It’s serious now.

No more pool play as the 2024 Top Gun Invitational in Shawnee, Kansas, as the event entered Bracket “One & Done” formatting as of Saturday afternoon.

In all reality, after five guaranteed pool games and one (at least) bracket contest, the march is now on to Sunday’s championship play but lose one game and you’re out.

The Top Gun event—annually one of the top club tourneys of the summer–features teams from Florida to Hawaii and everywhere in between, but was hampered Saturday morning by a brief rain and thunderstorm leading to some pool games being reduced from 90 to 75 minutes.

By the time Bracket play kicked off in the early afternoon, however, all the games were back on track.

Note that – as of Saturday night heading into Sunday morning – two-thirds or about 200 of the more than 300 teams who started the event on Thursday will be done.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Saturday’s action… our “quick hitters” obtained from bouncing around field to field….

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How is it decided who will play whom once Bracket play starts? Results from each individual pool.

For example, in the 16U Maverick age division, Pool G finished up as follows:

The first order of how teams will be slotted in Bracket competition is based on team record; the second determinant is “Run Differential” (RD) in the listing above.

Thus, in Pool G, the Oklahoma A’s and Indiana Magic Gold – Moore teams finished with the same 4-1 records but the A’s had the better “RD” and got the #1 seed while the Indy Magic were ranked #2.

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Slotted #2 out of Pool G, the Indiana Magic – Moore/Carmichael team has drawn a lot of college coach interest over the last couple days… like 74 different college coaches attending and 127 team brochures given out.

Head Coach Drew Moore noted:

“We only brought 100 brochures and had to go to Kinkos to get more printed!”

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Why, entering Saturday night play, did the Indiana Magic continue to impress? Coach Moore said:

“We play fast on offense and have played fast and aggressively. Our three pitchers have pitched well and our small ball game and base running have been on point.”

Notables from the Magic this week have included:

— Pitcher Sophie Klawitter (2026) who shined Friday with a 6-inning performance giving up just two hits with no earned runs in a 4-0 win over Georgia Impact – Caymol.

— Outfielder Harper Moore (2027) has been explosive all week, including going 4-got-6 on Friday including a walk-off triple.

— Third baseman Kennedy Christopher (2026) has batted over .500 this week with several extra-base hits. Her defense has been impressive, including shutting down the opponents’ small ball game and she’s a fiery player who brings good energy to the field.

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Several college coaches inquired as to where MIF Tessa Heffelbower, a 2026 MIF for the Indy Magic was today.

She had a good excuse for not being at Top Gun: Tessa was with her Hudsonville (Mich.) High team as the Eagles beat Lake Orion High 5-0 in the Michigan Div. I state championships today.

Tessa went 2-for-3 and helped Hudsonville High finish its amazing season with a perfect 42-0 record.

STATE CHAMPIONS! Here are my end of season stats.
Team record: 42-0
BA- .460
OBP- .520
52 RBIS
59 runs score
2 strike outs in 150 plate appearances
WHAT A GREAT SOPHOMORE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/L7HR026QUE

— Tessa Heffelbower (@T_Heffelbower08) June 16, 2024

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 One Power 5 assistant coach told me that dozens of major programs were checking out 2028 pitcher Annie Shelton of Hotshots 14U – Nelson and she’s skyrocketing up college coaches’ lists, especially to be invited to top college camps.

Line Drive had Annie ranked tied for 8^th in the Top 10 of the 2028 Line Drive Hot 100 published on May 31, 2024… here’s what the pitcher’s bio said:

T-8—Annie Shelton, P/CIF, Hotshots National ’09 – Nelson
Annie, though just finishing middle school, is already recognized as one of the top pitchers in the talented, deep Hotshots organization. She has shined brightly against older 16U competition at the highest level of showcase ball and has already impressed scouts and high-level coaches with her exceptional control, velocity, and movement on her pitches, making her incredibly difficult for batters to hit as she pitches in-game at 65-to-66 mph. Complementing the heat is a diverse arsenal of pitches including a powering fastball and riseball, an effective curve and screw ball, and a great change up at 53-to-54 mph to keep hitters guessing and off-balance. Last year, Annie produced a 1.96 ERA, a 1.80 WHIP and limited opposing hitters to just a .155 batting average while fielding her position well with a .935 fielding percentage. The hurler has attended prospect camps at Power 5 programs including Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Florida, Virginia, and Ohio State.  

