Softball Recruiting - Class of 2026

[SubGod22]

[1972Shocker]

Nice looking stroke from the left side (bats left, throws right):

Recruiting Profile: https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/jesse_shuman

Her highlights show mostly a pull hitter but there were a couple of bombs to the opposite field.

How much stronger will she be in a couple of years.

[SubGod22]

[WstateU]

[1972Shocker]

5-7 Utility Player out of Tuttle, OK who plays travel ball with the Birmingham (AL) Thunderbolts.

Not a whole lot of highlights available. Mostly in her X account. She looks to be on the slightly built spectrum with very good quickness and speed:

[SubGod22]

We'll see how it translates but I like what I see out of her vids. She can definitely get around the bases and shows some high level reflexes playing 3rd.

Also, hitting 10 HRs over the summer in what I would assume is pretty high level competition is nothing to ignore. We'll see how she matures as a player but there seems to be a lot to work with.

[SubGod22]

[1972Shocker]

Not finding a lot on Addison Smith. According to her club team's recruiting flyer she is a 5-2 SS/UTL who bats and throws right. Riptide softball is out of Humble, TX a suburb on the NE side of Houston. She attends high school at Lutheran South Acadmey which is member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

Looks like she took visits to Texas State, McNeese State, Houston and Sam Houston.

Nice looking swing and appears to have some pop (CC Wong v2.0 maybe).

[SubGod22]

[1972Shocker]

Ariel Arambula is another Houston product. The Houston HotShots her club team list her as a 5-5 OF/1B that Bats and Throws lefty. MaxPreps and Hudl lists her as a 1B/P and both show her as Class of 2025 (so that must have changed). She is definitely not slightly built. Thing more along the lines of CC Wong.

Hudl Highlights: https://www.hudl.com/profile/19052233/ariel-arambula (This video is about 10 minute and I assume are high school highlights. This is a mix of hitting and pitching. Looks like she runs better than CC. The scoreboard clearing home runs are pretty impressive).

A couple of travel ball bombs:

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My guess is the Shocks covet that powerful swing but she may well get a chance in the circle as well especially as a lefty.

She also took official visits to Houston and McNeese.

[SubGod22]

[BAShocker]

Certainly not trying to stir things up, and I would imagine the answer is obvious as to “why”, but for those who follow the softball team closer than me over the years, when was the last time the Shocks recruited and had someone local (Wichita area, I know we have players from NE Kansas) on the team, not including Eck this year? I assume the answer is that the talent must not be D1 enough locally. Is that right? Just curious.

By the way, I’m all for recruiting regionally, nationally. Just seems like it’s been a while since someone from the area was on the roster.

[SubGod22]

There is certainly some D1 talent in the area, but not near as much as you're going to get in OK and TX. I do think we're seeing more serious organizations in the area and that will help some with development.

We graduated Wylie Glover (Valley Center) in '22

We had Lauren Johnson (Maize South) on the roster as a FR in '20 and '21. She's not on the '22 roster.

Ryleigh Buck (Wellington (if that counts)) graduated in '21

Adi Reese (Remington) was on the '20 roster as a SO. Wasn't on following rosters.

Kasidee Eck (Andale) was on the '19 roster as a FR.

Ashley Malone (Wichita) graduated in '17

Kennedy Long (Derby) also graduated in '17

Kelsey Sterneker (Maize South) was a SO in '16. Wasn't on following rosters.

Bailey Holt (Mulvane) was a FR in '15. Not on following rosters.

Hunter Hogan (Bishop Carroll) was a FR in '15. Not on following rosters.

Erin Carney (Andale) graduated in '15

Molly Baker (Rose Hill) graduated in '14

So over the last 10 years we've had 12 young ladies that were local(ish) on the team for at least a year. A few appear to have departed early. A bit of a mixed bag.

We probably get most from Oklahoma and Texas, with Kansas and Missouri the next most prominent.

[1972Shocker]

Ryleigh Buck (Wellington (if that counts)) graduated in '21

I think a Wellington player counts although my guess is there are probably more OU and OSU fans in Wellington than there are WSU fans. Ryleigh is probably by far the best player on your list. She was the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015-16. I will also point out that Ryleigh initially signed with UCF out of high school but transferred to WSU after spending 1 semester at UCF. The trouble is she suffered from an autonomic nerve disorder which can cause dizziness and fainting upon standing up or an inability to alter the heart rate with exercise which she inherited from her father. The cardiologist at Central Florida would not clear her to play. “So I had a choice of not playing college softball or finding a doctor who would allow me to play,” she said. “So I decided to transfer to Wichita State.”

I would note the recruiting local talent and signing local talent are to totally different questions. I think the talent pool in Kansas generally is relatively shallow for all sports, not just softball. There might be exceptions such as soccer where Wichita seems to a have some depth of talent. Of course, WSU doesn't have soccer, at least not yet. Then there is the question of whether local talent is really interested in staying home. I seems to me that in many cases the athletes prefer to spread their wings and fly the coop even if not all that far away.

WSU Track and Field does a pretty good job with local athletes but that has a lot to do with the limited scholarships available for Track and Field, or at least that has been the case up until now. Plus a lot of those local athletes are not that highly recruited but Coach Rainbolt and his staff do a very good job in developing them.

Then their is college tennis where coaches have to recruit internationally and where the seems to be a paucity of U.S. born on Collegiate rosters.

I think most coaches would prefer to keep as much talent as they can at home but it's not the easiest thing to do especially at Wichita State and perhaps getting even tougher in this day a free agency sometimes called NIL.

[1972Shocker]

Kiley Wheaton, 5-10 SS/UTL out of the Denver area. Shades of Laurie Derrico perhaps.

Covers some ground once she gets going and decent pop:

A couple of defensive plays at short: