{"id":257632,"date":"2026-04-08T14:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/257632\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:02:12","slug":"sacramento-regions-top-hs-softball-players-to-watch-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/257632\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento region\u2019s top HS softball players to watch in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

The Del Oro Golden Eagles cheer for pitcher Mikayla Finn, center, as she receives her medal after winning the CIF Northern California Division I softball championship against the Oak Ridge Trojans on Saturday, June 7, at Oak Ridge High School.<\/p>\n

SARA NEVIS<\/p>\n

Special to The Bee<\/p>\n

The weather is not the only thing heating up in the Sacramento region these past few weeks.<\/p>\n

If you hit any softball field in this area, you\u2019re likely to see a player or two who is capable of competing at the next level. And with league play in full swing across the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, here\u2019s a peek at some of the headliners on the diamonds.<\/p>\n

From players with scholarships to national championship NCAA programs to former Sacramento Bee Players of the Year, The Bee highlights 25 of the top talents, listed in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n

Cat Alston, Rocklin, Jr.<\/p>\n

Alston is an Iowa commit who sparks the top of the Thunder order and roams center field with a tremendous glove for the powerhouse program in Placer County.<\/p>\n

She has a .386 batting average with 93 hits in her career.<\/p>\n

Kwinci Brown, Sheldon, Sr.<\/p>\n

An ace for a storied Sheldon program located in the Elk Grove Unified School District, Brown is a 6-foot-2 Kentucky signee.<\/p>\n

Brown boasts a career 2.52 earned run average who went over 300 career strikeouts earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Marisa Bryson, Pioneer, Sr.<\/p>\n

An early candidate for Player of the Year, the Stanford-bound shortstop led the Patriots of Woodland to the section finals last year.<\/p>\n

Bryson had 50 RBIs as a freshman, hit 13 homers as a sophomore and batted .615 as a junior.<\/p>\n

Niayli Calvo, Vanden, Jr.<\/p>\n

The Florida commit helped the Vikings of Solano County to the Division III section title last season.<\/p>\n

Calvo compiled an incredible .710 average, six home runs and 32 RBI.<\/p>\n

Caelyn Campos, Del Oro, So.<\/p>\n

She hit .442 as a freshman at the top of the order in 2025 for the CIF Northern California champion Golden Eagles of Loomis, adding three homers, 30 RBI and 23 stolen bases.<\/p>\n

Campos is batting .423 this season.<\/p>\n

Brielle Collins, Inderkum, So.<\/p>\n

Collins is hitting .510 with five homers and 16 RBIs early this season after a freshman year that saw a .417 average, three long balls and 22 RBI.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s got a smooth glove in the outfield as well.<\/p>\n

Taylor Cordell, Whitney, So.<\/p>\n

Cordell shined in the Division II section final in the circle for the Wildcats of Placer County as a freshman., going 16-5 with a 2.84 ERA and 144 punchouts.<\/p>\n

This season, she\u2019s 9-1 with a 1.24 ERA.<\/p>\n

Laila Dean, Vacavile, Sr.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs are always a contender, and the Idaho State signee leads the charge with a .403 career average.<\/p>\n

Dean has tallied 133 hits over her four-year career.<\/p>\n

Mikayla Finn, Del Oro, Jr.<\/p>\n

Finn shared Bee Large School Player of the Year honors with teammate Abby Davidson last season after going 21-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 148.1 innings.<\/p>\n

Finn and Davidson led Del Oro to a CIF NorCal crown in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"Del Del Oro Golden Eagles pitcher Mikayla Finn (12) throws against the Oak Ridge Trojans during the second inning in the CIF Northern California Division I softball championship on Saturday, June 7, at Oak Ridge High School. SARA NEVIS Special to The Bee <\/p>\n

Kennedi Freeland, Oak Ridge, Jr.<\/p>\n

Back from missing most of her sophomore year with injury, the Loyola Marymount commit has the three-time defending section champion Trojans of El Dorado Hills optimistic.<\/p>\n

Freeland went 15-4 with a 1.11 ERA and 174 strikeouts as a freshman.<\/p>\n

McKayla Fulmer, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.<\/p>\n

Fulmer is the receiving end of the battery that makes up a stellar Destiny Christian pitching staff.<\/p>\n

The Vanguard commit goes by \u201cKK\u201d and entered 2026 with a .451 average, 17 homers, 47 RBIs and 82 hits for her career.<\/p>\n

\"Capital Capital Christian\u2019s McKayla Fulmer dives into home against Willow Glen in the first inning of the CIF Northern California Division I softball championship game at Willow Glen High School in San Jose on Saturday, June 1, 2024. Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group <\/p>\n

Emma Johnson, Del Oro, So.<\/p>\n

She provided some big pop as a freshman for a championship Del Oro squad, launching eight homers, a number she has already matched this season.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s added 29 RBIs to go with a .429 average for the 31-2 Golden Eagles.<\/p>\n

Michah Kennedy, Sheldon, Jr.<\/p>\n

The other half of Sheldon\u2019s dynamic duo in the circle, the UC Santa Barbara commit has a career 1.94 ERA with 22 wins and 331 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Kennedy can also swing the bat, hitting .471 with four dingers last year.<\/p>\n

Kate McCartney, Ponderosa, So.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the next big star in this region, the Bruins of Shingle Springs have a shortstop star who has big-time power after hitting .493 with nine homers and 36 RBI as a freshman a year ago.<\/p>\n

McCartney has hit 11 long balls with 30 RBIs and a .630 average as Pondo is off to a 15-0 start.<\/p>\n

Emily Morris, Dixon, Sr.<\/p>\n

A four-year starter in multiple sports for the Rams, the Saint Mary\u2019s commit has a .395 career average with 93 RBIs.<\/p>\n

Morris helped leda Dixon to a section title as a sophomore in 2024.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Paratore, Oak Ridge, Sr.<\/p>\n

The Washington signee and senior leader for Oak Ridge has won section titles in every season so far.<\/p>\n

Paratore already has a .524 average with seven homers and 15 RBI this season.<\/p>\n

Chloe Preuss, Woodcreek, Sr.<\/p>\n

Preuss is hitting .348 this season after batting .395 a year ago when she had three homers and 23 RBI.<\/p>\n

Preuss is headed to UC Davis.<\/p>\n

Payton Prior, Rocklin, Jr.<\/p>\n

The junior Long Beach State commit has a career 42-8 record and a 1.86 ERA.<\/p>\n

Prior surpassed 500 strikeouts thanks to a 10-2 start to 2026.<\/p>\n

Carly Rice, Placer, So.<\/p>\n

As a freshman a year ago, she helped the Hillgals of Auburn erase the memory of back-to-back 0-15 seasons with an 18-win campaign.<\/p>\n

Rice batted .451 with three homers and 38 RBIs.<\/p>\n

Roxanne Sardo, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.<\/p>\n

What a luxury it must be to have a Purdue commit as your No. 2 pitcher. Sardo was part of a combined no-hitter against Rio Linda on March 19.<\/p>\n

Sardo has 93 strikeouts in 48 career innings at Destiny.<\/p>\n

Sammie Snell, Rocklin, So.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to replace a player like former Bee Player of the Year Syd Barker, but Snell has held her own as Rocklin\u2019s shortstop.<\/p>\n

She hit .321 as a freshman and finds herself in the heart of the order for this year\u2019s Thunder squad.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Steele, Whitney, Sr.<\/p>\n

A section champion in 2025, Steele is a Cal Poly Humboldt signee with a .320 career average.<\/p>\n

Steele hit .400 last year while driving in 27 runs.<\/p>\n

\"The The Whitney Wildcats\u2019 Brooklyn Steele throws to first during the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship softball game against the Rocklin Thunder at Sacramento State on Saturday, May 24. Brian Baer Special to The Bee <\/p>\n

Shealynn Stinson, Pleasant Grove, Sr.<\/p>\n

A career .397 hitter with more than 108 career knocks, Stinson is the motor for the Eagles of Elk Grove.<\/p>\n

The speedy middle infielder has 56 career stolen bases and is headed to Fresno State.<\/p>\n

Leilani Terrazas, Granite Bay, Sr.<\/p>\n

The Cal Poly signee has been a big-time power source for the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n

Terrazas has amassed 20 home runs and 77 RBIs over her four-year varsity career.<\/p>\n

Ayla Tuua, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.<\/p>\n

Tuua already rates as one of the region\u2019s all-time greats as a three-time Bee Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

The LSU commit can do it all with a career 38-2 pitching record, a sub-1.00 ERA, more than 600 strikeouts and 10 no-hitters, to go along with a .525 average, 33 homers and 124 RBIs at the plate.<\/p>\n

Tuua struck out all 21 batters in a one-hit shutout last year at Rio Linda.<\/p>\n

\"Capital Capital Christian Cougars catcher Nani Lose-Mahina (21), left, pitcher Ayla Tuua (19) and teammates walk off the field after their win over the Dixon Rams at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV high school softball championship game Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Cosumnes River College. Capital Christian is now Destiny Christian Academy. Xavier Mascare\u00f1as Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Del Oro Golden Eagles cheer for pitcher Mikayla Finn, center, as she receives her medal after winning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-257632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}