Bee’s Best: Who will be Sacramento area’s high school softball MVPs?
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section softball playoffs start May 14, with the regular season winding down and the final championship push set to begin.
That is the time where the best of the best will separate themselves from the rest of a loaded pack, as playoff success will play a major role in deciding The Sacramento Bee’s Players of the Year, be it the overall MVP and Players of the Year for large-enrollment, medium and small schools.
And in a region stacked with collegiate Division I talent, there’s no shortage of worthy candidates.
Here’s a look at 20 softball players (in alphabetical order) who’ve made a case for Player of the Year:
Kwinci Brown, Sheldon
The Huskies from Elk Grove are synonymous with winning, and the junior Kentucky commit has Sheldon in the Delta League title conversation again. Count on Brown for a sub-3.00 earned run average in the circle each year.
She’s also posted career highs in runs scored and RBIs at the plate this year.
Marisa Bryson, Pioneer
Still just a junior, the Stanford-committed Bryson packs quite the punch at the plate. Seven of her 28 career home runs have come this season to go with a .594 batting average and a slick glove at shortstop.
Meanwhile, Pioneer sits atop of the Golden Empire League.
Abby Davidson, Del Oro
Davidson’s 11 home runs are tied for the most in the section entering the week.
The Utah Tech commit also leads the 19-1 Golden Eagles with a .484 average and 34 RBIs while patrolling center field for the Sierra Foothill League powers.
Mikayla Finn, Del Oro
Del Oro legitimately has multiple Player of the Year candidates, including pitcher Ava Messina, who is 8-0.
The Golden Eagles wouldn’t be fighting for the SFL title without the pitching of this sophomore, who is 11-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.
Teagan Hayes, Woodland Christian
This name sound familiar? That’s because we wrote about her a lot as she helped small-school powerhouse Woodland Christian win a CIF State basketball championship in March.
Hayes is headed to the University of Tennessee-Martin as a softball player and leads the Cardinals with a .667 average and eight homers. She’s nearing 30 career long balls.
Tori Hernandez, Yuba City
Hernandez is the top two-way player for the Honkers, who could fight for a Division III championship in late May.
Hernandez is 7-0 with a 1.38 ERA in the circle and has a .327 average at the plate.
Adison Huiskens, Woodland Christian
Another Cardinal on this list? Why not? Especially when Woodland Christian already has the Sierra Delta League title wrapped up.
The Idaho State-bound shortstop hits .614 with 37 RBIs and leads the section in runs scored as Woodland Christian has posted double-digit runs in 80% of its games.
Micah Kennedy, Sheldon
The 1-2 punch of Kennedy and Kwinci Brown in the circle is a huge reason for Sheldon leading the Delta League race.
The sophomore is 8-3 with a 1.72 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 65 innings and leads the team in all the offensive triple crown categories with a .493 average, four home runs and 24 RBIs.
Tylie Kitchen, Whitney
The San Diego State commit became Whitney’s all-time rebounding leader during her stellar basketball career.
Kitchen is a section champ in both sports and leads the Wildcats with a .480 batting average and five homers.
Stevie Knight, East Nicolaus
The Abilene Christian commit looks to lead one of the richest softball programs in the Northern Section to yet another crown.
Knight leads the small-school Spartans with a .591 average and 19 RBIs from the leadoff spot in the lineup and a 6-3 record, a 1.58 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 57.2 innings.
Hayden Kyne, Vacaville
The Notre Dame-bound catcher already has more home runs this year than her previous three years combined.
She’s also blown away previous career highs with a .587 average and 36 RBIs as Vacaville fights for a Monticello Empire League crown.
Madison Lawson, Pleasant Grove
Lawson is a four-year varsity starter and two-time Delta League MVP for the Eagles of Elk Grove with a 4.40 grade-point average and an Ivy League future with Columbia University in New York on the horizon.
“Mads” is hitting a career best .447 with three homers and is approaching 600 career strikeouts in the circle.
Maryn MacNeil, Woodcreek
Woodcreek has its most wins in a season since 2016, in large part, due to this University of Hawaii-bound pitcher.
MacNeil is 12-0 with a 1.00 ERA in the circle while also boasting a .407 average with team highs of five homers and 27 RBIs.
Brooklyn Paratore, Oak Ridge
Get ready for a lot of names from Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, The Bee’s top-ranked team all season. Paratore leads the Trojans with a .521 average and 11 doubles while calling the pitches at catcher.
The junior is a University of Washington commit.
Payton Prior, Rocklin
The Thunder’s workhorse in the circle has already matched her win total of 12 in the circle from her freshman year.
She posts a 1.59 ERA with 121 strikeouts in 88 innings and has more than doubled her batting average from .239 to .477 and owns a pair of home runs.
Carly Rice, Placer
The only freshman on this list has paced Placer’s resurgence in 2025 with a team high .500 average with three home runs, 30 RBIs and 10 doubles.
The Hillgals are battling for a Foothill Valley League championship after winless seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Ellison Schroeder, Oak Ridge
The plan was to split time in the circle with sophomore standout Kennedi Freeland.
But since Freeland went down with injury early, Schroeder has put the Trojans on her back with an 11-1 record, a 1.07 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 78.1 innings. She’s headed to Santa Clara.
Carly Short, Oak Ridge
With a name like that, of course she plays shortstop.
Short, the North Carolina State commit, looks to help Oak Ridge to a third consecutive section crown with a .351 average in the heart of the order.
Ayla Tuua, Destiny Christian Academy
Just a junior and already a two-time Bee Player of the Year and a two-time CIF Northern California champion, the LSU commit once again has Destiny Christian in title talks. She hits .471 with three homers, but she dominates in the circle with a section-best 0.35 ERA.
She struck out 21 batters in a game earlier this season.
Katie Wetteland, Rocklin
Wetteland led Rocklin in hitting as a freshman before multiple injuries sidelined her for much of the next two years.
Back and healthy at third base, the Nevada-Reno commit is hitting .491 with team highs of eight home runs and 26 RBIs for the reigning Division II section champions.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Monday)
1. Oak Ridge (15-1)
2. Del Oro (19-1)
3. Destiny Christian (11-1)
4. Rocklin (13-3)
5. Whitney (14-7)
6. Sheldon (15-5-1)
7. Woodcreek (16-4)
8. Pioneer (15-4)
9. Elk Grove (10-8)
10. Vanden (15-4)
11. Granite Bay (7-8-1)
12. Vacaville (12-6)
13. Pleasant Grove (9-5)
14. Woodland Christian (17-3)
15. McClatchy (10-3)
16. Inderkum (12-8)
17. Yuba City (14-5-1)
18. Dixon (10-4)
19. East Nicolaus (12-5)
20. Folsom (9-6-2)
Bubble: Davis (11-8-1); Franklin (11-9-1); Liberty Ranch (9-5); Oakmont (10-5); Placer (13-4); Ponderosa (7-8); Rio Linda (16-5); Sutter (8-8); Vista del Lago (7-8); Wheatland (11-4)
Nick Pecoraro is a sports journalist and host of “Premier Preps with Nick Pecoraro,” a weekly prep show available on YouTube that recaps games and teams in the Sacramento area each week. Find it at youtube.com/@PremierPreps.