Two years ago, we had her ranked No. 99 in the Line Drive 2028 HOT 100.

Last month, Ava Lastovka was ranked No. 6 in the HOT 100 and, in the rankings biz just like music world, she has climbed the charts “with a bullet.”

How do you race up the charts that fast in such a short period of time and end up an SEC-bound recruit, her having committed to Arkansas on September 16th?

We’re about to tell you why this three-sport athlete is one of the top pitching prospects in the Class of 2028…

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Elite Talent & Intangibles

Her Wow Factor club head coach Leslie Robinson says it’s her physical gifts and skills plus the intangibles that make her an SEC prospect.

“She’s a hard worker who can figure things out in the circle when things are not always going her way. Ava’s hard work, dedication, ability to make adjustments quickly, and wonderful teammate mentality will take Ava far in the SEC!”

Here’s how the current junior’s bio read when published last month:

T-6—Ava Lastavka, P, Wow Factor – Robinson
Ava is a pitcher only and practically every SEC and ACC school in the country has Ava on “the board” for recruiting. She’s almost 6-foot tall and throws 68 mph. Head Coach Leslie Robinson explains: “Ava has long fingers that help her spin the ball at a 1700 to 1800 spin rate and her ability to spin the ball and throw at a high velocity gives Ava a lot of swings and misses.” She’s also developed a change-up that keeps batters even more off balanced, which is not good for opposing hitters who face the Fury.  Ava, who shines with a 3.9 GPA, also plays high school volleyball and basketball and got All-District honors in both sports as a sophomore. Stats-wise, her dominance is displayed by the numbers she produced in the fall of 2025 through the summer of 2026—she pitched 106 innings, faced 448 batters and had 202 strikeouts or about 2.2 strikeouts per inning. Another jaw-dropping stat in the strikeout range: for her first two years of prep ball in Tennessee, Ava has surpassed the 500-strikeout total.

Committing to the Razorbacks

The right-hander at McEwen (Tenn.) High recaps how she committed to the Razorbacks Head Coach Courtney Deifel exactly a month ago tomorrow:

“I went on my visit to Arkansas first and really wanted to commit on the visit but I decided to go on two others just to be sure,” she explains.

“I called Coach Deifel the day after she came to watch one of my high school volleyball games on September 15^th, so I committed on the 16^th.”

“I called her after school that day and we talked about the volleyball game for a few minutes at first and then I just randomly said ‘I want to be a Razorback!’”

“She was super surprised and then she added the rest of the coaches on the call and I told them the same thing! My parents and sister were with me when I made the call.”

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From Shortstop to Franchise Pitcher

Coach Robinson, who was with the Fury program up through this year’s PGF Nationals before her team joined the Wow Factor Athletics program, has known of Ava since she first saw her at the tender age of 10…. but the pre-teen back then wasn’t the accomplished pitching phenom that she is today.

“We played local travel ball against her,” the club coach remembers, “and I was actually impressed with the way she moved at shortstop in 10U (laughs)!”

“Then our 14U travel ball team was in a Jeff Mac PGF tournament in Columbia, Tenn. and also playing in it was team from there.  I knew the coach well from playing locally in 10U and was told, ‘I have a stud pitcher I’m about to throw against you. She’s good and you need to put her on your team.’”

“We talked a bit more then played them.”

And how did that work out?

“Ava struck out about 12 of our girls that game,” Robinson continues. “I couldn’t tell what she was pitching from the dugout, but I knew we couldn’t touch her, so something was working well!”

“I called her the next week; she came and worked out with us that winter when she was 14U and she’s been with us ever since.”

The progress from 14U to 18U has been continual and impressive.

“Ava was pitching 61-to-62 mph when she joined our team,” the club coach adds, “and by that summer she was at 65-to-66 mph. She’s been progressing and developing steadily ever since.”

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Toughness

“Playing with pain” can be an over-exaggerated cliché sometimes to describe an athlete playing through an injury, but no one can doubt Ava’s toughness after what she went through this summer.

In the second inning of a game at the Atlanta Legacy tournament, the 2028 grad was hit in the shin with a line drive that caused a stress fracture, but she would stay in the game to record 10 strikeouts.

“It was on my right leg, my drag foot, a little above the ankle,” she explains.

Ava would go from there to compete in the PGF 16U Nationals where, with medical approval, she pitched in seven games.

After the Southern California event, however, the stress fracture worsened.

“It got more and more swollen,” Ava says, “and I had to be in a boot for a month.”

So why’d she play with the pain when she could have easily cheered and supported her team from the dugout?

“I felt I had to do really good for myself, pitching in front of a lot of college coaches since I wasn’t committed then, but also because I wanted to help my team win and go as far at PGF as we could.”

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Line Drive Media’s Brentt Eads recently caught up with the 2028 standout pitcher to learn more about her life on and off the softball fields… here’s his Q&A with Ava:

Softball-Specific Questions

Two years ago, we had you ranked No. 99 in the 2028 HOT 100, last year you were 13 and last month you were ranked at No. 6 overall… what does that mean to you?

It’s really cool to me as I started out travel ball locally not in the big tournaments or huge tournaments like PGF Nationals.

It was when I joined Leslie’s team about two to three years when I started to get noticed by colleges. Leslie helped put me out there and to get in front of the right people and helping me with all the things in recruiting.

I’m really proud of myself for having worked hard to get better every year, in school and travel ball, and it makes me excited for the future.

The recruiting process… glad it’s over or was it fun while it lasted, to be wined and dined by top programs?

It was fun all the way up to Sept. 1, when it got to be a little stressful having to narrow it down. My least favorite part was telling schools I was going in a different direction, but I just knew Arkansas was the best place for me.

I had gone to two University of Arkansas camps before my campus trip, and I loved it and everything about Coach Deifel and her coaches.

How many campus trips did you take?

I did visit Texas Tech and Auburn too.  I like the smaller town environment as I’m from a small town and liked being closer to home. I got to a Class 1A high school and love the small-town atmosphere.

Going into the recruiting process, did you have a set list of things you were looking for in a college?

Yes, I knew I wanted to be around a family-like environment, the girls to be my best friends and at a place where the coaches like having their kids running around, too. The at-home feel of Fayetteville was like what I’m used to.

What was the No. 1 thing you were looking for?

The family feel and the competitiveness of Arkansas softball, where it’s getting better each year for them.

How did Arkansas first learn about you?

I believe it was when I first went to camp there, I think I was 15. I knew a player on the Arkansas team and her parents had talked to Coach Deifel, who spent time with me and taught me a change-up.

What did the Razorback coaches say they like about your game enough to bring you in on a campus visit?

They said they liked the potential I have and my up-spin which, combined with another pitcher who has good down-spin, will make us a good duo playing together.

Editor’s note: that pitcher is Jessica Hinnant, a 2028 commit who plays for the Texas Bombers – Smith team, and was ranked No. 12 in the HOT 100.

When did it hit you that Arkansas is the school for you? Was there an “Aha!” moment?

It was probably when I went to Coach Deifel’s house for dinner that night and drove around on her golf cart with her two kids. I knew I’d have good friendships with the coaches and players on the team, and it felt like it is the place for me.

You’ve been active competing in three sports—softball, volleyball and basketball—and still maintain a 3.9 GPA. How do you find the time to balance your sports and academic workloads?

I would say it’s because I really try to get my work done at school and use the free time at the end of classes to stay up on my homework.

As soon I get home from practice, I study for tests and make school a priority above everything else.

Did you ever consider focusing on volleyball or basketball as your primary sport to play in college?

It’s always been softball first. Basketball has kept me in shape and I stay stronger because we do a lot of lifting there while volleyball is more of a fun thing to do with my friends—there are a lot of seniors who are my friends on the team.

Coach Leslie Robinson was raving about your spins as well as your velocity and now you’ve added a tough change-up.

If it’s up to you, imagine you’re pitching and there’s a 3-2 count, two outs and the winning run on third base. What are you throwing and why?

If it was a righty hitter, it’d be a screwball high and inside. If a lefty, then a curve high and inside.

