Meet SBLive's 2022 All-Southern Section Softball Teams

It's time to release our final set of awards from the 2022 softball season – our three All-Southern Section Teams. Without further ado, here they are:

Player of the Year: P Micaela Kastor – Oaks Christian – SR.

As SBLive's California co-Player of the Year, Kastor is our Southern Section Player of the Year as well. In fact, she was so dominant this past season that we named her our Southern Section Athlete of the Year (which spans all sports) as well. 

Kastor, a Notre Dame commit, led the Lions to a CIF Southern Region Division I championship going 25-1 in 151.1 innings with a 0.51 ERA and 255 strikeouts, and hitting .522 with 11 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a 1.621 OPS. She was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year.

FIRST TEAM:

P Sydney Somerndike – Villa Park – SR.

After winning Gatorade California Player of the Year in 2021, Somerndike was again one of the best players in the state as a senior. The Arizona commit went 14-1 with a 0.69 ERA and 179 K's in 2022 while serving as one of the Spartans' top bats as well. Despite dealing with an injury down the stretch and missing time, she was voted the CIFSS Division 1 Player of the Year. Somerndike made our First Team All-State.

P Cambria Salmon – Beaumont – SO.

In her sophomore season, Salmon went from being "merely" one of the top players/prospects in her class to one of the most dominant pitchers in the state. And she remained a very good hitter. The IE Varsity Player of the Year and Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year went 19-4 in 160.2 innings, racked up 309 strikeouts, and had a phenomenally low WHIP of 0.45. She also hit .338 with five homers and a team-high 19 RBIs.

P Kylee Magee – Canyon (Anaheim) – SR.

The Arizona State commit went 23-5 with a 0.82 ERA and amassed 338 K's in 169 innings. Magee, who we named Second Team All-State, also hit above .400 with some pop.

P Sofia Elliott – Mission Viejo – SO.

Recently selected to our Second All-State Team and named Player of the Year by OC Register, Elliott led the Diablos to a Division 2 title and the Regional Division I semifinals. She went 22-4 with a 1.84 ERA and batted .443 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs.

P Brianne Weiss – Orange Lutheran – SO.

Pitching against arguably the hardest schedule in the state, Weiss went 18-5 with a 0.83 ERA and fanned 200 batters in 152 innings. She was named First Team All-State by SBLive and the Trinity League co-Pitcher of the Year.

C Jazzy Burns – Murrieta Mesa – JR.

The Ohio State commit guided one of the state's top teams to the Division 1 quarterfinals hitting .438 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs. Burns also drew 22 walks for a 1.543 OPS and is one of the best defensive backstops out there.

INF Kiki Estrada – Orange Lutheran – SR.

The L.A. Times 2022 Player of the Year, Estrada batted .500 with nine home runs, 32 RBIs, and a 1.632 OPS while drawing an astounding 31 walks. She made our Second All-State Team and is committed to Arkansas.

INF Emily Jones – Westlake – SR.

The Stanford commit hit .593 with 54 hits, 34 RBIs, five long balls, and a 1.516 OPS. Jones also stole 17 bases and scored 47 runs, was an outstanding defensive player at SS, and made our Second All-State Team.

INF Mya Perez – Norco – JR.

If we had an Offensive Player of the Year award, the Arizona State commit would probably be the frontrunner, hitting .676 with 17 home runs on one of the state's top offenses. Perez also helped the Cougars as a pitcher but it makes our list, and also our First Team All-State, as an infielder.

INF Anahi "Nani" Arreola – Oaks Christian – JR.

Arreola batted .471 with 11 homers and 47 RBIs on the CIF Southern Region Division I champion. She was also a strong defensive presence at first base.

OF Kai Minor – Orange Lutheran – FR.

The top freshman in the Southern Section, Minor hit .532 with seven homers and an OPS above 1.500, and also stole 20 bases to score a total of 40 runs. She's also an elite defensive CF, and one of five Southern Section players to make our First Team All-State.

OF Regan Shockey – Chino Hills – JR.

The Arizona commit hit .547 with 28 RBIs, stole 21 bags, and scored 38 runs through the regular season. She also made our Second Team All-State.

OF Anika Ewert – Mater Dei – SR.

Ewert was a .556 hitter, dominant baserunner (44 steals, 42 runs scored), and staunch defensive contributor as well. She is committed to Bowdoin College and made our Second All-State Team.

SECOND TEAM:

P Kassandra Gewecke – Temple City – SO.

In leading the Rams to a Division 4 title, Gewecke also led the entire section in ERA (0.40). She went 18-2 with 201 strikeouts in 139.2 innings, gave up only eight earned runs all season, and allowed only 17 runs total. Perhaps the most impressive stat was that she allowed only one earned run all year through the CIFSS quarterfinals, and at that point had an ERA of just 0.07. Gewecke also batted .315 in 54 ABs. 

P Brooke Perez – Esperanza – SR.

