South Sound high school softball preview: Top teams, players in 2025
New year, same abundance of softball talent in the South Sound.
Here’s what to monitor, teams on the postseason radar, and players to watch in 2025.
4A SPSL
This new-look South Puget Sound League is loaded. Emerald Ridge returns ace pitcher Alanna Wirtala after dancing to last year’s 4A championship game, Bonney Lake and Yelm reclassified from 3A last fall, and one of the state’s best leagues got even better.
From the SPSL North, watch for Emerald Ridge: Wirtala just completed a five-inning perfect game with 10 strikeouts in a 35-0 blowout of Curtis, and went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI. “She’s as humble as you get, too,” Jaguars manager Adam Schakel said. “She could tell the world, but she won’t. Very humble. It’s pretty refreshing.” Disciplined at-bats generated 83 runs for Emerald Ridge over their first three games, including 3+ RBI for all nine Jaguars hitters in Tuesday’s win over Curtis. “I don’t have to encourage them too much to work hard,” said Schakel, Emerald Ridge’s former head football coach. The football scores are following him to the diamond (17-0, 31-2, 35-0). “They get after it. They’ll show up ready to go.” Senior 1B Abygale Redwine (.615 AVG) has seven extra-base hits in three games and C/SS Jayda Guadron is punishing softballs early on, slashing an unthinkable .917/.923/1.417. “I haven’t seen (Jayda) pitch before, but she can probably do that, too,” Schakel said. “She’s going to be a dynamite college catcher. … But she’s just violent at the plate. She’s so strong and her swing is so good. She hit one on a line… I thought the (chain link) fence was going to come down yesterday.”
SPSL North rival Sumner returns OF Anna Thweatt after a run to last year’s 4A semifinals, and Rogers remains on the rise with freshman pitcher Sierra Murray (17.1 IP, 1.62 ERA). Puyallup is a constant factor with junior Kiera Thomas — a career .368 hitter with a reliable arm — and ascending sophomore Kayla Ringenbach (.448/.504/.876 as a freshman).
In the South, Olympia captured the overall league crown in 2024 and will contend despite graduating All-Area pitcher Sami Potvin, now led by two-way standout Ava Bautista. The Bears senior threw six sparkling innings over defending 2A runner-up Tumwater in Olympia’s opener on March 14, allowing one earned run with no walks and five strikeouts across six strong. And did we mention she homered twice with three hits and four RBI? Graham-Kapowsin took down defending 3A-champion Auburn Riverside on March 13 featuring leadoff center fielder Izzy Vargas, and Bonney Lake’s run production starts with slap-hitter Lauryn Lee, who led all local 3A players in batting average last season (.691).
4A NPSL
Class 3A’s first-place trophy resides at Auburn Riverside, but a new challenge awaits after the Ravens climbed to 4A and graduated All-Area infielder Kaylee Walker — who boasted both zero defensive errors and a 2.091 OPS in her senior season. The Ravens return 3A NPSL Pitcher of the Year Danica Butler and will feature more of sophomore Makenna Vircks in the circle. Look out for Ravens C/INF Seneca Aarstad, who homered in her first two at-bats of the season (jamboree) after a .500 campaign with nine homers and 48 RBI in 2024. Can they challenge defending 4A NPSL champion Tahoma for this year’s crown? The Bears return a complete roster with eight returning starters and emerging sophomore Alexa Ramirez, who set the school’s single-season record with 122 strikeouts as a freshman last year. Tahoma’s lineup includes All-Area C/INF Kalani Higa and outfielders Taryn Jones and Mia Hammington, a group that averaged more than 13 runs per game across their 2024 NPSL title run.
Stadium joined the 4A ranks and should contend with all-PCL pitcher Izzy Galindo and junior catcher London Kim, already 7-for-8 with nine RBI in two games this season. Kentridge’s dual-threat Jozi Thompson is already showing flashes of a sophomore breakout (.492 AVG, 3.39 ERA in 2024) with a developing riseball and added velocity, and Auburn freshman Taya Totten is impressing first-year head coach Vann Berryman both on the mound and with “a swing that will make waves in the league once it is fine-tuned.”
3A NPSL
Auburn Riverside’s defending state-champion squad took their talents to Class 4A, leaving a revamped 3A NPSL up for grabs. Auburn Mountainview is the preseason favorite with catcher Mia Heigh at the forefront, now a perfect 5-for-5 with five RBI after the campaign’s first week, alongside P/INF Brynna Erdmann. And there’s more in the pipeline: freshman leadoff hitter Tessa Trippy went 5-for-6 in a slugfest win over Bonney Lake, 24-19, on March 15.
Newcomers Enumclaw and White River should factor into the league race, opening their inaugural NPSL campaigns against each other in a crosstown rivalry on March 24. Hornets senior Alyssa Harris returns as Enumclaw’s No. 1 arm alongside SPSL first-teamer Nadia Flaherty, and White River gets back senior utility slugger Elliotte Kajita.
3A PSL
Timberline’s Jasmyn Polanco dominated headlines as the senior ace in 2024, but the Blazers remain well-equipped for another league title run in a brand-new Puget Sound League. The reigning South Sound Conference (SSC) champions poured the runs on league-rivals Lakes and Silas in last week’s openers, ignited by all-around performances by dual-threat Nevaeh Haagen. She tossed complete games in both, notching 25 strikeouts in 11 combined innings with seven hits (.889 AVG) and 11 RBI at the plate. PSL Nisqually-rival Peninsula punished Tacoma’s Bellarmine Prep and Lincoln in similar fashion, plating 38 combined runs behind catcher Ava Miranda’s scalding start (.778 AVG, 6 RBI, HR).
