Softball On SI

Three Pitchers Top Softball America Preseason Top 100 Player Rankings

All three face high expectations heading into the 2026 season.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Softball America named Texas Tech softball pitcher NiJaree Canday the No. 1 player in its preseason Top 100.
Softball America named Texas Tech softball pitcher NiJaree Canday the No. 1 player in its preseason Top 100. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Softball America revealed its Top 100 Preseason Players on Monday morning with three pitchers topping the list.

Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady, Nebraska's Jordy Frahm, and Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens are the top three, respectively, after dominant 2025 seasons.

The top 10 is comprised of players from seven schools, with Oklahoma, Texas, and UCLA with two selections each.

Sooner slugger Ella Parker comes in at No. 4, followed by the Texas battery of Teagan Kavan and Reese Atwood.

UCLA's dynamic duo of Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant slugged their way to Nos. 7 and 9, while Florida's Taylor Shumaker and OU's Kasidi Pickering round out the list at Nos. 8 and 10.

Softball America Preseason Top 10 Players

1. NiJaree Canady, P, Texas Tech
2. Jordy Frahm, P/UT, Nebraska
3. Karlyn Pickens, P, Tennessee
4. Ella Parker, UT, Oklahoma
5. Teagan Kavan, P, Texas
6. Reese Atwood, C, Texas
7. Jordan Woolery, 1B, UCLA
8. Taylor Shumaker, OF, Florida
9. Megan Grant, UT, UCLA
10. Kasidi Pickering, OF, Oklahoma

Texas Tech Leads the Way

The Texas Tech Red Raiders placed a national-high eight players inside the Top 100. Other than the publication's preseason player of the year favorite in Canady, seven other ranked inside the top 85.

Third baseman Taylor Pannell, who transferred in from Tennessee, is ranked No. 12 while second baseman Mia Williams, who transferred from Florida is ranked No. 16.

One of the few returning starters from last year's Women's College World Series runners-up is outfielder Mihyia Davis, and she is ranked No. 24. The only other ranked player from last year's team is shortstop Hailey Toney, and she comes in at No. 79.

The other three ranked players for the Red Raiders are all transfers. Left-handed pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, who can also play outfield, is ranked No. 44. Former Ohio State home run hitter Jazzy Burns is No. 46, and right-handed pitcher/utility player Desirae Spearman, who strarred at New Mexico State is No. 85.

Texas Comes in Second

The defending national champion Texas Longhorns also found several names on the list, but fell one shy of Texas Tech for the most.

Seven Longhorns are ranked in the top 75 with six of them from last year's roster.

Kavan and Atwood are the two highest ranked, with outfielder Kayden Henry coming in at No. 22. Utility player Katie Stewart is ranked No. 27 after playing anywhere she was asked to last season. She caught a few games, played shortstop, outfield, and first base.

Outfielder Ashton Maloney earns the 29th spot on the list, and shortstop Vivi Martinez comes in at No. 61 despite missing all of last season with an injury. Rounding the list for Texas is Arizona transfer outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer at No. 75.

Mid-Major Stars

Six mid-major stars found their names on the list Monday morning.

32. Maya Johnson, LHP, Belmont
50. Autumn Courtney, P, Florida Atlantic
53. Maddia Groff, LHP, Omaha
82. Jenna Lord, INF, Charlotte
87. Savannah Groshong-Kirk, OF, Grand Canyon
94. Kasey Ricard, P, Boston

To see the entire Preseason Top 100 Player of the Year Rankings, visit Softball America.

Recommended Links

Published | Modified
Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

Home/News