We continue our series honoring outstanding performances recognizing a National Player of the Week and others who are honored as a Runner-Up Player of the Week.

Each Tuesday through June we’ll recognize and highlight top accomplishments nationwide.

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

Games are for Monday, Mar. 2, 2026, through Sunday, Mar. 8, 2026…

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (March 10, 2026)

*** Emma Pynes, the 2027 outfielder/pitcher at Cornerstone Charter Academy in Belle Isle, Fla., came about as close to perfection as you can come offensively last week as the Tennessee Vols commit went 9-for-10 at the plate with four singles, four doubles and a grand slam.

The junior also scored nine runs—meaning every time she got on base thanks to a strong offensive lineup being her—and knocked in five runs.

Those sizzling stats occurred in three wins: over Osceola 13-3, Boone 14-1 and Astronaut 2-1.

For the season, the future SEC player is hitting .600 with a .655 on-base percentage with two runs, eight RBIs and 14 runs scored.

It’s not like this year is an anomaly either—Emma batted .443 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs in 29 games played as a sophomore in 2025.

Ducks Head Coach Dan Lobozzo said this about his talented underclassman:

“Emma doesn’t just work hard for herself, she raised the standard for the entire team to follow,” he stated.

“She has a rare combination of talent and work ethic that makes her a pleasure to coach. We realize the season is just starting, but the growth she has made from last year to this year and the adjustments she makes daily is a reflection of how hard she works and wants to succeed.”

“Emma plays with a next pitch mentality, whether she’s pitching, playing outfield or hitting.  There is never a moment that is too big for her.”

The Ducks are currently 8-0 and Emma says her great start could have been even better.

“I started off a little slow this season,” she begins, “but I think my timing was off, and I just needed to make a small adjustment. I really focused on being more intentional with the time I have.”

Coach Leo (Rojas, one of Emma’s hitting instructors who owns Ballplex) and Coach Nikki (Rombough, another hitting instructor who lives in Texas so Emma does virtual lessons with her) really help me break down my game film and work on the mental side of the sport. Sometimes I have to hit before practice, and sometimes I have to work after practice.”

Emma says the team is getting better and better and all on the team are loving it.

“It was really a great week for our team,” the athlete continues. “We are having fun and everyone is giving it their all. I think we can go really far this year.” 

When not playing prep ball, Emma competes for Tampa Mustangs – Rene and is a star in the club world as well.

She was ranked in the Top 10 of the 2027 Line Drive HOT 100 Player Rankings published in September 2025 and her bio read as follows:

T-9—Emma Pynes, OF/P, Tampa Mustangs 09 Pynes
Emma has explosive power, speed and an competitive edge. She was ranked Top 10 nationally on the Alliance Fall home run leaderboard and, on the other side, makes game-changing defensive plays. Head Coach Beth Pynes, Emma’s mother, adds: “Emma is a very consistent player that performs at a high level. For the summer of 2025, Emma batted .397 with a .479 on-base percentage and a .744 slugging percentage as she had five home runs and 24 RBIs. The current junior also plays varsity volleyball for Cornerstone Charter Academy in Orlando, Fla. Emma had some strong summer performances too including batting .389 with a .429 on-base percentage at Colorado Sparkler and hit .438 at the T25 Summer event with a .500 on-base percentage.

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

*** Jillian Gonzales, a 2029 catcher at Steele (Cibolo, Texas) High played in two district games and batted .833 with a pair of home runs and drove in four RBIs.

She walked three times to give her a .889 on-base percentage and other jaw-dropping stats including a 2.72 OPS and a 1.833 slugging percentage.

For the season, Jillian is hitting .508 with 30 hits including 18 singles, five doubles, a triple and seven homes which has resulted in 27 RBIs. Her 15 walks adds up to a .597 on-base percentage, a 1.547 OPS and a .949 slugging percentage.

Jillian, who goes by the nickname “Jilly,” plays her club ball on Bombers Academy Gild 14U – Malpass, the team that won the Alliance National Championships in 2025.

