer organization. Showing her love and dedication to the sport, at the age of 12 the athlete and her parents would drive from Northern California to Southern California every weekend to play for a club team. Preparing for OU, Corri dedicates a significant portion of her non-school time to improving her power in the weight room.

Sydney Barker improved her ranking in 2023 to be a #4 ranked player (Top 14 players). I am excited to see Barker play as a Sooner. While we are trying to figure out who plays SS in 2024 for the Sooners, I think the answer as to who plays SS in 2025 for the Sooners could very well be Barker as a freshman. Here is what EIS had to say about Barker.

Sydney Barker, SS, LTG – Henderson/Lively - T#4 - Top 14 players
Sydney, another one of Oklahoma’s many standout commits in the 2024 class, is renowned for her exceptional ability and expansive range when playing in the shortstop position where she consistently comes through in clutch situations at the plate. Her contributions were instrumental in LTG’s 3rd place finish at the PGF 16U Nationals in 2022, as well as 5th place finishes in both 2022 and 2023 at The Triple Crown Power Pool. Sydney has been a fixture in the starting lineup for Rocklin (Calif.) High School, performing at a high level in both the club and prep levels, consistently delivering clutch hits and making impactful plays. Coach Joe Henderson describes Sydney’s strengths, saying, “Sydney’s batting skills are exceptional, but it’s her exceptional fielding abilities that truly set her apart. Her extensive range and consistent game-changing performances with the glove make her a standout player every weekend.” In the 2023 high school season, Sydney continued to shine as she earned the titles of 1st Team All-League and Team MVP. She also secured a spot on the PGF 2023 Future All-American team where she delivered an outstanding performance.

Audrey Lowry landed in the #2 ranked players group for her third straight season in the Top 3 ranked positions by EIS and Top 10 by Softball America. Lowry is in the Top players in the country. Lowry will simply be another Sooner lefty who will shine as a Sooner. Here is what EIS had to say about Lowry.

Audrey Lowry, P, Mojo – Fisher - T#2 - Top 5 Players.
Audrey, an Oklahoma commit from Pittsboro, Indiana, has been one of the elite pitchers in the country across all age divisions for many years now and, according to Head Coach Josh Fisher: “She has continually gotten better.” Audrey pitches back-to-back shutouts at the 18U PGF Premier National Championship this summer to help her team finish in 3rd place. Her strikeout numbers have continued to elevate each year and Audrey has been a multi-year All State performer in Indiana. Coach Fisher explains: “Audrey commands all of her pitches and has exceptional stuff. She’s a big game performer and she has the best off-speed stuff with spin in travel ball, in my opinion. She sets the bar high in our camp as we preach not walking batters and giving up free bags. Audrey’s walks are few and far between and she is a lefty and naturally works to hitters backwards. She completely takes games over. She’s also one of the most fun, good kids we’ve ever had, has excellent leadership characteristics and is a gamer.” Audrey is a two-time 1st Team PGF All-American and has also played and excelled in the PGF All-American Game. The Mojo coach finishes with a wry comment: “Audrey’s numbers speak for themselves and she’s going to the University of Oklahoma—a group of coaches at a school that knows a little about coaching.”

In retrospect, the Class of 2024 for the Oklahoma Sooners includes 8 players. The players ranked like this.

Riley Zache - C/UT - T#21 Ranking - Top 85 players
Tia Milloy - MIF/OF - T#18 Ranking - Top 72 players
Kadey McKay - SS - T#14 Ranking - Top 56 players
Chaney Helton - OF - T#11 Ranking - Top 44 players
Gabriella Garcia - MIF - T#8 Ranking - Top 30 players
Corri Hicks - C - T#7 Ranking - Top 25 players
Sydney Barker - SS - T#4 Ranking - Top 14 players
Audrey Lowry - LHP - T#2 Ranking - Top 5 players
The Sooners will lose 10 players after the 2024 Season. The players above will arrive on campus in August of 2024 to begin their career at Oklahoma. The Class of 2024 will be a very good start at replacing those ten players leaving. But one must remember this (off the top of my head), those tem players leaving represents very good players that were ranked very highly also. Here is a review:

Class of 2019:
Kelly Maxwell - She red-shirted her first season after arriving in Stillwater for the Cowgirls from the Houston area as a Senior in HS. I do not think she was in the Top 100 players at that time.

