Top 20 high school softball catchers entering the 2023 season

High school softball is set to herald the dawn of spring as the winter sports season draws to a close.

Last week we featured 20 top pitchers and 20 top hitters expected to be among the best in the nation in high school softball in 2023.

Now it's time to take a position-by-position look at some of the country’s top high school softball players, starting with standouts behind the plate.

Note: Many high school softball players excel at multiple positions. Don't be alarmed to see a slick-fielding shortstop or second baseman listed here as a catcher, for example.

Brinli Bain, soph., Eagleville (Tennessee)

Bain switched between starting at catcher and second base as a freshman in helping Eagleville win its first state championship in any sport. One of the top-ranked sophomores in the country regardless of position, she's played varsity softball since eighth grade and has a career on-base percentage of .560.

Kylie Brockman, sr., Piper (Kansas)

Brockman is coming off a strong summer with her travel-ball team hitting 14 home runs and driving in 53. The Arkansas commit also is a two-time powerlifting state champion and former state runner-up in the javelin in track and field.

Jazzy Burns, sr., Murrieta Mesa (California)

Burns is a versatile athlete who can play multiple positions, but Ohio State likes her as a catcher when she heads to Columbus next year. Burns hit .438 with 13 home runs and 10 doubles as a junior, earning first-team All-Southern Section honors.

Macy Chamberlin, jr., Evergreen (Ohio)

Chamberlin has hit over .600 in both of her years playing high school softball, batting .690 as a freshman and .621 as a sophomore. She has 21 career home runs and has struck out just three times and has already committed to play college softball for Penn State.

Callie Cooper, jr., Pea Ridge (Arkansas)

Cooper started every game behind the plate as a freshman on the Lady Blackhawks’ state runner-up squad. The left-handed hitter is one of the top-rated catcher recruits in the 2024 class by Perfect Game but remains uncommitted.

Jadyn Glab, sr., Hempstead (Iowa)

Glab packs speed and power into her 5-foot-5 frame. She hit .543 with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases on 16 attempts last season and has signed to play college softball for Washington. Iowa doesn't start its softball season until May.

Corri Hicks, jr., Archbishop Mitty (California)

Hicks broke out as one of the top catchers in the state last season for Open Division runner-up Archbishop Mitty, and she consistently raised her game during the biggest stretches of the Monarchs' season. The Oklahoma commit hit .408 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Anna Hinde, soph., Charlotte Christian (North Carolina)

Hinde has put up big numbers as a freshman and an eighth-grader playing varsity softball. She hit .606 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs last season after hitting .589 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in her eighth-grade year. Hinde is on track to put up some ludicrous career numbers by the time she's done.

Cassie Johnson, jr., Ankeny (Iowa)

Johnson burst onto the varsity softball scene as an eighth-grader, hitting .455 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs. The power-hitting catcher has already committed to play college softball for Texas Tech. Iowa plays its softball season in the summer.

Emma Kavanagh, jr., Barrington (Illinois)

Kavanagh has been one of the best-hitting catchers in high school baseball over the past two seasons. The Arizona commit has amassed 110 hits, 110 runs, 32 home runs, 31 doubles and 92 RBIs in her freshman and sophomore year. 

Ariel Kowalewski, sr., Fort Bend Travis (Texas)

Kowalewski is also an outstanding pitcher, but she excels most at and behind the plate. The defensive dynamo hit .663 with a .728 on-base percentage last season, scoring 47 runs. She's signed to play college softball at Florida.

Addie Mettler, sr., Pitman (California)

Mettler has played varsity all three of her years, and she's hitting .591 in those 40 games. The left-handed-hitting slugger set the school record her sophomore year by batting .727. She'll be playing college softball next season for UCLA.

Kennedy Miller, sr., Georgetown (Texas)

Miller hit 12 home runs, scored 35 runs and drove in 40 last season in leading Georgetown to the Texas 5A championship game for the first time in program history. She hit .422 as a junior and .475 as a sophomore and will be playing college softball for Arkansas.

Sofia Mujica, jr., Granite Hills (California)

Power is Mujica's forte, as she's hit 32 home runs in her first two seasons of high school softball. She hit .512 as a freshman and .469 as a sophomore. She recently committed to UCLA over Stanford, Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma.

Trinity Nowicki, jr., Anthony Wayne (Ohio)

Also a first baseman, Nowicki followed up a freshman season in which she hit .489 with 12 home runs, eight doubles and 40 RBIs by helping to lead Anthony Wayne to a 29-1 record as a sophomore. She committed last month to play college softball for Kennesaw State.

Logan Pickelsimer, sr., Mustang (Oklahoma)

Pickelsmier hit .393 and posted a .993 fielding percentage as a junior, earning honors as All-District 6A-1 Defensive Player of the Year. She'll be staying close to home in college after signing with Oklahoma State.

Braiesey Rosa, sr., Waianae (Hawaii)

Rosa hit 11 home runs last year, but her skills behind the plate are what impress the Oregon Ducks' coaching staff most about Rosa, lauding her skills as a receiver and in throwing out baserunners. She played for Team Polynesia’s 18U All-Star team in 2021 and 2022.

Katie Stewart, sr., Lincoln-Way East (Illinois)

Stewart can play anywhere on the field, from catcher to infield to outfield, but her bat makes her a given in the lineup regardless of where she's playing defense. She hit .500 last season with 15 home runs and 41 RBIs while also stealing 10 bases.

Kiley Strott, sr., Lake Brantley (Florida)

Strott hit .432 with six home runs and 25 RBIs as a sophomore, then led Lake Brantley to the state championship game as a junior as a team captain. The high-level defender will be playing college softball for Central Florida next year.

Ella Wesolowski, sr., Williamsville East (New York)

The reigning NYS Player of the Year, Weselowski has been playing varsity softball since eighth grade. She has a cannon for an arm, a power bat and is one of the best defensive catchers in the country. She'll be playing college softball for Mississippi State next year.

Zoe Yaeger, sr., Providence School of Jacksonville (Florida)

Yaeger has been playing varsity softball since eighth grade, and the excellent defensive catcher has made only six errors in her high school career. The Virginia Tech signee has been ultra-consistent at the plate the past two seasons, hitting .412 and .413, respectively.