Last Friday, March 27, 2026, Line Drive unveiled the Top 10 of the 2030 Class and at No. 1 was a true utility and do-it-all standout from La Mesa, Calif.—Lola Braun, who plays for the Athletics Mercado Tidd 2011 team.

Her stats last year playing elite competition were jaw-dropping and show why she’s the best all-around player in her class:

… a .544 batting average, nine home runs with 52 RBIs, 62 runs, 14 doubles, 20-for-20 in steals and 96 strikeouts in 81 innings with just 23 earned runs allowed all summer.

Here’s one of those strikeouts… notice the movement on the pitch that freezes the batter:

Surprisingly, the SoCal eighth grader wasn’t as well known and barely mentioned early in our research on the class, but once we heard Head Coach Brian Tidd rave about Lola and then started doing our own investigating… wow, her softball resume, talent and accomplishments blew us away.

And, not surprisingly, college coaches are very aware of her now too!

Today I had a chance to interview the shy but well-spoken 14-year-old to hear what she had to say about topics softball-related and otherwise…

Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media

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