Vote now: Who was the best catcher in Texas high school softball in 2023?

The Texas high school softball season is in the books, and SBLive is taking a closer look at the top players across the Lone Star State at each position in spring 2023.

We started by taking a look at the top right-handed and left-handed pitchers in the state. Then we shifted attention to the top outfielders, and then turned to behind the plate. 

Meet the Top 25 catchers in Texas high school softball in 2023

Now, we want to hear from you: Who was the top catcher in Texas? Read the 25 finalists below and cast your vote in the poll, which remains open through Sunday, July 2 at 11:59 Central time.

Texas high school softball: Meet the top 25 catchers in 2023

Raigan Brannon, sr., Mansfield Lake Ridge

Brannon is headed down to Beaumont to play softball next season at Lamar University. She finished her final season with the Eagles by batting .430 with four home runs and 35 RBIs as Lake Ridge won its first 34 ballgames. Brannon was also named the District 11-6A Catcher of the Year and was Academic All-District.

Jaisy “Piper” Caceres, sr., Weslaco East

Caceres was one of the state’s top defensive catchers, sporting a fielding percentage of .990 and making only one error all season. She also hit .667 in her team’s first two games, both wins, including hitting a home run in a 6-5 win against Lopez on Feb. 21. Caceres will be playing next season at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Gabriella Castillo, so., Fulshear

As a sophomore, Castillo was named the Offensive MVP in District 20-5A. She hit a team-high .580, an on-base average of .638 and a slugging percentage of 1.060, also leading the Chargers. Castillo also held the team lead in fielding percentage at .959. In four of her first five games this season, Castillo had two hits and at least one RBI, and the Chargers won those four games. She also homered, had three hits and drove in six runs in a March win against Fort Bend Kempner.

MacKenzie Clark, so., Karnes City

Clark is one of the rising young backstops in the state. She is coming off a sophomore year in which she was named the District 27-3A Defensive MVP and was named first team All-District catcher. She batted .662 with 11 doubles, 10 triples, four homers, 48 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. In addition, Clark threw out 75 percent of the baserunners attempting to steal off of her.

Jada Cooper, jr., Houston Westside

Cooper received first-team All-District 18-6A catching honors and was named her team’s MVP. As a junior, she led the Wolves in batting average (.667), on-base percentage (.750), home runs (5), stolen bases (13), runs scored (29), RBIs (31) and slugging percentage (1.404). Cooper went 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, seven RBIs and three runs scored in her first game her junior year. Over her first three games, she went 6-for-6 with 10 RBIs, all Westside wins.

Hallie Day, jr., Princeton

Day is expected to be arguably the state’s top catcher going into the 2024 season. She was the Panthers’ leader this past season in batting average (.554), on-base percentage (.593), hits (46), home runs (11), RBIs (55) and slugging percentage (1.228). A Sam Houston State commit, Day went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs in her first game her junior year, a 17-7 win against Emerson. She also had back-to-back three-hit games later in the season in wins against Frisco and Bonham.

Nataly Dominguez, sr., El Paso Austin

Dominguez was her team’s top hitter, batting .543. She also led her team in slugging percentage (.871) and also RBIs with a robust 60. Ten of those RBIs came in a wild 35-26 win against Irvin on March 21, a game in which Dominguez registered four hits. It was also one of four games where she drove in five runs or more. Dominguez also had four doubles and five triples, both team highs.

Halle Duplichain, sr., Alto

Duplichain was named the Catcher of the Year for her district, 21-2A. She led the Yellowjackets in several offensive categories, including average (.691), on-base percentage (.714), home runs (8), hits (56), RBIs (62), slugging percentage (1.234) and doubles (16). In her senior season, she had 20 three-hit games and three four-hit games. In those three four-hit games, she drove in a combined 23 runs.

Dakota Farmer, sr., Leander Glenn

Farmer was recently selected to the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s Class 5A All-State and the TGCA Academic All-State teams. The latter shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Farmer will be receiving an Ivy League education next season at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will also join the Quakers’ softball team. Farmer was also named the District 25-5A Catcher of the Year, leading the Grizzlies in average (.525), on-base percentage (.589), home runs (13), RBIs (56) and slugging percentage (1.121). She also sported a sparkling .992 fielding percentage, also a team high.

Paige Gallegos, sr., Iowa Park

Gallegos was selected as the District 7-3A Catcher of the Year for a Lady Hawks’ squad which finished 31-7 overall and a perfect 12-0 in district action. Softball isn’t her only sport, as Gallegos also placed fifth in her respective weight class at the state powerlifting meet in March. But Gallegos - a Texas Girls Coaches Association Academic All-State selection in softball - will be continuing her softball career by staying close to home, as she has signed to play at Midwestern State University in nearby Wichita Falls.

Liliana Garcia, sr., Troy

Garcia earned the Most Valuable Player award for District 19-3A as a senior for the Trojanettes. She hit .502 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs. In addition, Garcia was selected to the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s 1A-4A Legacy All-Star team, one of 20 players chosen in those combined four classifications. She will be heading to play at Temple College for next season.

Julissa Hernandez, jr., Galena Park

In her junior year, Hernandez was the Yellowjackets’ leader in average (.640), hits (32) and doubles (14), while turning in a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. She went 4-for-4 in her second game, a win against Fort Bend Christian Academy, and Hernandez also helped Galena Park finish a perfect 14-0 in District 19-5A.

