Vote now: Who was the best Texas high school softball player in 2023?
Editor's note: Corpus Christi Calallen pitcher Jordyn Thibideaux was voted Texas high school softball player of the year by fans and readers. Scroll down to see the final tally and read up on the finalists.
Since the end of the Texas high school softball season, SBLive has taken an in-depth look at the top players in the Lone Star State by position group.
We started with right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers, then catchers, outfielders, corner infielders and finished with middle infielders.
We asked readers to weigh in on the best player at each position. Then we released our all-Texas softball teams and postseason awards..
Now we want to know who you consider the player of the year among a selection of standouts spanning all classifications and regions of Texas.
Who was the best player in Texas in the 2023 season, regardless of position? Voting stays open until Friday, July 14 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.
SBLive reader-voted player of the year candidates
Names are listed in alphabetical order
Maya Bland, Argyle, outfielder, sr.
Bland hit .500 with 10 home runs, nine doubles and three triples for the District 7-5A champions. She added 34 RBIs, 43 runs scored and 16 stolen bases. Bland will now head to three-time defending national champion Oklahoma.
Ava Brown, Montgomery Lake Creek, pitcher, sr.
In the end, she stood tall above the rest. The two-time Gatorade Texas Softball Player of the Year won Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year after leading the nation's No. 1 team to a back-to-back UIL Class 5A title. Florida signee was 27-0 in the circle on the season with a 0.53 ERA, 292 strikeouts and capped a staggering 81-0 high school pitching record. Her grand closing to an all-time high school softball career was a masterpiece: a 15-strikeout, one-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over Comal Canyon in the championship.
Mia Clemmer, Coahoma, catcher, fr.
Had one of the best statistical seasons in the country as a freshman. Her two home runs in a regional semifinal win over Bushland helped Coahoma reach the regional title and more.
Madalyn Davis, Montgomery Lake Creek, second base, fr.
Made an immediate impact as a freshman for the UIL Class 5A state champion Lions and nation's top ranked high school team. She was the clean-up hitter and hit .511 entering the state tournament, finished the season with a 1.194 on base percentage, 53 hits, 32 RBI and 30 stolen bases.
Tori Edwards, Flower Mound Marcus, first base, sr.
Edwards, who is heading to LSU next season, hit .464 for the season, including .455 over 12 postseason games while helping the Marauders reach the Class 6A regional finals.
Hailey Fannin, Franklin, outfielder, sr.
The Texas-Tyler signee and four-year starter led the Lions to a regional final as a junior and fell one round short of state as a senior from small-town South Texas. District offensive MVP hit .435 with 42 stolen bases.
Jensin Hall, Frisco Heritage, pitcher, sr.
Hall fanned away batters at a dominant clip as a senior. Her ten no-hitters is believed to be the second most recorded from anyone in the country this spring. The Dartmouth commit was 24-3 in 34 appearances with a 0.45 ERA and 379 strikeouts on the season across 172 2/3 innings. She had 10 or more strikeouts in a game 21 times and went for 18 or more in a night eight times, leading Frisco Heritage to a state appearance, where it lost to Ava Brown and Montgomery Lake Creek in the UIL 5A semifinals.
Hailey Golden, Pearland, outfielder, sr.
Missed the first couple months of the season with an injury, but returned with a force, hitting .509, .544 on base percentage, .698 slugging percentage and helped lead Pearland to a Class 6A state championship. Golden was named championship game MVP and was an all-tournament selection.
Logan Halleman, Flower Mound, utility, sr.
Texas Tech commit and District 6-6A MVP hit .605 with 24 RBI. Halleman was only thrown out once stealing and finished the season with 56 stolen bases and a .938 fielding rate.
Victoria Hunter, Houston St. Pius X, third base, sr.
Hunter is headed to Texas next season. As a senior, she hit .625 with an OPS of 1.864. Hunter, a four-year All-State honoree, added nine home runs and 37 RBIs.
Kaylynn Jones, Denton Guyer, second base, jr.
A move-in from California over the offseason, Jones made an immediate impact with her new team, helping Guyer reach the title game in Class 6A. Jones, who is committed to the University of Oregon, hit .540 and scored 65 runs while driving home 49 more.
Ariel Kowalewski, Fort Bend Travis, catcher, sr.
A University of Florida commit, Kowalewski put together sterling numbers as she batted .697 with an on-base average of .740. She homered 10 times, drove in 35 runs and scored 39 more.
Alannah Leach, The Woodlands, outfielder, sr.
Leach was named co-MVP of District 13-6A after a season in which she hit .538 with an on-base percentage of .614. The Tennessee signee also went 19-of-20 in stolen base attempts to go with 43 RBIs and 45 runs scored.
Danae Lopez, Amarillo, third base, jr.
