Tomorrow is the start of October… can you believe it?!?

Weren’t we just in June a week or two ago, excited for school just getting out and getting to hit the road for top club softball tournaments nationwide?

Where does the time go so fast?

Of course, the ending of September also is significant as we wrap up the frenetic month that saw, by our count, close to 450 Class of 2028 standouts finalize their college plans.

The last few days have been no exception—since Sunday, we’ve seen 18 (yes, EIGHTEEN!) players ranked in the Line Drive Media 2028 HOT 100 commit, including four in the Top 10 and nine in the Top 20!

The highest ranked verbal was No. 3-ranked catcher Brooklyn Evans, who plays for Armor Elite – O’Neal and is SEC-bound to suit up for the Florida Gators.

We did an article on her commit which you can read by clicking HERE.

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Another outstanding “Evans” (we don’t think they’re related!) is No. 11-ranked pitcher Ali Evans with the NW Bullets – Muir team who just announced she’ll attend Stanford University.

Here’s her bio we published earlier this month:

T-11—Ali Evans, P/OF, NW Bullets 18U – Campos
Ali comes from great stick-and-ball heritage as her mother, Ashley (Richards) Evans, played softball at the University of Oregon and her father, Joel Evans, pitched at Texas Tech and Oregon State University.  Ali’s picked up her parent’s skills as the lefty pitcher and outfielder had a miniscule 0.33 ERA and a whopping 279 strikeouts in 127.2 innings or an average of 2.2 K’s per inning in the regular season as part of her winning 21 games. Her offensive stats were equally hard-to-believe: a .772 batting average in 79 at-bats, nine home runs, 64 RBIs and 18 steals. All this as a sophomore when she helped the Bombers finish 3^rd at the Washington 4A State Championships. Ali was named the 4A/3A Mid-Columbia Conference Player of the Year as well as a 2026 Washington 1^st Team All-State pitcher.

We’ll have more on her soon as well.

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Another Top 10 player who pulled the trigger recently is Krimson Calhoun, the outstanding infielder who plays for Tennessee Mojo – Pardue and has committed to Baylor.

Here’s what Krimson told Line Drive Media’s Brentt Eads about why she’s Bear country-bound:

“I came into my recruiting process really anxious about how it would go because of the new 5-for-5 rule and how the transfer portal has affected recruiting in the past few years,” Krimson began.

“On September 1, I got calls from schools that I am very grateful for, and I appreciate them for having faith in my ability, but I was still unsure about what my path would look like, especially after being overlooked by many schools for my size instead of being seen for my ability.”

“When Baylor contacted me, I was ecstatic because I had seen them play and watched all the big wins they’ve had. I could tell they were a growing program that I could see myself being part of. I visited Baylor on September 26, and I fell in love with it the second I got there. Baylor has such a great culture and a family atmosphere that makes you feel accepted and included immediately.”

Krimson says her decision was made easier when she saw how complementary and supportive the Big 12 school is to her spiritual beliefs.

“All the coaches and players at Baylor were so different, yet they all had the same goal and passion to be the best they could be while staying grounded in their faith. The Christian aspect of Baylor was also something I wondered about when I got the call, but as soon as I stepped on campus, everything I had hoped for was there.”

“I knew immediately that I was home.”

Above all, Krimson says, she feels that the Baylor coaches appreciate her hard work and the bright future she has ahead of her at the college level.

“I am so grateful to be accepted for who I am and to be seen as more than just a player or stats on a piece of paper,” she continues.

“I will forever feel blessed to have been shown this path to Baylor and to have coaches who believe in me. They see the hard work and countless hours I have poured into this sport, and they know I can be something great despite the limits some other programs placed on me.”

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Sofia Kateeb, a 2028 right-handed pitcher and utility player at Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) High and a member of the Chicago Prospects Premier team was ranked at No. 28 in our HOT 100 and she gets to stay close to home… like, very close to home.

She and her family will be less than a half hour drive from home to college as she has committed to DePaul University in the Big East Conference.

Here’s what the junior says about her college choice:

“I loved DePaul because I felt like it was a place where I could grow both academically and athletically,” Sofia began.

“When I visited campus, it was nothing like what I expected. The Lincoln Park area (about three miles north of downtown Chicago) is so different from other college campuses, and even though I always thought I wanted to go far away for college, DePaul felt like the perfect way to stay close to home while still having the college experience I’ve always wanted.”

“During my visit, Head Coach Liz Bouck-Jagielski, Coach (Erica) Hanrahan, Coach (Sabrina) Kuchta, and the players made me feel so comfortable and welcomed. I could genuinely tell that they cared about me as a person, not just as an athlete.” 

“What made DePaul even more special was how much my goals aligned with what Coach Liz is building with the program.”

“As a competitor, I also want to compete at the highest level and be part of this vision with DePaul and get back to the NCAA Women’s College World Series.”

“I also want to continue pushing myself on the field, become a stronger student, and prepare for life after college, and I could tell that the coaches want those same things for me. I want to be part of a program that will challenge me, hold me accountable, and help me reach my full potential while still supporting me as an individual.”

“I’m confident DePaul is the place where I can become the best version of myself, both as a softball player and as a person, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me!”

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2027’s Continue to Roll In Too

Not that they all committed in the last three or four days, but we have added more than 100 new verbal commits since Sunday and quite a few of those are 2027’s who are also finalizing their college plans.

Here’s one example, McKenna Cassidy, a talented senior corner infielder who plays with the Tampa Mustangs – Gleason/Novickis team and will head north to play for Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) conference:

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media

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Totals Overall & Over the Last 3 Days

We’re almost four weeks into the launch of the live recruiting period for the current high school juniors  and are approaching 450 commits in the Class of 2028 already which are listed in our Master Commit Spreadsheet below!

And we’re also including 2027’s and others like JC transfers so we have 770 total commits this month alone!

Important NOTE about 2027’s: We are still getting a heavy number of 2027 commits coming in so if you’re one of those, feel free to send your info in to us to get added into our system.

If you know of a commit AT ANY LEVEL, email Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com to get the verbal added to our Master Commit Spreadsheet

NOTE: We publish the updated lists weekly–typically on Sundays & mid-week in the fall…

*** Click HERE to see our 2025/2026 database of nearly 4,000 commits!

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Here are some who have posted their happy news on social media: