Each week of the Spring season, Line Drive Softball is honoring top high school performances nationwide with a National Player of the Week and others who are named as a Runner-Up Player of the Week.

Today, we cover the last two weeks which have kept us busy overall with high school state playoffs, the 2028 HOT 100 rankings and the Women’s College World Series among other softball-related items.

Also, some states have wrapped up for 2025 (like Florida), while others are in playoffs (California) and some have just recently started (Iowa), but we’ll continue to do the National High School Player of the Week as long as there are players to honor!

If you’d like to have a player considered, scroll down to see how to send in a nomination.

This week’s honors feature players who have shined over the last TWO WEEKs.

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (June 3, 2025)

Games are for Sunday, May 25, 2025, through Saturday, May 31 2025…

*** Coral Williams, the outstanding sophomore pitcher for Norco (Calif.) High, was all but untouchable this season and ended it as she’s done all year…

In dominating fashion.

The SoCal standout led Norco, ranked No. 6 nationally in the latest 2025 Line Drive Softball SUPER 70 High School Rankings, to a CIF (California) Division 1 Southern Section championship against a strong El Modena team that was ranked No. 32 going into the title match-up.

Coral pitched a complete 7-inning game and gave up just one hit and a walk against the 24 batters she faced while getting nine strikeouts and 10 outs on the ground.

What was working so well, Line Drive asked the talented underclassman today.

“During the game, I was focused on throwing with confidence, not thinking too much, and trusting my spin,” Coral explained.

“My drop ball, rise ball, and change up were very effective. I told myself to embrace the moment and just have fun. My defense was amazing behind me and fueled my confidence because I knew they had my back.”

“I had faith in my team that we were going to put runs up, and that belief gave me the confidence to go right at the batters and to not back down.”

At a fastpitch program rich in high school success, the 2027 grad joined the short list of two previous legendary Norco pitchers—Sarah Willis and the late Taylor Dockins—as the only Cougars to win in the championship game as sophomores and joined Willis as the program’s only pitchers to toss a shutout in a final.

The sense of history isn’t lost on the young athlete.

“I never would’ve thought that I would be considered one of the top pitchers of Norco High softball,” she says humbly.

“It is an honor to be a part of that group, and it is still a bit unbelievable.”

For the 2025 season, Coral’s stats were equally as impressive as she went 17-0 with a 0.68 ERA and in 107.2 innings pitched struck out 140 opposing hitters while giving up 16 walks.

The team finished 29-3 and the future is bright with a lot of talent… and what an amazing year it was for the hurler and she’s only halfway done competing in her Norco uniform.

Modest when asked what helped everything come together this year, Coral explains that it came through working to perfect her craft, but also through the support of those around her.

“I couldn’t have gotten to where I am now without all the hard work and time I have spent on growing as a pitcher,” she began.

“I also get nothing but support from my parents and family, and they remind me to find the joy in the work, even when it is hard. This helps me to push myself and never give up, because I know the hard work is worth it.”

Part of that work, she continues, included balancing her academic efforts with those on the softball fields.

“This year, I had to learn how to manage my time with a heavier academic workload,” Coral says.

“It was hard sometimes to be motivated to do homework or bullpens after a long day of school and practice, but by getting the support from my family and teammates, I pushed myself to be the best I could and to be one percent better every day so I could help my team achieve our goal of being CIF champions.”

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

*** Rylee Schmid, a junior middle infielder from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., anchors the infield and brings energy to every game.

She also plays second base for the nationally competitive Starz Gold National Bunn 16U team and used her speed, instincts, and relentless hustle to finish her 2025 season by earning All-District honors (shortstop) and Offensive Player of the Year.

Rylee also broke her school’s single season and career home run records as she hit nine dingers this year—Top 10 in Virginia overall—while batting .426 with 25 RBIs and 27 runs scored.

She also finished the year with a 3.9 GPA and was a state qualifier on her school’s varsity swim and dive team. Rylee also made Westfield’s National Honor Society and she was a member of the Christian Leadership Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

*** Gina Coppola, a 2028 outfielder for St. Joes (Trumbell, Conn.) High, came up big in a pair of tournament games heading into play for the Connecticut State Championship Bracket.

In the semis of the FCIAC Tournament, Gina helped her team advance in a 2-1 thriller over New Canaan High as she hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4^th to give the win to St. Joes.

In the championship game on Thursday, May 29, pitching was outstanding and the title match went 14 innings. In the bottom of the 14^th, with two outs and two runners on, Gina hit an 0-2 pitch for a three-run walk-off home run to give the trophy to St. Joe’s.

This summer, she’ll be traveling the country playing club ball for the CT Stars 16U team coached by Krystal Kafka.

Gina has a 4.0 GPA and is taking honors courses as a sophomore; in her junior year, she will be taking AP courses and a UConn course as well.

*** Kendall Shockley, a junior pitcher and middle infielder at JR Tucker High in Henrico, Va., played in two games last week and hit .667 with a .778 on-base percentage and an OPS of 1.444. She also went 5-for-5 in steals.

On the mound, Kendall pitched 10 innings and didn’t give up a run while striking out 11 and also recording a perfect fielding percentage.

Impressively, the junior is on track to graduate in 2026 with her Associate’s Degree. She founded the Women in Business Club at her high school and is a member of both the Mathematics and English Honor Societies there.

Back on the softball fields, she was recently recognized as her team’s MVP.

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (May 27, 2025)

Games are for Sunday, May 18, 2025, through Saturday, May 24, 2025…

*** What a remarkable turnaround it’s been for outstanding junior outfielder Kaylee Goodpaster of North Bay Haven Career Academy in Panama City, Fla.

After missing her entire year as a freshman due to injury, Kaylee had a week of a lifetime in late May as she helped her team go to the State Tournament for the first time in school history—the Final 4—and she came up huge in the two final games.

In the semi-final of the Florida 2A State Tournament, she went 2-for-3 with a triple to drive in what ended up being the winning run. In the State Championship game, Kaylee went 3-for-3 with two home runs, an intentional walk and three RBIs though her team fell short, losing 6-4.

In the tournament overall, the Florida State commit went 6-for-7 for a .857 batting average, a 3.024 OPS and a 2.167 slugging percentage.

For the 2025 season, Kaylee batted .600 with a .670 on-base percentage and was the Florida regular season RBI leader of all classes (she had 61) along with 12 home runs (Top 10 in the state), 18 walks and only five strikeouts in 106 plate appearances.

The junior was named as the FACA 2A District 2 player of the Year and surpassed the 200 RBI mark through her first 121 games.

“I was extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given this year in school ball,” Kaylee begins.

“I couldn’t have performed the way I did without my team and my amazing coaches to help me succeed. I’m so proud of everyone and am so excited to see all the amazing things we do as a team next year!

This summer, Kaylee can be found playing club ball with the Birmingham Thunderbolts 18U Premier team.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

*** Erin McDaid has become a regular in our National High School Player of the Week series as she was named the National POW on May 13 (see list below) and this makes twice she’s been a National Runner-Up.

She had a huge week to cap off May as she went a stretch of 46 innings-plus of not allowing an earned run for Smithson (N.Y.) West High and in the month went 8-0 with 54 innings pitched, a 0.13 ERA and 91 strikeouts or about 1.7 per inning.

Making her season’s accomplishments even more impressive, Erin’s team had six starters from last year’s team graduate but have really came on strong at the end of the 2025 campaign.

*** Tinley Goodson, ranked No. 7 in the recently released 2028 HOT 100 Rankings, has gotten hot as of late.

The freshman infielder at Poquoson (Va.) High helped her team jump out to a 17-2 record and ended the month with a final week that saw her go 9-for-12 (.750 batting average) as she had five doubles, three singles, a triple to result in a 2.019 OPS and a 1.250 slugging percentage.

Additionally, Tinley had seven RBIs, scored seven runs and went 3-for-3 in steals.

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2025 Line Drive Softball National High School Player of the Week

• May 13: Erin McDaid (Smithtown, N.Y.)
• May 6: Arianna Lugo (Round Rock, Texas)
• 29: Gabi Novickas(Chicago, Ill.)
• 22: Camryn Fisher(Ellington, Conn.)
• 15: Madi Doty (Grandview, Texas)
• 8: Ava Phillips (Fullerton, Calif.)
• 1: Mia Hemenway (Tallahassee, Fla.)
• 25: Norah Jacques (McLean, Va.)
• 18: Gracyn Needle (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
• 11: Anna Hinde (Charlotte, N.C.)
• 4: Hannah Jo Sullivan (Brandon, Miss.)
• 25: Molly Davi(Hilo, Hawaii)
• 18: Lulu Adrian & Finlee Williams (Melissa, Texas)

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Nomination Process

Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Line Drive Softball is honoring a National High School Player of the Week.

Honorees are announced every Tuesday and the cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Monday at noon EST/9 am PST.

We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

• Player Name
• Grad Year (example: Class of 2025 or Senior)
• Position(s)
• High school team name with city/state
• Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
• Up-to-date season stats if possible
• Recruiting information (if applicable)
• Any interesting background on the player
• Action and/or head shots
• If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes

Email info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Mondays at noon EST/9 am PST to: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com