Interestingly, Jilly is a twin and her twin plays soccer at Steele High.

*** Ella Tweed is a 2030 grad, meaning she’s just an eighth grader but the right-handed pitcher is already playing at the high school level, with Lucy Garrett Beckham (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) High, a 5A Region 7 school.

The young player helped her team to a pair of run rule wins as she pitched nine innings with a 0.00 ERA, a .156 batting average against and 12 Ks. With the stick, she herself batted .429 with a .500 on-base percentage with a double, triple and two RBIs.

For the season, Ella has pitched 13 innings with a 0.54 ERA, a .184 BAA and 16 K’s. Offensively, the East Coast standout is hitting .444 with a .500 on-base percentage and a 1278 OPS.

Impressively, she has been a starting varsity pitcher last year as a seventh grader. Ella has been a USA All-American and plays travel ball with Team NC – McDowell.

*** Kaylin LeBlanc, a 2028 middle infielder/outfielder for Ooltewah (Tenn.) High, had a weekend to remember as she helped her team go 3-1 in a local tournament as she batted .750 on six hits in eight at-bats.

She has a strong all-around series as she scored seven runs and stole four bats while driving in three teammates for her Class 4A school.

At second base, Kaylin has 10 assists with no errors.

For the young season, she has accumulated a .575 batting mark.

*** Lillyanne Smith, a freshman outfielder at Millbrook High in Raleigh N.C., did something that probably less than .00000000001% will ever do in softball: she hit two grand slams in the same game!

Here’s her X post where she has clips of each blast:

The starting centerfielder and team’s leadoff batter, Lillyanne played in three games last week and went 4-for-11 (.364 batting average) with the two grand slams and a pair of doubles.

Her marks included a 1.091 slugging percentage, a 1.552 OPS and she had eight RBIs and scored run runs.

In the field, Lillyanne had six putouts and an assist for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

*** Speaking of young players making a huge impact, Malloree Harr was ranked last year as one of the Top 5 prospects in the 2030 HOT 100 player rankings and the eighth grade pitcher from Tennessee should be once again very highly listed with the updated 2030 rankings starting next week (click HERE for the details… yes, yes, our admittedly shameless plug).

Malloree attends Boyd Buchanan School in Chattanooga where last week—in her first week of high school varsity play, mind you—she competed in seven games and these were her eyebrow-raising stats as an 8^th grader:

Pitching:

• 7 games pitched
• One no-hitter
• 18 innings, 72 batters faced, 26 strikeouts
• Just four earned runs for a 1.55 ERA
• A .778 WHIP

Hitting:

• 30 plate appearance with .615 batting average and a .667 on-base percentage
• 13 RBIs
• Three home runs including a game-winning grand slam against the 2025 Tennessee state champs.
• A 1.192 slugging percentage.

And, oh by the way, have we mentioned that she’s an eighth grader competing against some players up to five years older than her?!?

Not surprisingly, Malloree is getting interest already from Power 4 programs such as Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, UCLA, Nebraska, Oregon, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Standford and Southern Miss among others…

The young player is already well established nationally as she helped the Team USA U-15 squad win the Gold medal in Mexico last year.

Finally, great softball runs in the family as Malloree’s mother, Allison DeVries Harr, played for Ralph and Karen Weekly when they were at Tennessee – Chattanooga (1997–2001) and she is in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Click HERE to read a great recap of “Mom’s” record-setting time at UTC.

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Previous 2026 Line Drive Softball National High School Player of the Week

• Mar. 3: Avery Howerton—Whitesboro (Texas) High 
• Feb. 24: Krimson Calhoun—Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) High
• Feb. 17: Lolo Gamble—Dripping Springs (Texas) High

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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.

The posts are published 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 2026 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 (where possible)
• Recruiting Information (if applicable)
• Any interesting Background Info on the player
• Photos: action and/or head shots (as available)
• If possible, Contact Info (player, parent, coach… if we’d like more info or quotes)

Email info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Monday at 5 pm EST/2 pm PST to: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com