The District 3-5A offensive player of the year his .563 with 80 RBI and 23 home runs on the year for the Sandies (34-5).
Maddie McKee, Montgomery Lake Creek, shortstop, sr.
Another standout on a star-studded Lake Creek squad that won it all again in Class 5A, McKee batted .536 with a 1.399 OPS. McKee, an LSU signee, also finished her career with 230 stolen bases, a UIL state record.
Sidne Peters, Santa Fe, pitcher, sr.
Peters is headed to the University of Washington next season. As a senior, she won 23 ballgames with a 1.12 ERA. She also struck out 356 batters in 194 ⅓ innings, recording 21 games where Peters had at least 10 strikeouts, including a season-high of 17.
Kasidi Pickering, Humble Atascocita, outfielder, sr.
Another Oklahoma signee, Pickering batted .610 with an on-base percentage of .639 and a slugging percentage of 1.220. Of her 61 hits, 32 went for extra bases, including 10 homers, and Pickering scored 53 runs while driving in 54 more.
Kalee Rochinski, Montgomery Lake Creek, sr.
The multi-year standout catcher had 40 hits and 35 RBI, batting .388 on the season for the nation's No. 1 team and two-time defending UIL Class 5A state champions. The Texas Girls Coaches Association’s All-State selection was also the District 21-5A Defensive MVP 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.
Amira Rodriguez, San Benito, utility, soph.
Rodriguez was an impact player at the plate and in the circle for a San Benito team which reached the 6A semifinals. She batted .504 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs, while striking out 118 batters in 117 innings pitched, along with an ERA of 1.01.
Desirae Spearman, El Paso Hanks, pitcher, sr.
She also was a shutdown pitcher for Hanks, posting a 1.37 ERA with 271 strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings on the season. New Mexico State signee hit a national-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.
Cameron Timmons, Sr., Southlake Carroll, utility, sr.
A standout bat, Timmons hit .512 with 19 RBI and was named District 4-6A MVP as Southlake Carroll made the regional semifinals. Harding commit.
Jordyn Thibodeaux, Corpus Christi Calallen, pitcher, fr.
The type of freshman resume that just doesn't happen: Thibodeaux went 16-1 with a 1.43 ERA and 196 strikeouts in her first high school season, which ended with a UIL Class 4A state championship and first team all-4A state tournament selection.
Tristian Thompson, Waco Midway, first base, sr.
The Indiana commit hit 13 home runs as a sophomore and 11 as a junior, and she raised her batting average over 50 points from her sophomore to junior year. She's the No. 85 prospect in the country, was an all-state pick as a junior and closed out her high school career with a strong senior season.
Isa Torres, Georgetown, shortstop, sr.
Austin-Statesman’s Central Texas Softball Player of the Year after posting a .577 clip and only struck out out twice in 156 at-bats. A two-time all-state pick, she’s headed to play for Florida State after previously being committed to Texas A&M. SBLive All-CenTex Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Carmen Uribe, Montgomery Lake Creek, outfield/second base, jr.
Slashed .516/.527/.622 with 82 hits, 39 RBI and 64 runs (with 52 stolen bases) on the season. Strong defensive presence in the outfield for the 5A champ Lions.
DeNae Vasquez-Dickson, Colleyville Heritage, outfielder, sr.
New Mexico signee and base-running mastermind stole 34 bases and scored 73 runs on top of her 62 hits, 35 RBI and seven home runs.
Adayah Wallace, Plano West, outfielder, sr.
Another Texas signee, Wallace batted .514 with 46 hits and 46 runs scored while stealing 28 bases. She was the co-MVP for District 6-6A in helping Plano West go from back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the district to reaching the third round of the playoffs this season.
Alexis “Lexie” Warncke, East Bernard, utility, sr.
Warncke batted .492 with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs for the outright District 24-3A champions. The Baylor commit was also the state’s strikeout leader with 368 in 181 ⅔ innings pitched while putting together a 1.16 ERA.
Janelle Wilson, Friendswood, pitcher, sr.
North Carolina signee led Friendswood to the Class 5A regional quarterfinals. The 18-5A District MVP posted a 0.60 ERA with 249 strikeouts in 151 innings pitched with 10 or more strikeouts in 15 appearances. She's the No. 33 prospect in the nation, per Perfect Game.
Abigail Young, Justin Northwest, pitcher, sr.
Sam Houston St. signee has been electric in the circle, leading Justin Northwest to regional final. She had a complete game two-hit shutout in a Region I-5A semifinal opener, two years after she pitched the series clincher against the same team in the same round. She also put up 16 strikeouts in eight-innings and a 12-strikeout, seven-inning outing against Argyle.
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SBLive Texas All-State Softball 2023:
LEAD PHOTO BY GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK
