High school softball has returned for the Spring of 2026 and starting today we kick off our annual series honoring outstanding performances each week with a National Player of the Week and others who are named as a Runner-Up Player of the Week.

Each Tuesday for the next several months 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.

Also, last Friday in our intro article to this year’s H.S. Player of the Week series launch we announced that we’d start this year on Tuesday, Feb. 24^th… however, there were two outstanding season kickoff weeks by a pitcher and hitter that were so good, we decided to begin this week!

Games are for Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, through Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026…

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (February 17, 2026)

Lorelei “Lolo” Gamble, C/1B, 2027 – Dripping Springs (Texas) High

It will be interesting to see if Lolo gets more home runs or walks this year in high school ball.

That’s because the dangerous junior slugger showed that out of the gate in Week 1 she might do less damage if you just walk her every at-bat!

The No. 3-ranked player in the 2027 HOT 100 had a tremendous start to the 2026 high school season smacking six home runs in just 10 official plate appearances.

Her stats for the week were staggering as she had a batting average of .800, an on-base percentage of .850, a slugging percentage of 2.900.

Also impressive: all of her eight hits were for extra bases—a double, triple and the aforementioned six dingers.

Lolo, a Texas Longhorns commit who is a 5-foot-11 catcher with a bazooka for a throwing arm, also drove in 15 runs and was walked eight times—five of them intentionally.

She also didn’t allow one steal to opposing offenses.

So what was working so well at the plate, we asked Lolo?

“I felt that I was seeing the ball very well and could barrel any balls near the zone,” she told Line Drive. “My swing and timing felt really nice this weekend, and I think the confidence that came with that allowed me to play my best.”

The elite 2027 grad said she consciously had a game plan at the plate in how she approached each at-bat.

“I worked on staying back and driving through the ball,” she added. “I feel that this helped to make good contact and have good power throughout my at-bats.”

The Texan said her individual goals in 2026 include hitting 30 home runs while batting over .500. She and her teammates also want to improve on the strong season Dripping Springs High had last spring.

“For the team, our goal is to make it one more round in the playoffs and compete for a state championship.”

Earlier this month, Lolo was named to the U18 Women’s National Team… you can read about who all made the team by clicking HERE.

We also had a chance to see and interview Lolo in November at the Clearwater Fall Classic where she was one of the most impressive players we saw at the event.

Here’s an interview Line Drive’s Brentt Eads did with her on Nov. 15, 2025:

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Player of the Week

Alexandra Akins, P, 2028 – Hyde Park (Austin, Texas) High

Another standout from the Lonestar State last week was Alex, who went 2-0 and pitched 12 innings (only because both games were shortened to six innings due to darkness).

She plays for powerhouse Hyde Park High School and is the defending State Champion for TAPPS Div II in Texas. Alex was the winning pitcher in the 2025 State Championship game as a freshman.

In one of those games, however, the pitcher from Austin struck out 13 and gave up just one walk in a dominating performance.

All told, the sophomore faced 54 batters and threw 238 pitches while giving up just 10 hits and four earned runs. Alexandra also gave up only six walks.

To show how tough she was on opposing batters, Alex had 26 strikeouts in the 12 innings or an average of 2.2 K’s per inning! She also compiled a .213 batting average against, a 2.33 ERA and a WHIP of 1.33.

Alex also helped her cause by going 2-for-6 at the plate with a triple and double and scoring two runs.

For the young season, the underclassman is 3-0 and threw a no-hitter with nine strikeouts in the season opener. Her ERA so far in 2026 is 1.87, her WHIP is 1.333 and her BAA is .175.

Alex is registered with the NCAA and looking forward to September when DI offers can start being sent to her.

Additionally, Alex was a USA Softball HPP National Selection Event Invitee last year and played in Vero Beach, Florida in the selection event.

Though just a sophomore, the pitcher was named by Austin Sports Journal to the 2026 preseason All Area Team for the Austin-San Antonio Metroplex.

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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 noon EST/9 am PST to: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com