Checking in with UB's seven incoming softball recruits

I felt like checking in on UB's incoming softball recruits in their senior years. The names are all below, but you can review both Softball and other fall signees in this post from November.

Lace Smith

UB is getting a good one in Smith, who's one of the very best in Florida. That's no exaggeration; last season Lace was one of eight finalists for Florida's Miss Softball Award after being named Class 8A (Florida's largest classification) Player of the Year and leading Bloomingdale to a state title. She was also named Tampa Tribune Player of the Year.

This year, neither Bloomingdale nor Smith is quite as dominant and has a new coach, but are still alive in their district tournament. They play in the semifinals this afternoon. On the season Smith is 16-5 with a 1.54 ERA.

Allison Power

Power is another pitcher who racked up state Player of the Year recognition as a junior, when she earned the honor from Gatorade and her Ponderosa High team finished third in the state tournament.

I *think* - don't quote me - that in Colorado softball is a fall sport, so in her senior year this past fall Ponderosa fell in the state quarterfinals to eventual state runner-up Frederick, though Power was also named First Team All-Colorado in Class 4A -- the state's second-largest classification.

I'm not sure that Power's club team, the Colorado Styxx, has started play yet this year, but last summer they finished in 3rd place at Premier Girls Fastpitch 18U National Tournament.

Shaila Warren

As a junior, Warren's Mulberry Panthers reached the Florida 4A Final Four for the first time ever, thanks in large part to Warren hitting .550 on the season. In her senior year, I can find very, very little on how things are going this season for the Panthers.

Shaila also competes for the Tampa Mustangs on a club level, a team that last year won the Amateur Softball Association/USA National Championship. I do not know how many different club softball organizations there are, but national championships are fun.

Catrell Robertson

I can't find evidence online that Catrell continued playing with Edison High School after her sophomore year, but she also plays with the OC Elite on the club circuit, but they don't update their website very often, so I don't know much. She's a catcher.

Courtney Gilbert

From what I can gather, scholastic sports are pretty much a nonstarter in Canada, but Gilbert plays club ball with the Brantford Bobcats, and is one of four players on her team set to play NCAA ball. Unfortunately, here we've got another website with not much information and there's not many news articles for me to fall back on.

Taylor Light

The last two recruits from the fall signing period are from New York, and Taylor in particular is about to take a big step up. Brockport ace Julia DiMartino is gone for the season, and Light will step into the #1 pitcher's spot. Brockport advanced to the state final four last year and are two-time Section V champions with DiMartino, but I can't find any indication of how they're doing this season. It might be that they've just barely started. Not sure.

Brieanna Baker

Baker was First Team All-State in Class C as a junior, and no matter how far we are into the NYS softball season, she's coming off a strong day from the circle in a 1-0 win yesterday.

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By my count, UB is only graduating five seniors this spring, so with seven recruits incoming, I wouldn't expect many more from the spring signing period - last year Coach Peel added four more - but it's hard to tell in sports with partial scholarships.