Class of 2020:
Kinzie Hansen - Former #1 and ended up in the Top 6 ranked positions as a Senior in HS.
Rylie Boone - Top 28 player out of Owasso, OK.
Alynah Torres - Top 72 player coming out of HS before joining Arizona State.
Karlie Keenay - I do not think she was a Top 100 player before entering Liberty.
Riley Ludlam - I do not think she was a Top 100 player before entering Furman.

Class of 2021:
Jayda Coleman - Was the #1 player coming out of HS.
Tiare Jennings - Was a Top 5 player coming out of HS.
Nicole May - Was a Top 5 player coming out of HS.
Alyssa Brito - Was a Top 17 player coming out of HS before joining Oregon.

That is 7 Top 72 players (1 player at each ranked position) with Maxwell and Keeney progressing as a college player to become a top player in college. That is an awful lot of talent to lose in one season for Oklahoma after the 2024 season. BUT, starting with the Class of the 2024 and 8 players in the Top 85 players in the country is a very good way to start to try to fill that talent gap. And as well all know and expect, there will be 2 or 3 transfers that will join the Sooners before the 2024-2025 season as well.

Things will be very good for the Sooners after the 2024 season with this class. And when the tremendous class of 2025 arrives the next season, the Sooners will be fully reloaded.

Boomer Sooner!
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Post by MontOUfan »

Garcia won an Arizona state championship in softball last spring with Basha high school. azcentral article
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Post by MontOUfan »

Garcia played her freshman, junior and senior seasons at Basha. Not sure why she didn't play as a sophomore - may have concentrated on track.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

MontOUfan wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2023 10:22 am Garcia played her freshman, junior and senior seasons at Basha. Not sure why she didn't play as a sophomore - may have concentrated on track.
Thanks for the update. I knew she did not play as a sophomore and was told she did not play HS ball. That appears to be incorrect.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

For those that would like to know:

The #1 player is Addison Fisher (RHP) committed to UCLA. She was the #1 player in 2022 by EIS and SA.

The 3 other #2's besides Lowry are all LSU commits and includes Jayden Heavener LHP/1B who a couple years ago favored OU probably.

The #3's included players going to UCLA, Arkansas, Michigan and Florida.

The #4's include players going to Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Florida State and Barker coming to OU.

The #5's include players going to Washington, Stanford, Arizona and Tennessee. Morgan Reimer is a RHP going to Washington who I think made a tough decision between OU and Washington for her.

The #6's include players going to Florida, Oregon, Florida State and Stanford.

The #7's include players going to Clemson an UCLA plus Hicks that is coming to OU.

The #8's include players going to Bama, Arkansas and Tennessee plus Garcia coming to OU.

The #9's include players going to Mississippi State, Florida, LSU. Northwestern and Georgia

The #10's include players going to Texas Tech, Virginia, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn.

The Team with 5 players in the "Top 10" is LSU. The teams with 4 players in the "Top 10" are Oklahoma, Florida and Tennessee. the team with 3 players in the "Top 10" is UCLA. Team with 2 player in the "Top 10" are Florida State, Stanford and Arkansas.

I will work up a Top 10 Classes by Program within a couple weeks. Alot is going on right now for me.
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Post by oufanforever »

Lowry is officially a Sooner! Welcome.

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Post by oufanforever »

Chaney Helton is a Sooner! Welcome

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Post by oufanforever »

Riley Zache is a Sooner! Welcome

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Post by oufanforever »

Tia Milloy, Welcome!

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Post by oufanforever »

Corri Hicks, welcome to the Sooner family!

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Post by oufanforever »

Welcome to Kadey McKay!

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