Wow, that didn’t take long…

Last night, we announced that the nomination process had opened for our initial player rankings class of the New Year, the 2030 Line Drive Hot 100, and by this morning we had received a wave of nominations.

One of the first play entry came from the pitching coach of Taylor Goodwin, the outstanding player whose picture we featured on the nomination article titled: Class of 2030… You’re On The Clock! Player Nominations For Line Drive HOT 100 Open Thru Jan. 15, 2025.

Taylor has been a participant at this week’s USA High Performance Program (HPP) workouts in Florida and, according to reports, has been quite impressive.

So happy I had this opportunity to play at the USA HPP National Selection Event. Great 2 days of evaluations and games! Loved my team & coaches and met some great players! 🇺🇸 #NSE24 @USASoftball @MLB @FranklinSports @oakley @PrimeHydrate @Hyperice @LumberjacksAT @DICKS pic.twitter.com/iov0VkrjY4

— Taylor Goodwin #24 (@TayGoodwin2030) December 15, 2024

The following details on Taylor were captured via the Player Rankings Nomination Form.

Note that nominations should come from coaches, trainers and other professionals that work with them, NOT from players or parents…

*****

First Name: TAYLOR
Last Name: GOODWIN
City/ST: Mission Viejo, CA
Grad Year: 2030
Position(s): Pitcher
Club Team: Batbusters Stith/Byrd
Club Head Coach: Jeff Byrd & Mike Stith
Nominated By: Alyssa Razo – pitching coach (PowerhouseMechanics)
Division age: 12U
GPA: 4.0

Top Stats (2024):

Fall 2024 – second year 12u Batbusters Stith/Byrd,

• 46-2 team record (playing 12u & 14u)
• 17 wins / 1 loss
• 71 IP – 128 Strikeouts
• .254 ERA
• .096 Batting avg. against

Summer 2024 – Tier 1 Alliance National Champions w/ first year 12u Batbusters Stith Byrd

• 81-17-2 team record
• 27 wins / 3 losses
• 221 IP – 268 Strikeouts
• 39 ERA
• .181 batting avg. against

Top Honors & Accomplishments:

• 2024 HPP USA Softball National Selection event participant
• 2024 Alliance Nationals 12u Tier 1 All Tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • pitched the last 5 games in a row during Alliance Nationals including the Championship
• 2024 Texas Best Invitational Champions
• 2024 Juniors Top Gun Champions
• 2024 PCFL Triple Crown Honor our Veterans – AGL top pitching performer
• September 2024 Alliance Player of the month
• 2024 TCS Monster Mash Champions
• 2024 TCS Turkey Bash Champions

Scouting Report:

“Taylor is a proven competitor and winner. Even just as a second year 12u player, herself and her team have traveled the country competing against the best of the best and coming out on top.”

“Taylor has a work ethic that you don’t see, especially for someone who is so young, the ceiling is extremely high. She has a true love for being on the mound in big pressure situations, she thrives on having the ball when the game is on the line.”

“Numbers wise, she’s already throwing in the 59-61 mph range, and her drop ball numbers are up there with the likes of college pitchers. Taylor is developing a rise ball to compliment her drop, but she throws a curve, drop, and change extremely effectively and for a very high swing and miss rate. She’s extremely fun to watch compete and has a fun and fiery energy on the mound.”

— Alyssa Razo, pitching coach at PowerhouseMechanics

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

Taylor’s mom Allyson played softball at Univ. of Arizona as an outfielder under Mike Candrea from 2002-2005 and was teammates with some of the best in the game including Jennie Finch, Lovie Jung, Alicia Hollowell, Caitlin Lowe and Taryn Mowat.