This is Brentt Eads of Line Drive Softball…

I’ve been privileged to have covered some great softball players in my media career, including the player that made our No. 1 Softball Story of 2024, NiJaree Canady of Texas Tech, just announced yesterday (Jan. 1, 2025).

One of the greats I’ve been privileged to cover was Amanda Lorenz, the former Florida All-American outfielder, who last August won the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Championship Season individual title…

Click HERE to read more about her AU title-winning season

“It’s an honor,” Lorenz told ESPNU after clinching the title.

“It’s a tribute to all the amazing athletes that I got to play with this whole season. Without them helping me win ballgames, I wouldn’t be here, so I’m just really thankful to play alongside some really, really talented people.”

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Now, let’s jump back to when Lorenz was in her high school and club days.

Exactly 10 years ago–in January of 2014 at a Surf City Showcase tournament – I told Amanda that she’d be the #1 player in the Class of 2015 in the Student Sports Hot 100 rankings, which was the predecessor of today’s Line Drive HOT 100.

Amanda also blogged for me when she was in high school and below you can read what she wrote back then about being named the No. 1 player in the Class of 2015.

That 2015 class was loaded with talent and the Top 10 included:

• 1 – Amanda Lorenz,
• 2 – Kelly Barnhill,
• 3 – Sydney Romero
• 4 – Shay Knighten
• 5 – Taylor McQuillin
• 6 – Taryn Alvelo
• 8 – Alyssa Palomino
• 9 – Kenzi Maguire
• 10 – Rachel Garcia.

Here’s the video of Amanda I shot from January 2014 when she was first told she’d be the #1 player in the Class of 2015:

… and here’s Amanda’s thoughts on what being recognized as the top player in her class meant to her:

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Amanda Lorenz Blog

Written on Jan. 13, 2014

First of all, I just wanted to say how honored I am to have been recognized as number one.

The girls in my class are unbelievably talented and I am just thankful to be in the same category as them. It’s a great feeling to know my hard work is paying off, but I will never stop working hard!

Although getting awards and recognition is amazing, all it does is add pressure for me to increase my performance so I can live up to the honors!

Amanda playing for Moorpark (California) High in 2014.

I am a perfectionist and I am never satisfied unless I had a perfect game. Everyone has room for improvement no matter what.

I feel that athletes are either born with self-motivation or not. Thankfully, I am very self-motivated. I always to want to get better. Being ranked number one only makes other girls work harder to pass me.

I am so honored to have been ranked number one, but nothing will change about my game. I am still going to want to get better every day, still going to get mad about certain at-bats and still going to keep my goals as high as possible.

I believe that all things can happen through hard work and that is exactly what I plan on doing for the rest of my life.

I won’t be satisfied until I have fulfilled all of my dreams and I have a very long way to go.

— Amanda Lorenz/OC Batbusters