Day 2 at the 2024 Clearwater Fall Classic was massive… that’s the best way to describe yesterday’s continuation of the prestigious showcase for 18U, 16U and 14U teams.

Friday college coaches couldn’t be in attendance at the event so it was more of a “fine-tuning day,” in the sense that club coaches worked more on player and team improvement.

Saturday, however, was much, much different and was of the showcase variety where college coaches en masse were in person to watch players play and evaluate.

Take one of the afternoon games, for example, at Fields 1-4 at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater. It was the 3 pm game on Field 2 and featured 16U action between Virginia Unity coached Josh Johnson and Aces Fastpitch 16U led by Ryan and Taylor Taylor.

At this one game following and tracking the action, you had the head coaches from Tennessee, Nebraska, Michigan and Syracuse as well as assistants from North Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Rutgers, East Carolina and several others.

Also wandering around this one four-field complex, you had Oklahoma’s Patty Gasso and Alabama’s Patrick Murphy as well as coaches representing schools ranging from Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and Notre Dame to Yale, Dartmouth, and Army.

According to event organizers, there were over 150 college coaches at this one complex and at least 50 more elsewhere for the 18’s and 16’s—and that’s not counting the 14U fields on Sunday which have bracket play leading to the 14U final at 1:15 pm at the Russ Norton Complex.

Great, great softball and it was the perfect conditions to watch it with comfy 70-degree temps and slight breezes.

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CONVO WITH COACH PATRICK MURPHY

I had a great chat with Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy as we were watching a talent-loaded game between Tennessee Mojo 18U Ramsey/Fisher and Corona Angels 18U – Tyson.

I asked Coach Murphy what his role is there in terms of watching signed and supporting players in the 2025 class, committed players in the 2026 class as well as watching and evaluating up-and-coming players.

He replied:

“It’s a mixture of all three. The 2025’s just signed starting last week so we can talk to them and their families, the 2026’s we can follow and support them but can’t talk to them and then, thanks to the great work of (Assistant Coach) Kayla (Braud), we organize in advance knowing who we want to see and it’s all charted out by complex, game time and fields.”

By my unofficial count, The Tide has at least a half dozen players in the 2025 and 2026 classes who fit that description including pitchers Kaitlyn Pallozzi (Firecrackers – Wallace) and Vic Moten (Birmingham Thunderbolts – Rocky) and two players at the game we were watching that are Alabama bound: Anna Roman and Ava Briski, the younger sister of current Alabama pitcher Jocelyn Briski, a college sophomore. Both play for the Mojo 18U team.

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THREE-PERSON COACHING CREWS

One aspect of the Clearwater Fall Classic run by Jim Barsalona and team that has really impressed has been the three-person umpiring crews who are experience at the college level.

The officiating has been very impressive with decisions made quickly and confidently so that has been aspect of the games that has been enjoyable: very few questionable (or questioned calls).

I sat at the registration/check in tent and got to witness several umps come up after games to provide final scores.

It was interesting to see the umpiring crews mostly not know the club coaches so they treated them all the same, with respect but no deference to any one coach or team.

PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED:

*** Remember this name: Daylyn Osborne, who is a 2027 pitcher for Iowa Premier 16U – Dickel.

She drew a lot of interest from college coaches including ones from Clemson, Florida and Mississippi State who were clocking her as she pitched. And several other college coaches were looking over their shoulders to get the times as well!

Daylyn is from Rogers, Ark. And has really upped her stock this weekend and looks to have Power 5 talent and abilities. One of three pitchers in her game versus Fury – Platinum, she had 33 pitches and 22 of them were for strikes.

Here’s an interview I did with her after one of her games on Saturday:

In the interview, Daylyn commented on how her team really has her back and that was shown by her team scoring eight runs in the 8-1 victory.

Catcher Lindsey Givens, an uncommitted 2026, doubled to start the second inning followed by Kayla Kersting, a 2026 committed to Iowa, stroked a single to left centerfield and drove in a run. She then stole second and came across to score on a double by 2027 uncommitted shortstop Emillia Andrews.

*** A heavy followed game (by scouts and coaches) was the Unity 16U – Johnson 4-2 win over the Aces Fastpitch – Taylor team.

Violet Flynn, an uncommitted 2026 pitcher, was impressive for the Unity as she allowed just one earned run over five innings and had five strikeouts.  Her counterpart, lefty Emma Hackler who is Mississippi State bound, pitched four innings and had five K’s with 0 earned runs in the loss.

*** The OC Batbusters – 18U team has struggled in terms of wins and such, but that’s deceiving in several ways.

First, Mike Stith is a great coach and he’s playing this event to showcase talent, not to win anything… that’s not the purpose.

His team is very young for a 18U squad with six seniors who are excellent in P Sophia Bordi (signed with Oklahoma), All-World infielder Kai Minor (also Oklahoma), MIF Kyler Del Duca (Arkansas), P Saylor Timmerman (Arkansas), IF Kalie Matsuno (Florida) and OF Camrynn Gordon (Oregon State).

But the core of the team is underclassmen including six juniors (2026’s), five soph’s (2027’s), a freshman (2028) and even an eighth grader (2029)… and that would outfielder Devaeh Crawford, who reminds me in many ways of a young Jayda Coleman, the former OU outfielder who won four national titles with the Sooners.

Like Jayda, Devaeh is athletic, softball smart and makes “wow” plays. On Saturday, she caught a ball in foul ground down the third base line—she’s a left-fielder—where she went horizontal and laid out to make the out.

She also can hit and went 4-for-7 in the two games on Saturday.

Think about this: Devaeh is playing, and succeeding, against athletes who are high school seniors four classes ahead of hers! She already has a lot of interest and will have her choice of where to go, but it’s fun now to see her youth and continual growth.

This entire team is talented but young and all got great experience—and exposure—this weekend.

*** Mississippi State is looking good in the future power department based on the play of Taylor Faga who hit a bomb for her Corona Angels – Tyson game.

*** Aces Fastpitch LHP/OF Kiera Stripling impressed with an RBI double in their game against the Unity.

Also like Emme Aslan, a tall 2026 CIF who is Iowa-bound, really is a talker and cheerleader on the field in a great way for her team. She will be a leader in the Big Ten.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball