Each Tuesday for the next several months Line Drive Softball is honoring top high school performances nationwide with a National Player of the Week and others who are named Runner-Up Players of the Week.

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

Games are for Sunday, Mar. 16, 2025, through Saturday, March 22, 2025…

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (March 25, 2025)

*** Norah Jacques, a talented sophomore lefty pitcher and first baseman at Langley High in McLean, Va., showed that sometimes it’s not just the stats and numbers, but who you do it against.

The 2027 grad pitched in two games, started and winning both and the second win was a seven-inning 17 strikeout performance against the defending Virginia Class 5 State Champions.

Both of the teams she beat have D1 commits including three on the team against whom she tossed the no-hitter.

For the week, Norah pitched 12 innings and had 31 strikeouts—about 2.6 K’s per inning—and didn’t give up an earned run while allowing only one hit and a walk. Her ERA was .000 with opposing hitters batting just .026.

In the no-hitter, the outstanding pitcher was clocked on Pocket Radar at 62-63 mph, reportedly hit 64 mph six times and 65 mph at least once. Against that heat, her change-up was effective ranging from 46-to-52 mph.

Norah also helped her own cause by batting l3-for-7 for a .429 batting average, a .500 on-base percentage, a 1.071 OPS and a slugging percentage of .571.

She was even mentioned in the Washington Post yesterday for her strong week of pitching.

Here are several video clips of Norah throwing effectively and in a dominating fashion:

Last year as a freshman, playing in Class 6 softball in Virginia (the state’s largest and top public school division), Norah established herself as one of the top pitchers in the state, averaging more than two strikeouts an inning (249 Ks on the season), having an ERA of 1.21, a WHIP of .822, and a batting average against of .123.

She also led her team at the plate, hitting .437 with a 1.28 OPS, .789 SLG, and six home runs. She led her team to a District Championship and the Regional playoffs and was honored as 1^st Team All-District, District Pitcher of the Year, and 1^st Team All-Region.

Norah was also named to the Washington Post All-Met 2^nd Team, which recognizes the best players in the Washington, DC metro area (Northern Virginia, Maryland, and DC). 

In travel ball, in the Fall of 2024, Norah competed as a 15-year-old on one of the top 18U travel teams in the nation, Virginia Glory National – Willemssen. Playing in many of the nation’s top tournaments, often against teams of ’25s and ’26s committed to D1 and Power 4 schools, Norah excelled in her first season of 18U play.

In tournaments like the TNJ Clearwater Invitational, the Scenic City Top 25 Invitational, and the Alliance Super Cup (Stage 1) Tournament, she was often dominant against top-tier travel clubs and players, and was named to the All-Tournament Team or named Pitcher of the Tournament in all three.

For the Fall season, Norah pitched 73.2 IP, had 132 Ks, a 1.62 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and .a 170 BAA, while hitting.356 with a .975 OPS, .600 slugging percentage, and smashed three home runs.

In January pf 2024 she dominated the USSSA Select 30 National Training Camp, and in December 2024 she played with and against the nation’s best ’25, ’26, and ’27 players in the USA Softball HPP National Selection Event.

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

 * A talented sophomore to watch on the East Coast is Kyla Hamby, a shortstop from Alexander Central High in Taylorsville, N.C.

Last week, she went 6-for-7 for an .857 batting average and reached base safely nine our her 10 at-bats. Of the six hits, one was a home run and two others were doubles. Kyla also scored five runs and stole three bases.

Last season as a freshman, Kyla was All-Conference, All Tournament, Tournament MVP, All District, All State, District 7 Player of year, and the 4A West Player of the Year.

She was also recently named to the 2025 PGF All American National watch list and, in the summers, she competes for the Mojo-Sherrill travel ball team.

*** Laila Bigham, a sophomore pitcher from Rustburg, Va., is the younger sister of Univ. of Virginia junior right-hander Eden Bigham and it looks like the younger sis has the skills to make it to the next level too.

Also a right-hander like her older sis, Laila did something all but unthinkable against Appomattox High, which over the last five years has a 68-6 record—she threw a 21-strikeout perfect game in a 1-0 win.

And to make it a total Bigham family conquest, Laila’s older sister, Nahla Bigham, hit a home run for the only score of the game.

It’s not Laila’s first perfect game—last year as a freshman she threw a run-rule five inning game where all the outs weren’t strikeouts, but still,

It’s been a great prep career for the young pitcher already and she still has more than half of her high school career to go.

In two appearance so far this year, Laila has thrown 14 innings with 33 strikeouts, no walks, a .087 batting average against and has allowed only four hits and two runs to cross the plate.

*** Maddie “Beamer” Beam-Jones is a freshman middle infielder and outfielder for Mentor (Ohio) High and in three games last week was unstoppable.

She batted .800 with a 1.000 average with runners in scoring position and hit a solo home run off a D1-committed pitcher and tripled twice. She had two walks and didn’t strike out at all over the week’s games.

Beamer’s other impressive marks included a .857 on-base percentage, a 2.200 slugging percentage, a 3.057 OPS.

One defense, she was error-free and, as the only freshman on her varsity team, she’s secured the leadoff spot in the batting order.

The 2028 grad was a 2025 USA HPP National Selection invitee and is known by the nickname of “Beamer” to most everyone in the softball community.

*** Staying in the Buckeye State, we go to Riverside High Painesville, Ohio, to look at the strong week turned in by freshman middle infielder Sammi Granchi.

In a trio of games, the 2028 grad batted .714 with a .778 on-base percentage, a 1.921 OPS and a 1.143 slugging percentage.

