This is Brentt Eads of Line Drive Softball.

We announced yesterday that the Class of 2026 is next in our player rankings series and that the 2026 Line Drive HOT 100 countdown will begin on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.

Click HERE to read the article.

The primary way we receive nominations is through our Nomination Form found on the website (go to the Line Drive Softball home page and, in the top right of the page, clink on “RANKINGS” and then the last link, “NOMINATION FORM”).

Please understand this is just ONE step in the evaluation process; others include talking to 50-plus club, high school and sometimes college coaches who are familiar with the athlete and her background.

Who can or should nominate players for each class?

The best sources are a player’s coach(es)—be they club or high school—a trainer or anyone with softball (or multiple sports) knowledge. Parents are also welcome to send in information to be added to the player’s file for consideration.

Not surprisingly, we’ve received a nice “first wave” of nominations for the 2026 class already and—as we’re constantly getting asked:

• “What makes for a good profile?”
• “What type of info should be included?”

… I thought it’d help to give an example of what one looks like.

The info posted below is from a well-respected club administrator and coach, Shannon Mortimer, who has done an excellent job over the years nominating and promoting her players.

This profile on talented infielder Mai Falcone contains a nice mix of stats, honors & accomplishments, a scouting report on what the incoming junior does well and some interesting info off the field.

Some info was withheld including the suggested player ranking, but overall this a strong example of how to nominate a player and what type of info to include…

Important! Don’t forget to add a headshot and an action pic or two to potentially accompany the honoree’s write-up!

*****

Player Nomination Example

First Name: Mai
Last Name: Falcone
City/ST: Pleasanton, CA
Grad Year: 2026
Position(s): Infielder
School: Amador Valley High School
Club Team: All American Sports Academy Bryson 16U
Club Head Coach: Shannon Mortimer
Your name & relationship to the player (such as head or assistant coach, personal coach, etc.): Shannon Mortimer: AASA President & Head Coach AASA 18U Gold
Division age: 16U
Suggested player ranking (i.e. 1-10, 21-30, 51-60, 101-150, 201-300, etc.): ***

Top player stats: .452 BA, .495 OBP, 1.405 OPS, 57% of hits are extra bases, 11 HRs

Top player honors & accomplishments:

• Mai is the starting shortstop and clean-up hitter for the 2024 CIF NorCal D-1 State Champion Amador Valley (Calif.) High School. She was awarded Defensive Player of the Year, EBAL All-League, All-Bay Area and California All-State 1st Team recognition as a sophomore.
• Hitting lead-off for AASA Bryson, Mai led her team offensively with a .452 batting average, a .495 OBP and 1.405 OPS.
• An impressive 57% of her hits were for extra bases including 11 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs and 53 combined RBIs/runs.
• Mai was named to the 2024 PGF All-American watchlist.

GPA: Mai has a 4.2 GPA. She wants to study engineering and Vietnamese bilingual.

Scouting report (what makes the player a Line Drive Softball Hot 100 candidate?):

Dynamic, consistent, productive and clutch are some of the words to describe Mai. She can do it all: hit for power, speed, make big plays, provide clutch offense and rock-solid defense.

Mai is an elite middle infielder with exceptional offensive skills. She is a top 2026 collegiate prospect with significant interest from major D-1 and D-2 programs.

She is a key member of the 2024 CA D-1 NorCal-title winning Amador Valley High team and delivered the clutch 8th inning home run with two outs. She has had many walk-offs.

Mai is highly ranked by Line Drive Softball, Extra Innings, Max Preps, West Coash Preps, Cal-Hi, PGF and Exact Sports and is highly regarded by PGF.

Anything unusual or different about the player off the field? (other sports, family connections, hobbies or talents, etc.):

Mai is fluent in Vietnamese and has received two years in a row North Coast Section Presidents List award for outstanding student athletes