Bee’s Best: Who are Sacramento region’s top prep softball players in 2026?

The weather is not the only thing heating up in the Sacramento region these past few weeks.

If you hit any softball field in this area, you’re likely to see a player or two who is capable of competing at the next level. And with league play in full swing across the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, here’s a peek at some of the headliners on the diamonds.

From players with scholarships to national championship NCAA programs to former Sacramento Bee Players of the Year, The Bee highlights 25 of the top talents, listed in alphabetical order.

Cat Alston, Rocklin, Jr.

Alston is an Iowa commit who sparks the top of the Thunder order and roams center field with a tremendous glove for the powerhouse program in Placer County.

She has a .386 batting average with 93 hits in her career.

Kwinci Brown, Sheldon, Sr.

An ace for a storied Sheldon program located in the Elk Grove Unified School District, Brown is a 6-foot-2 Kentucky signee.

Brown boasts a career 2.52 earned run average who went over 300 career strikeouts earlier this year.

Marisa Bryson, Pioneer, Sr.

An early candidate for Player of the Year, the Stanford-bound shortstop led the Patriots of Woodland to the section finals last year.

Bryson had 50 RBIs as a freshman, hit 13 homers as a sophomore and batted .615 as a junior.

Niayli Calvo, Vanden, Jr.

The Florida commit helped the Vikings of Solano County to the Division III section title last season.

Calvo compiled an incredible .710 average, six home runs and 32 RBI.

Caelyn Campos, Del Oro, So.

She hit .442 as a freshman at the top of the order in 2025 for the CIF Northern California champion Golden Eagles of Loomis, adding three homers, 30 RBI and 23 stolen bases.

Campos is batting .423 this season.

Brielle Collins, Inderkum, So.

Collins is hitting .510 with five homers and 16 RBIs early this season after a freshman year that saw a .417 average, three long balls and 22 RBI.

She’s got a smooth glove in the outfield as well.

Taylor Cordell, Whitney, So.

Cordell shined in the Division II section final in the circle for the Wildcats of Placer County as a freshman., going 16-5 with a 2.84 ERA and 144 punchouts.

This season, she’s 9-1 with a 1.24 ERA.

Laila Dean, Vacavile, Sr.

The Bulldogs are always a contender, and the Idaho State signee leads the charge with a .403 career average.

Dean has tallied 133 hits over her four-year career.

Mikayla Finn, Del Oro, Jr.

Finn shared Bee Large School Player of the Year honors with teammate Abby Davidson last season after going 21-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 148.1 innings.

Finn and Davidson led Del Oro to a CIF NorCal crown in 2025.

Kennedi Freeland, Oak Ridge, Jr.

Back from missing most of her sophomore year with injury, the Loyola Marymount commit has the three-time defending section champion Trojans of El Dorado Hills optimistic.

Freeland went 15-4 with a 1.11 ERA and 174 strikeouts as a freshman.

McKayla Fulmer, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.

Fulmer is the receiving end of the battery that makes up a stellar Destiny Christian pitching staff.

The Vanguard commit goes by “KK” and entered 2026 with a .451 average, 17 homers, 47 RBIs and 82 hits for her career.

Emma Johnson, Del Oro, So.

She provided some big pop as a freshman for a championship Del Oro squad, launching eight homers, a number she has already matched this season.

Johnson’s added 29 RBIs to go with a .429 average for the 31-2 Golden Eagles.

Michah Kennedy, Sheldon, Jr.

The other half of Sheldon’s dynamic duo in the circle, the UC Santa Barbara commit has a career 1.94 ERA with 22 wins and 331 strikeouts.

Kennedy can also swing the bat, hitting .471 with four dingers last year.

Kate McCartney, Ponderosa, So.

Perhaps the next big star in this region, the Bruins of Shingle Springs have a shortstop star who has big-time power after hitting .493 with nine homers and 36 RBI as a freshman a year ago.

McCartney has hit 11 long balls with 30 RBIs and a .630 average as Pondo is off to a 15-0 start.

Emily Morris, Dixon, Sr.

A four-year starter in multiple sports for the Rams, the Saint Mary’s commit has a .395 career average with 93 RBIs.

Morris helped leda Dixon to a section title as a sophomore in 2024.

Brooklyn Paratore, Oak Ridge, Sr.

The Washington signee and senior leader for Oak Ridge has won section titles in every season so far.

Paratore already has a .524 average with seven homers and 15 RBI this season.

Chloe Preuss, Woodcreek, Sr.

Preuss is hitting .348 this season after batting .395 a year ago when she had three homers and 23 RBI.

Preuss is headed to UC Davis.

Payton Prior, Rocklin, Jr.

The junior Long Beach State commit has a career 42-8 record and a 1.86 ERA.

Prior surpassed 500 strikeouts thanks to a 10-2 start to 2026.

Carly Rice, Placer, So.

As a freshman a year ago, she helped the Hillgals of Auburn erase the memory of back-to-back 0-15 seasons with an 18-win campaign.

Rice batted .451 with three homers and 38 RBIs.

Roxanne Sardo, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.

What a luxury it must be to have a Purdue commit as your No. 2 pitcher. Sardo was part of a combined no-hitter against Rio Linda on March 19.

Sardo has 93 strikeouts in 48 career innings at Destiny.

Sammie Snell, Rocklin, So.

It’s tough to replace a player like former Bee Player of the Year Syd Barker, but Snell has held her own as Rocklin’s shortstop.

She hit .321 as a freshman and finds herself in the heart of the order for this year’s Thunder squad.

Brooklyn Steele, Whitney, Sr.

A section champion in 2025, Steele is a Cal Poly Humboldt signee with a .320 career average.

Steele hit .400 last year while driving in 27 runs.

Shealynn Stinson, Pleasant Grove, Sr.

A career .397 hitter with more than 108 career knocks, Stinson is the motor for the Eagles of Elk Grove.

The speedy middle infielder has 56 career stolen bases and is headed to Fresno State.

Leilani Terrazas, Granite Bay, Sr.

The Cal Poly signee has been a big-time power source for the Grizzlies.

Terrazas has amassed 20 home runs and 77 RBIs over her four-year varsity career.

Ayla Tuua, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.

Tuua already rates as one of the region’s all-time greats as a three-time Bee Player of the Year.

The LSU commit can do it all with a career 38-2 pitching record, a sub-1.00 ERA, more than 600 strikeouts and 10 no-hitters, to go along with a .525 average, 33 homers and 124 RBIs at the plate.

Tuua struck out all 21 batters in a one-hit shutout last year at Rio Linda.