In the PSL Narrows, dynamic arm Natalie Medalia should lift Silas into contention, a two-way standout with a 1.839 OPS at the plate and 125 strikeouts in the circle last season. Watch for Gig Harbor’s Danielle Biehl, too — last year’s all-SSC outfielder paced the conference in OPS (1.722), on-base percentage (.626), and slugging percentage (1.095) and will pitch more for the Tides in 2025. Expect another strong campaign from Central Kitsap’s Ava Day — already with six RBI in two games this season — plus Lincoln High’s All-Area utility star Joy Wilde (C/INF/P).
2A SPSL
Franklin Pierce’s Kylie Sledge burst onto the preps softball scene with a monster slash line (.672/.735/1.327) as a freshman last year — so what’s in store for 2025? The Cardinals graduated workhorse pitcher Emma Hoffmeister, the TNT All-Area selection who guided them to the 2A quarterfinals, but Franklin Pierce can repeat league titles with Sledge and Co. The slick shortstop and feared hitter joins Leila Kennach (.564 AVG), who swatted a team-leading 20 extra-base hits and 35 RBI in 2024.
Fife is a strong contender despite the graduation of 2A SPSL MVP Madison Walls, the ace pitcher with 106 strikeouts (2.45 ERA) in the circle and a 1.415 OPS at the plate. Her departure opens the door for Mallory Geving to assume the workhorse role, who threw a complete game in Fife’s win over White River in their season opener, 9-8. Keep an eye on sophomore infielder Kaitlin Christiansen (.426 AVG in 2024), who went 3-for-3 with three runs in the win.
Orting boasts five returning seniors in the lineup headlined by all-SPSL infielder Madlynn Halte; Steilacoom features first-team outfielder Izabella Cortez, who hit .558 last year.
2A EvCo
After soaring to the 2A championship game last May, Tumwater returns All-Area pitcher Ella Ferguson and should contend for the Evergreen title once again. Ferguson tortured EvCo rivals with 245 strikeouts in 2024, adding 17 RBI and a .403 batting average at the plate. Aberdeen counters with returning all-EvCo pitcher Lilly Camp, who’s already throwing in midseason form with a 0.00 ERA and 17 strikeouts in a pair of early wins. The Bobcats stomped Lynden and Anacortes in last Saturday’s non-league doubleheader with multiple RBI from six hitters, including catcher Alyssa Yakovich (4 RBI) and Scotlyn Lecomte (.800 AVG).
W.F. West could factor into the race despite graduating EvCo Offensive Player of the Year Staysha Fluetsch, now guided by all-Evergreen infielder Avalon Myers. Rochester returns Evergreen MVP Layna Demers, the dual-threat senior and Saint Martin’s commit who homered in last week’s season opener with Napavine.
SMALL SCHOOLS
Cascade Christian’s Kailee Pearson terrorized 1A Nisqually foes in 2024 with a video game-like 702/.781/1.681 slash line and figures to remain one of the South Sound’s small school standouts. The Arizona Christian University commit is the league’s two-time defending MVP and notched TNT All-Area honors after three straight high-school seasons without a strikeout (!) Can the defending Nisqually champion Cougars repeat their title run? That quest won’t begin until April 21 when Cascade Christian starts their league slate.
Seattle Christian could challenge — last year’s third place finisher just took down runner-up Klahowya via 10-run rule on Wednesday. The Warriors return P/SS Jessica Knight and sophomore 1B Izzy Blase, the too-early club leader in batting average (.833).
30 PLAYERS TO WATCH
C/INF Seneca Aarstad, Auburn Riverside, sr.
P/OF Ava Bautista, Olympia, sr.
P/OF Dani Biehl, Gig Harbor, sr.
P/1B Danica Butler, Auburn Riverside, sr.
INF Kaitlin Christiansen, Fife, soph.
INF/OF Izabella Cortez, Steilacoom, jr.
INF Ava Day, Central Kitsap, sr.
P/INF Brynna Erdmann, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
P/INF Aspyn Evanson, Bonney Lake, sr.
P Ella Ferguson, Tumwater, sr.
C/SS Jayda Guadron, Emerald Ridge, jr.
P/INF Nevaeh Haagen, Timberline, soph.
OF Mia Hammington, Tahoma, jr.
P Alyssa Harris, Enumclaw, sr.
C Mia Heigh, Auburn Mountainview, sr.
C/INF Kalani Higa, Tahoma, sr.
C London Kim, Stadium, jr.
OF Lauryn Lee, Bonney Lake, sr.
P Natalie Medalia, Silas, jr.
P Sierra Murray, Rogers, fr.
P/INF Kailee Pearson, Cascade Christian, sr.
P Alexa Ramirez, Tahoma, soph.
INF Kayla Ringenbach, Puyallup, soph.
SS Kiley Sledge, Franklin Pierce, soph.
P/INF Kiera Thomas, Puyallup, sr.
P/OF Jozi Thompson, Kentridge, soph.
OF Anna Thweatt, Sumner, sr.
OF Izzy Vargas, Graham-Kapowsin, sr.
UTIL Joy Wilde, Lincoln, sr.
P Alanna Wirtala, Emerald Ridge, sr.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
