Best high school athletes of 2022-23: Meet the national softball players of the year

SBLive Sports will soon turn to previewing the 2023 fall season, but before that we're taking a look back at some of the best high school athletes of 2022-23.

Over the past month we've been highlighting some of the players of the year in volleyball, football, boys basketball, girls basketball, boys wrestling, girls wrestling, boys soccer, girls soccer and baseball.

Next up is softball, with track and field and lacrosse still to come.

Here are 20 high school softball players who had a 2022-23 season worthy of national recognition.

Ava Brown, sr., Lake Creek (Texas)

Brown finished her senior season 27-0 as a pitcher, posting a 0.53 ERA with 292 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. The Florida signee logged 10 or more strikeouts in 17 consecutive games and led Lake Creek to back-to-back state championships. The Lions have won 85 of their last 86 games with Brown leading the charge.

Payton Burnham, jr., Sheldon (Oregon)

Sheldon won the state championship this year despite being no-hit by Oregon City, and Burnham was the key. She struck out 17 in a 1-0 win to put an exclamation point on a dominant junior season that saw her strike out 386 batters in 192 innings and hold a 0.18 ERA. The Oregon State commit also hit .404.

Bella Faw, sr., North Gwinnett (Georgia)

Faw, a four-year starter at North Gwinnett who's been an outstanding infielder throughout her career, exploded at the plate as a senior. The Tennessee signee set the school record for hits in a season with 58, batting .547 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs, 37 runs, 14 doubles and stealing 11 bases.

Karli Godwin, sr., East Columbus (North Carolina)

After hitting .733 with 18 home runs with 53 RBIs as a junior, she finished her high school career with a .731 senior season with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs. Despite all of that power, the Oklahoma State struck out just once all season while stealing 31 bases.

Brooke Gray, sr., Ballard (Kentucky)

Gray led Ballard to its second straight state title thanks to a second straight year of being virtually unhittable. She went 29-0 with 307 strikeouts and a state-best 0.81 ERA for the 36-1 Bruins. The Louisville signee earned Kentucky Miss Softball honors and her second straight state Gatorade Player of the Year award.

Jolie Hays, jr., Northwest Rankin (Mississippi)

Hays earned the 6A honor of Miss Softball awarded by the Mississippi High School Activities Association and Mississippi Association of Coaches. The Southern Miss commit finished the season with 213 strikeouts, hit .398 at the plate and led Northwest Rankin to a state championship.

Jayden Heavener, jr., Pace (Florida)

Heavener started her season with two perfect games and a no-hitter in three starts, and she kept that momentum going for a dominant junior season. The Florida commit had a 0.22 ERA with 300 strikeouts in 127 innings while hitting .459 with seven home runs at the plate.

Alyssa Houston, sr., Benton (Arkansas)

Houston did it all for the 5A state champions. In the circle she held opponents to a .067 batting average, striking out 254 hitters in 110.2 innings and holding a 0.50 ERA. At the plate she hit .687 with 13 home runs, 13 doubles, 52 RBIs and had an on-base percentage of .738.

Addison Jackson, sr., St. Amant (Louisiana)

Jackson finished second in the nation in home runs with 28, and she went 32-2 in the circle. The Boston College commit hit .521 with 75 RBIs while striking out 288 batters and holding an ERA of 0.93 in leading St. Amant to its second straight state championship.

Ryan Maddox, sr., Clovis North (California)

Standing just 5-foot-3, Maddox continued to blow batters away in the circle as a senior. She struck out 281 batters in 152 innings, finishing with an ERA of 0.64 and going 21-1. At the plate the Arizona commit hit .420 with 28 runs.

Sage Mardjetko, sr., Lemont (Illinois)

Mardjetko fired a no-hitter in the state championship game for the second straight season, striking out 24 in a 12-inning marathon against Antioch. The South Carolina signee didn’t allow an earned run in 143.1 innings pitched during her senior season, striking out 339 batters and going 23-0.

Karly Meredith, soph., Kaukauna (Wisconsin)

Meredith doesn't yet know what it's like to not be a state champion. Kaukauna won its third in a row and has won 81 consecutive games, and Meredith starred at the plate and in the circle for the Wisconsin dynasty. The super sophomore hit .542 but did her most devastating damage as a pitcher, going 22-0 with a 0.48 ERA, striking out 205 hitters in 117.1 innings.

Katelynn Oxley, jr., Bartow (Florida)

The future Florida Gator was clutch whenever she stepped into the circle for the Yellow Jackets and was especially huge in the Class 6A state semifinals and championship game. Oxley went 23-2 this season with a 0.50 ERA and fanned 307 batters in 154.1 innings pitched in leading Bartow to the Class 6A title. 

Randi Roelling, sr., Modesto Central Catholic (California)

A Cal commit and the 49ers Sac-Hi Sports South Pitcher of the Year, Roelling led the Raiders to a 27-5-1 record and the Sac-Joaquin Section D3 finals with her two-way play. She went 18-4 with a 0.72 ERA and led the state in strikeouts by a large margin, with 418 in 183.2 innings. Roelling also hit .320 with 26 RBIs, stole 14 bases and hit a team-high six home runs.

Keagan Rothrock, sr., Roncalli (Indiana)

Rothrock was Roncalli's rock in the state championship game. She struck out 17 and hit the tying home run in the seventh to make it 1-1, but Roncalli fell to Penn 2-1 in extra innings to just miss winning a third straight state championship. A Florida signee, Rothrock hit .490 with nine home runs and was lights-out in the circle as usual. She went 25-2 with a 0.50 ERA, striking out 334 batters in 167 innings.

Julia Shearer, sr., North Penn (Pennsylvania)

Shearer finished her senior season 28-0 with just five earned runs allowed for an ERA of 0.21. The Maryland signee struck out 355 hitters and walked just 14 in 166 innings pitched on the season. Her shutout in the state championship game was the 23rd of the season for the two-time Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year.

Yanina Sherwood, jr., Jackson (Washington)

Sherwood evolved into the type of all-state workhorse pitcher who carries programs to championships. After No. 2 pitcher Allie Thomsen came down with an offseason injury, the Timberwolves were left with no real backup. Sherwood volunteered to pitch every inning, striking out 255 batters in 164 innings. She finished the spring with a 24-1 record and 0.55 ERA while hitting .381 with five home runs in the middle of the Timberwolves' lineup.

Desirae Spearman, sr., El Paso Hanks (Texas)

Spearman was the unofficial queen of the home run in high school softball this spring and the only 30-30 player in the nation. The New Mexico State signee hit a nation-best 30 home runs, stole 42 bases, scored 101 runs, drove in 69, hit .688 and went 25-2 in the circle with 271 strikeouts.

Kaitlyn Terry, sr., Greenway (Arizona)

Terry struck out 406 batters in 169.1 innings while allowing just 35 hits and 13 walks. The two-time Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year also hit .706 with an .844 on-base percentage, belting 23 home runs, scoring 76 runs and driving in 68. The UCLA signee also drew 55 walks and stole 28 bases.

Sydnie Watts, soph., Austintown Fitch (Ohio)

After pitching a no-hitter in the semifinals, Watts led Austintown Fitch to its first state championship to punctuate her storybook sophomore season. She finished with a 21-0 record and a 0.38 ERA, recording 281 strikeouts in 129 innings while also mashing at the plate. She hit .492 with six home runs and seven doubles.