Perez was a force for one of the section's stronger teams, and is committed to UC Riverside.

P Brynne Nally – Pacifica (Garden Grove) – SO.

Nally went 24-5 with a 1.34 ERA in a whopping 182.1 innings to lead the Mariners to the Division 1 quarterfinals.

P Brooklyn Carreon – Whittier Christian – SR.

Carreon was a two-way star once again for the Heralds in 2022. She was named the Whittier Herald Player of the Year and is committed to Utah.

P Sydney Saldana – Los Alamitos – SR.

The Utah State commit helped lead the Griffins to the D1 title game, and dominated through six innings when they got there. There's an argument to be made that no one was better in the circle during the sectional playoffs.

C Alexia Lopez – Roosevelt (Eastvale) – SR.

Lopez hit well above .400 with five home runs for the D1 champion and SoCal Division I finalist. She's also known for a terrific arm behind the plate and is committed to CSU Fullerton.

INF Kayla Lyon – Roosevelt (Eastvale) – SR.

The Cal Baptist commit was another star for the No. 3 team in the state.

INF Taylor Johnson – Los Alamitos – SR.

Johnson led the D1 finalists with a .433 batting average. She also registered five homers and 26 RBIs, and is committed to San Diego State.

INF Samantha Bland – Chino Hills – JR.

The Nebraska commit hit .443 with eight homers, 37 RBIs, and 31 runs scored.

INF Ella Parker – Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) – JR.

The Oklahoma commit put up a rare mix of numbers in the batter's box. She batted .651 and was able to hit 11 home runs despite getting walked 30 times. Parker also totaled 31 RBIs, 11 steals, 39 runs scored, and an amazing 2.181 OPS, all the while playing staunch defense and even shining in 34.1 innings in the circle.

INF Avery Weisbrook – South (Torrance) – SR.

Weisbrook, the Daily Breeze Player of the Year, hit .414 with six home runs, 22 RBIs, and 33 runs scored. The Florida State commit is also an outstanding defensive player.

OF Abby Dayton – Norco – SR.

Dayton batted .489 and is committed to Utah.

OF Alayah Toscano – Corona Centennial – SR.

Toscano was a key bat and top-notch defensive player for the Huskies, and is committed to Southern Utah.

OF Morgan Howey – Arcadia – SR.

The Oregon State commit hit .675 with five homers, 24 RBIs, and a massive 1.737 OPS. Howey also stole 10 bases en-route to scoring 45 runs, and plays some SS in addition to outfield.

UTIL Natalie Gleason – Capistrano Valley Christian – SR.

The Grand Canyon commit put together one of the most statistically great seasons as a hitter in Southern Section history to power the Eagles to a D7 title. Gleason batted .711 with 69 RBIs, led all of California in slugging percentage (1.753) and OPS (2.501), and led Southern California with an Orange County-record 20 home runs. She was even second in the state in runs scored (64).

UTIL Alyssa Ramirez – Saugus – SR.

Ramirez, who is committed to Fresno State, was one of the top home run hitters in the section for the Centurions. She also was a key contributor in the circle. 

UTIL Priscilla Llamas – Roosevelt (Eastvale) – SO.

Llamas' season was affected quite a bit by injuries, but she was able to help the Mustangs go on an amazing playoff run. She makes the team as a UTIL as a great pitcher, impact hitter, and top-notch defensive 1B when asked.

UTIL Ryann Orange – Torrance – SR.

Orange, a Rutgers commit, was a devastating hitter and strong pitcher for the D2 section finalist and Regional Division II finalist.

THIRD TEAM:

P Brooklyn Shroyer – Bonita – JR.

P Madison Finnerty – Moorpark – SO.

P Zoe Prystajko – Huntington Beach – SO.

P Giselle Bentley – Corona Centennial – SR.

P Ava Schaffel – Millikan – SO.

P Caylea Rains-Campbell – Murrieta Mesa – JR.

P Ainsley Berlingeri – Camarillo – JR.

P Shelbee Botello – Warren – JR.

P Aleyna Urbina – La Mirada – SR.

C Alexis Ramirez – La Serna – SR.

C Delaina Ma'ae – Pacifica (Garden Grove) – SO.

INF Emma Martinez – Yucaipa – SR.

INF Kaylynn Jones – Roosevelt (Eastvale) – SO.

INF Claire Timm – Kennedy (La Palma) – SR.

INF Rylee Pinedo – Camarillo – SR.

INF Ramsey Suarez – Great Oak – SR.

INF Jaeya Butler – Aquinas – SR.

OF Taylor Shumaker – Esperanza – SO.

OF Taelynn Holley – Murrieta Mesa – FR.

OF Leah Morales – South Hills – SR.

OF Jaden Colunga – Grand Terrace – SR.

UTIL Madison Zulager – Moorpark – SR.

UTIL Marley Cortez – Gahr – SO.

UTIL Bridget Nemeth – Glendora – JR.

UTIL Paige Cowley – Upland – SR.