What’s your favorite softball stat you’re proud of?

Right now, I have 724 strikeouts combined through my freshman and sophomore years and my ERA is a 0.23. Last year, I pitched five no-hitters and 14 shutouts. My record was 29-5 with a .106 opponent batting average.

On offense, although I don’t hit in travel ball, for my high school team I batted .415 and had 48 RBIs in 34 games

Your favorite softball accomplishment or achievement…

It would definitely be going to the state championship, making school history as no girls team has never been to a state tournament and we got second. I’m hoping to win state next the next two years at the Tennessee Class 1A level.

Individually, I was proud to be named Tennessee Miss Softball for 1A.

You’re able to make one change in softball… what would it be?

I’d say dropped third strike rule, meaning no matter where the ball goes, they’re out even if the catcher misses it.

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Off the Field Questions

Your last name, Lastovka… what’s your heritage and ancestry?

It’s Czechoslovakian, from my great-grandfather on my dad’s side—my great-great grandfather.

What makes you really happy in life?

I would say the sport I get to play and being with my best friends. Softball has brought me great friends and memories over the years.

What scares you?

It’d probably be injuries and not being able to play in college—that’s my biggest fear.

What really makes your blood boil?

Sometimes in softball, the other team says stuff in the dugout that makes me what to strike them all out… just blow the ball by them.

If you could go back and talk to the 10-year-old Ava about anything—sports, academics, family, faith… what would you tell the young you?

I would say to put my faith in God and trust his path. Instead of worrying about my future, I’d tell myself to put 100 percent of my trust in God for every step of the way.

Let’s say money was no object: what would be your dream vacation?

Probably to Greece. I think the houses and beaches are really pretty, and I would love the food there, too.

Celebrity you’d like to hang out with for a day…

Montana Fouts. She’s one of the pitchers I look up to the most.

What is the biggest misconception about folks from Tennessee?

That we’re all rednecks. Everywhere we travel, we’ll go to a hotel and people will ask: “Where you from, Texas?”

Any idea what you want to be or do post-college and playing career?

I am not sure for my main job, but I know I want to give pitching lessons and help younger kids.

What makes you laugh?

Just my family, my mom (Maria), dad (Chad) and sister, Annie, who’s 13. We’re always laughing all the time. My boyfriend makes me laugh all the time too.

Something you’d never be caught dead doing….

I’m the opposite of that, I want to do everything: sky dive, bungy jump… do everything.

Something you like but most people don’t… or something you don’t like that most people do?

I love being under pressure, I feel like I do better when under pressure.

Tell us something about Ava Lastovka that’s interesting which most people don’t know…

I’m actually a really good writer; I love to write, especially essays.

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Multiple-Choice “What If” Questions…

A friend comes up to you with his five-foot long python and asks if you’d like to hold it. You react by:

1. Backing away slowly making sure the snake doesn’t follow you.
2. Runing away screaming and hide in a closet.
3. Say, “Ahhhhh, come here little Fido, let me snuggle with you.”

ANSWER: “I would back away slowly. If I knew it wasn’t going to bite me, I’d probably hold it but if I didn’t know if it would bite or strangle me, I wouldn’t hold it.”

Your team is having a dinner at a nice restaurant, and a teammate pulls out a bottle and says: “This is the most potent hot sauce I’ve ever had… on a scale on 1-10 it’s a 14.” She turns to you and asks: “Want some?”

You respond:

1. “No thank you,” and go back to eating your potato salad.
2. Tentatively stick your little pinky out and say, “Please put a dime-size dab on my finger, please, so I can test it out.”
3. Snatch the bottle and start drinking it straight.

ANSWER: “I do not like spicy, not at all, so I would say ‘No thank you.’”

You’re having a big softball party and 500 people are there…three of your friends are singing karaoke in front of everyone and suddenly ask you to join them. You respond by:

1. Politely saying, “Thanks, but no thanks!”
2. Step up and sing quiet back-up.
3. Grab the mic, slide across the floor on your knees and belt out “Living On a Prayer” by Bon Jovi.

ANSWER: “I would say no thanks. I’m more of an introverted person.”