Wednesday is a huge day in the athletic careers of talented 2026 grads who will compete at the collegiate level.

It is the first day of the Early Signing Period which will allow select seniors to sign their Letters of Intent making it “official” where they will next play the sport they love so much.

We at Line Drive Softball are excited for all of you who are getting to see your softball dreams come true and would LOVE to hear and see how you do it!

Will it be at school with your fellow athletic classmates? At home in a private get-together with family and friends? Or somewhere else special to you?

Share with us the circumstances of this very happy occasion – forward a photo and/or video clip with your name, high school, club team and position and write up the details around how and where you did it so we can celebrate with you.

E-mail Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com the details of your Signing Experience and we’ll try to share your big moment with the rest of the softball world!

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One of those talented athletes who is signing on the dotted line tomorrow is Laini Michaelis, a 2026 catcher and first baseman who plays in the Nebraska Gold organization.

Here’s how she will be doing it.

“Laini’s signing day will be on Wednesday morning before school with about 14 other athletes from her class,” her mother, Maria Michaelis told us on Monday.

“It will be in the Performing Arts Center of her high school, Skutt Catholic High in Omaha, Neb., and the athletes will each get a table to use to sign their letter accompanied by their parents and coaches.”

Laini will be signing with the University of South Dakota after she committed last December 26, 2024.

Why the Coyotes” program, we asked her?

“I really loved the culture at South Dakota,” the talented backstop, who was named as a 1^st Team Line Drive Softball High School All-American Catcher, said.

“The coaches really showed they cared and texted me good luck in things etc. The team seems really close-knit and friendly which I loved.”

Laini’s senior season saw her hit .651 with only two strikeouts and she had a silly good .739 on-base percentage. Her numbers as a junior where also tremendous as she hit .580 with a .680 on-base percentage and 1.580 OPS and didn’t make a single error.

She even helped her school’s basketball squad win a Nebraska state title.

Over the summer, Laini competed for the Nebraska Gold 16U – Boyer team where she hit .433 with a .547 on-base percentage and of her 78 total hits, 18 were doubles and six home runs as she played in top national events such as Top Gun, Top Club, Easton Rawlings and PGF Nationals.

Highlighting the club season was her helping lead her team to a 3^rd place finish at PGF 16U Nationals in the Premier Division.

Tomorrow, the celebration begins and next year the college career begins.

Laini explains that she has a good idea what her role will be once she steps foot on campus and begins working under the guidance of Coyote Head Coach Robert Wagner.

“USD uses a two-catcher system,” she says, “so they said I would have the opportunity to compete for a starting spot my first year there. I really want to have the chance to play right away.”

That’s down the road, however.

Before then, Laini has to finish out her senior year and compete another summer in club ball—this time with the Nebraska Gold 18U – Singleton team.

And, in just a few hours, make it all begin by signing the paperwork that allows her softball dreams to come true.

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball