We continue our series honoring outstanding performances recognizing a National Player of the Week and others who are honored as a Runner-Up Player of the Week.

Each Tuesday through June 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.

Games are for Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, through Sunday, Mar. 1, 2026…

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Line Drive Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (March 3, 2026)

*** Hitting seven home runs and driving in 21 runs would be a great year for almost every high school player but imagine doing that much damage in just one week!

That’s what our Line Drive National High School Player of the Week did as Avery Howerton, a 2026 pitcher committed to Texas Tech, was on fire in the circle and at the plate.

With the stick, the senior at Whitesboro (Texas) High went 13-for-18—a .722 batting average and also had a .833 on-base percentage.

Avery homered in five of the seven games her team played last week and in two games smacked a pair of home runs. Amazingly, she had at least two RBIs in every game and against Farmersville High she went 2-for-2 (both home runs), walked twice, scored four runs and drove in seven.

Pitching-wise, the tall right-hander was equally dominating, going 4-0 with a 0.467 ERA, a 1.87 KPL and a 0.73 WHIP. She pitched four games—won them all—and had 28 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Ranked No. 27 in the 2026 HOT 100, Avery also pitched a no-hitter against Whitewright High.

Graciously, she first credited the Whitesboro High team overall for giving her the opportunity to have such a huge week.  

“My team as a whole had a great weekend at the plate,” Avery told Line Drive’s Brentt Eads earlier today.

“I’m hitting lead off this year which is new for me so I’m really trying to be more patient at the plate and hunt my pitch.”

“I’ve put in some extra work with Coach Keith (Allen with club team Texas Glory) and my dad as well. Pitching is always a work in progress!”

For more on Avery, check out our player spotlight featured in Line Drives The Final Pitch published on Feb. 23, 2026.

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Runner-Up Line Drive Softball National Players of the Week

*** Another Texan who shined last week was Abby Atkinson, the ’27 two-way player committed to Stanford who plays at Boyd High.

In the circle, Abby went 4-0 with two no-hitters and gave up just one earned run in 18 innings pitched to give her a microscopic 0.389 ERA.

She also has 43 K’s in those 18 innings or 2.4 strikeouts per inning. Her WHIP was 0.61.

Offensively, Abby batted .693 as she went 9-for-14, had a 1.143 slugging percentage and drove in 11 runs.

*** Outstanding pitcher and leadoff hitter Finley Williams, a 2027 grad committed to Texas, hit .467 against some of the best high school competition in the state.

Finley helped Boyd (Texas) High go 5-0 against these strong opposing teams with one being the defending Texas 6A state champions, two others were State semi-finalists last year and the other two were Region semi-finalists.

The future Sooner went 7-for-15 with eight RBIs and had a 0.556 on-base percentage, a 1.133 slugging percentage and a 1.889 OPS.

*** Tatum Kreutz, an uncommitted 2027 grad with Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Texas, went 12-for-15 for a sizzling .800 batting average.

She helped her team go 7-1 including a six-game sweep in one tournament.

Tatum also had 14 RBIs, scored nine runs and smacked three home runs. For the season now, she is hitting .643 with a 1.250 slugging percentage and has 19 total RBIs.

Tatum has been a student-athlete leader on and off the field at Ursuline Academy where she is a three-year varsity starter and maintains a 3.9 GPA in the classroom.

*** Anleigh Wood, 2028 catcher/utility player at Wicksburg (Dothan, Ala.) High was on fire last week as her team opened the season.

In six games and 15 at-bats, she batted .733 with a .778 on-base and a 1.733 slugging percentage thanks to four home runs—one them being a grand slam—along with three doubles.

Along with her 11 hits, Anleigh produced nine RBIs, walked three times and scored seven runs. She was also perfect in the field defensively.

Last year as a freshman, she helped Wicksburg win a state championship and was named as an Alabama 3A 1^st Team All-State honoree as she led the division with 18 home runs, a new school single season record.

*** Cayle “KK” Barbel, a 2027 right-handed pitcher at Trinity Catholic (Ocala, Fla.) High, is a Syracuse commit and opened her season in full stride.

Pitching 21 innings, KK had 45 strikeouts and only gave up one earned run as she helped TC shutout teams the school had never beaten.

Additionally, her ERA was just 0.33 and her WHIP was 0.714.

Another two-way threat, KK batted .500 with ta .727 on-base percentage and two home runs, a 1.500 slugging percentage and drove four RBIs.

Her strong start was no surprise as she pitched 125 innings last year and had 203 K’s while compiling a 1.225 ERA a .907 WHIP and a .157 batting average against while being a dangerous hitter, too, producing a .447 batting average, a .494 on-base percentage, hitting 10 homers and driving in 31 RBIs.

KK ended the season leading Trinity Christian to its inaugural appearance at states after pitching a 3-0 shutout against Montverde Academy in the regional championship game 

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Previous 2026 Line Drive Softball National High School Player of the Week

• Feb. 24: Krimson Calhoun—Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) High
• Feb 17:Lolo Gamble––Dripping Springs (Texas) High

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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 5 pm EST/2 pm PST to: Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com