Sara Houston, jr., Hallsville

Houston bats and throws right-handed, and will go into the 2024 season as one of the top catchers to watch in the state. She is also looking at her options for college, receiving interest from several Division I schools. Houston is also determined to help Hallsville improve on this season’s 12-2 district record, although the Ladycats still finished third. As a freshman, Houston batted .471 in helping Hallsville reach the 5A state tournament.

Ariel Kowalewski, sr., Fort Bend Travis

Kowalewski will be heading to play next season for Southeastern Conference school Florida. She ended her career at Travis by being named the District 20-6A MVP for the third consecutive season. As a senior, Kowalewski led the Tigers in several offensive categories, including average (.697), on-base percentage (.740), home runs (10), hits (46), runs scored (39), RBIs (35), slugging percentage (1.363) and even triples (4).

Makayla Madrid, sr., Cibolo Steele

Madrid made an impact her senior season, becoming the first Steele player in program history to be named an All-District MVP, doing so for 27-6A. She batted .545 in district play and .515 for the entire season while setting single-season and career records in home runs, having hit 12 her senior year. Madrid recently announced she has committed to play at Texas Tech.

Kennedy Miller, sr., Georgetown

Miller was an integral part of a Lady Eagle squad which finished 38-6 overall and a perfect 14-0 in 23-5A. Though they lost in the regional finals to eventual 5A champion Montgomery Lake Creek, the Lady Eagles forced a deciding third game after breaking Lake Creek’s 83-game win streak. Miller, who batted .403 her junior year, will be heading north to play next season at the University of Arkansas.

Piper Morton, jr., New London West Rusk

Morton was named the co-Most Valuable Player in District 16-3A for the second consecutive season. And for the second straight season, she shared it with her battery mate, pitcher Lilly Waddell. Morton finished her junior season batting .563 with seven home runs, 26 RBIs and 43 runs scored. She also stole 22 bases. Defensively, Morton didn’t commit a single error.

Natalie Pacheco, sr., Lytle

Pacheco signed to play at the next level with the University of the Incarnate Word. She led the Pirates in batting (.532), on-base percentage (.670), hits (33), home runs (12), RBIs (35) and slugging percentage (1.274). Pacheco also had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In March, she even took first place at the state powerlifting meet in her respective weight class.

Kalee Rochinski, sr., Montgomery Lake Creek

Rochinski ended her junior and senior seasons as a Class 5A state champion, the latter for a Lake Creek squad that ended up being named by SBLive as the No. 1 ranked softball team in the nation. She was named to the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s All-State team and was the Defensive MVP of District 21-5A with a .998 fielding percentage while throwing out 63 percent of runners attempting to steal. On offense, she drove in 35 runs and had an on-base average of .500. Rochinski will move on to play at the next level, going to Texas-San Antonio.

Shaylee Rodmaker, so., San Antonio IDEA South Flores

Rodmaker led her team in virtually almost every offensive category this past season. That included batting average (.621), on-base percentage (.761), home runs (2), stolen bases (26), runs scored (28), RBIs (15), triples (4) and slugging percentage (1.241). She had six games where she had a perfect batting average, including a run of three straight games in May, all wins. Rodmaker also turned in a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

Gabby Sosa, sr., San Antonio MacArthur

Sosa was selected as the All-District 27-5A Offensive Player of the Year this past season while helping the Brahmas to the district championship. She was tops on the Brahmas in average (.560), on-base percentage (.659), homers (6), hits (51), doubles (18) and slugging percentage (1.043). She also led the team in fielding percentage at .984.

Hollie Thomas, jr., Liberty

Thomas was part of Liberty’s back-to-back 4A state championship teams her first two seasons. The Lady Panthers played for a third straight 4A title this past season, but lost to Corpus Christi Calallen. However, in the 4A semifinals, Thomas had three hits, including a home run, and drove in five runs as Liberty defeated Decatur. A Louisiana-Monroe commit, Thomas batted .435 during the Lady Panthers’ latest run to the state tournament.

Laisha Valdez, sr., Fabens

Valdez is headed to play next season at the University of the Southwest after a high school career in which she was a four-year letter winner, a three-time All-District catcher and a team captain for two years. As a senior, she batted .678 with an on-base percentage of .736, four home runs, 29 RBIs and a 1.186 slugging percentage, all team highs. Valdez had seven three-hit games, including a 3-for-3 performance with seven RBIs and four runs scored in a late March win against Mountain View.

Kiara Wiedenhaupt, sr., The Woodlands

Wiedenhaupt led her team in RBIs with 50 and tied for the team lead in home runs with five, earning her first-team All-District 13-6A honors. She also recorded other solid offensive numbers, batting .473 with an on-base percentage of .524. Wiedenhaupt will play next season at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens.

Brooke Wooten, fr., Frisco Lone Star

As a freshman, Wooten received the District 9-5A Catcher of the Year. In just her second game, she went 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple and four RBIs. She finished her freshman season with six homers and 34 RBIs while batting .381 with an on-base percentage of .484.

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>>2023 Texas (UIL) state softball championship: What happened in 4A, 5A, 6A titles