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The big buzz on Saturday at the Top Gun Invitational among college coaches was that Stanford star pitcher Nija Canady was entering the Transfer Portal.

The news was confirmed by several sources as the day went on… including this report by WIBW out of Topeka, Kansas.

The article stated:

The Topeka native was named USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year this past season. She was also named the National Freshman of the Year in 2023.

Canady and the Cardinal made it to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series in both 2023 and 2024.

In 2024, she boasted a 0.65 ERA, and totaled 310 strikeouts on the season, both stats leading the nation. She only allowed 31 runs and 99 hits in 204.2 innings of work.

At Topeka High, Canady was a back-to-back 6A State Champion with the Trojans, and was selected as the 2021 and 2022 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.

She will have two years of eligibility remaining.

On top of this news, Canady was named the Honda Sport Award Winner for Softball. 

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Bracket play starts Sunday at 9 am and one team to watch at 18U Maverick will be the Virginia Glory led by Coach Suzy Willemssen which went 4-0-1 in bracket play:

The pups finished 4-0-1 to win their @TopGunEvents Maverick pool. Hot bats were @CDenhup33_2026 @LaurenPayne2025 and @LoMcanaw ‘26 had a 💣and 3 RBIs. Bracket starts tomorrow at 9am Mid America #5. Let’s go relentless competitors!! ❤️‍🔥💪❤️‍🔥@VGWillemssen @VAGloryFP @kevinbednoski… pic.twitter.com/ae5eefPqnz

— Suzy Willemssen (@SuzyWillemssen) June 15, 2024

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In one of the anomalies of the scheduling on Saturday, two Tampa Mustangs teams faced off as Kyle Fowler’s squad faced the Joe Bell/Quincy Watkins team.

In a shootout, the Bell/Watkins team claimed program bragging rights with a 9-7 win at the 16U Maverick level.

A bit of bright news for the Mustangs – Fowler team: pitcher Lucy Mondok, a 6-foot right-handed 2026 pitcher, was clocked by one college coach at 62 mph on the radar gun.

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Significant weekend for Div. II programs and it has nothing to do with Father’s Day.

The coaches at the D2 level can start contacting 2026’s as of today; D1 coaches have to wait until Sept. 1, 2024, to do so.

Many D2 coaches were busy making contact with prospects they think can play at their level while having to judge if the players will likely play D1 and thus walking a tightrope when it comes to recruiting judiciously.

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The Impact – Caymol team out of Georgia was the No. 3 seed out of Pool G at 16U Maverick and has several talented prospects to watch on the team:

— Breana Hopkins is a fast-rising righty pitcher who is uncommitted but has “phenomenal interest” according to one coach who added: “Breana has definite DI ability.”

— 2025 SS/C Mary Grace Nellis has played “lights out defense” this week.

— Kendall Rumans, a 2026 utility player, has been on fire this week, batting over .800 through games today with four home runs.

— finally, a player to watch on the Impact is 2026 outfielder Olivia Bennett, who is the younger sister of Univ. of Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, who has won two National Championships with the Bulldogs and is now with the L.A. Rams.

Olivia is in her second year of playing club ball at an elite level but is really having a breakthrough season showing off her athleticism and power. Expect her to be heavily recruited in the next year.

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I had a chance to see the talented Birmingham Thunderbolts – Thompsons 2026/2027 team last week at the PGF Show Me the Money tournament and the team led by Head Coach Ryan Thompson and Assistant Coach Jenny Buzzell-Parker continues to impress.

LSU Head Coach Beth Torina was at the game Saturday night where the Bolts beat Team San Diego 10-3.

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Another player who impressed: 2026 OF/SS Keaunna (Kee) Green from Ft Myers, Fla. walked and stole home in the first inning to put Rock Gold on the board.

She looked quick on an infield fly ball out across third base line and has a nice burst with obvious athleticism.

 — Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

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Saturday, June 15, 2024, Top Gun Invitational Scores

12U

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14U

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16U Maverick

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16U Viper

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18U Maverick

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18U Viper