Sammi, who made no errors in six changes in the field, is leading her team in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS and slugging. The only freshman on her varsity team, she is also playing with her older sister, Clara, a 2026 grad who is headed to Oakland Univ. post high school.

*** Jordan Frye, the freshman shortstop from Lower Dauphin High in Hummelstown, Pa, was a very effective leadoff hitter for the week as she went 6-for-8 with a pair of extra base hits.

She also scored six runs and knocked in four runs while being perfect in the field for her team, which just started prep player last week.

Jordan’s plans are to major in architectural engineering and play D1 softball. Just starting out her high school athletic career, she is a three-sport varsity athlete also competing in field hockey and track & field.

*** Here’s a friendly and free tip to high school softball teams in Central California who may have to play the Hanford West Huskies in the CIF Central Section: do NOT pitch to Karmen Vazquez.

In three games last week, Karmen batted .667 with five home runs, 10 RBIs and a pair of walks.

*** Zoey Abdullah, the freshman centerfielder for Doral Academy High in Doral, Fla., was another standout who was on fire at the plate.

As a leadoff hitter in her team’s four games, she went 7-for-12 with a double, triple and scored eight runs.

In one of the best defensive plays seen all year, Zoey made a key defensive play in center field in the 1st inning of the match-up, backing up second on an overthrow and throwing out Montverde’s lead-off batter at 3^rd  base. 

On the season, the Sunshine State standout is hitting .600 with a .698 on-base percentage including 24 hits, 29 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

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** Regan Christopherson, one of the top pitchers in the freshman class, was fantastic last week and has been for the 2025 season, having only given up two runs while striking out 59 versus 16 walks.

Her ERA was 0.333 and her WHIP was .619 and last week, Regan had a .000 ERA and recorded 19 strikeouts.

In the Summer, Regan is a standout pitcher in the Bombers organization where she shares the circle with another top pitcher in the Class of 2029, Maci Barnes. In the TFL Fall Championship, Regan came in relief and closed the game giving up just one hit and no runs.

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** Senior infielder Layne Latimer from Henry County (Paris, Tenn.) High played seven games last week and went 11-for-20 (.550 batting average) with a .591 on-base percentage .

Layne hit two home runs including a grand slam against last year’s Tennessee State runner-up program.

With runners in scoring position, the 2025 grad batted an impressive .571 and, perhaps most impressively of all, she had a half dozen two-out RBIs.

Layne has helped her team finish in the Top 5 over the last two years in Tennessee’s largest classification in the state tournament (4A).

*** Ada Little, a senior pitcher for Scott County High out of Georgetown, Ky. had a hot week both pitching and hitting-wise.

The Georgia commit pitched 14 innings and had a 0.00 ERA and 35 strikeouts versus only four walks. Opposing hitters batted just .024 against herand her WHIP was .357

At the plate, Ada—who plays summer ball for Tennessee Mojo-Gregory, hit .545 in 11 at-bats and four of her hits were home runs. Her OPS was also outstanding with a 2.273.

Said one parent close to the Scott County High School softball program:

“Ada not only dominants in the circle and at the plate, but is a also huge role model for the upcoming classes including my own daughter.  She deserves the recognition without a doubt!”

*** Marlee Gaskell, a senior pitcher at Midlothian (Va.) High went 2-0 this week, helping her school team win by 1-0 and 3-0 scores.

The Florida State signee opened her season by pitching 14 innings and striking out 24 batters on the opposite side of the field.

In her two complete game victories, Marlee only gave up five hits and three walks.

*** Coral Williams, a sophomore pitcher for Norco (Calif.) High, faced 21 batters in seven innings on the mound and struck out 18 of them in a perfect game last Thursday against Corona (Calif.) Hi.

Of her 86 pitches, 60 were strikes and now for the season she has 68 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.

The uncommitted 2027 plays for the Athletics – Mercado/Smith 18U team in the summers and last year helped the A’s capture the Triple Crown Nationals and finish second at PGF Nationals.

*** Claire Schreiner, a senior catcher and utility player who is going to Eastern Kentucky, has been on a terror this month for Wakeland High in Frisco, Texas.

From March 7^th to March 19^th, she batted a jaw-dropping .867, going 13-for-15 with three walks for an on-base percentage of .889 with a slugging percentage of 2.533 and an OPS of 3.422.

She also had 18 RBIs and in her five games drove in runs to this stat-line: 4 RBIs, 2, 5, 3 and 4.

In three games she smacked a pair of home runs and hit solo shots in the other two contests. Her eight home runs now give her 11 on the season, which is a new school record.

*** Alivia Ramon, a Top 5 prospect in the Class of 2029, hit four more home runs last week and now has a total of 10 dingers in 13 games at the prep level.

A two-way talent from Sealy, Texas, she is a dominating pitcher and hitter and last year helped her club team capture the PGF 12U National Championship. The pitcher has consistently throws in the mid-to-high 60’s.

At Sealy Jr. High, she also plays shortstop and competes in volleyball and basketball as well.

Click HERE to read a feature story Line Drive did on her two weeks ago.

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2025 Line Drive Softball National High School Player of the Week

• Mar. 18: Gracyn Needle (West Palm Beach, Fla)
• Mar. 11: Anna Hinde (Charlotte, N.C.)
• Mar. 4: Hannah Jo Sullivan (Brandon, Miss.)
• Feb. 25: Molly Davi (Hilo, Hawaii)
• Feb. 18: Lulu Adrian & Finlee Williams (Melissa, Texas)

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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.

Honorees are announced 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 2025 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 if possible
• Recruiting information (if applicable)
• Any interesting background on the player
• Action and/or head shots
• If possible, contact info 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