California high school softball: 2021 MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin All-Section Softball Team

By Steve Montoya Jun 2, 2021, 11:00am

Brook Thompson, Hope Jenkins, Jaylee Ojo, Sydney Barker all honored as Player of the Year for their respective class.

The Sac-Joaquin Section has some of the top high school softball teams and players in California. And although postseason play won't happen in 2021, it was still an incredible season filled with league rivalry matchups, walk-off home runs, game-saving plays and the pure joy of being able to play with your lifelong friends.

Below are 74 players — 21 players in each class with 11 for the Class of 2024 — we've have identified as members of the 2021 MaxPreps All Sac-Joaquin Section Softball Team. We have also named a Player of the Year for each class. All athletes were selected based either on coach input, player statistics, strength of schedule or local honors.
Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Class of 2021

Player of the Year: P — Brook Thompson, Rocklin
The Boise State commit pitched just shy of 90 innings this season against some of the top competition in the section. She finished with an 0.94 ERA and 134 strikeouts. To top off an incredible senior year, Thompson hit a walk-off home run to beat rival Del Oro 4-2 to secure the Thunder's No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 Sac-Joaquin Section rankings.

C/1B — Laila Alves, Lincoln
The Syracuse commit batted .492 with nine home runs.

IF — Acacia Anders, Vacaville
Boise State commit had a hit in every game this season for the Bulldogs.



C — Lanie Blomquist, Oakmont (Roseville)
The rock behind the plate for the Vikings wrapped up her season batting .425 with five home runs.

IF — Lauren Bryson, Pioneer (Woodland)
The multi-sport athlete for the Patriots hit a whopping .708 and blasted eight home runs.

C — Jayla Castro, Rocklin
The Sierra Foothill League MVP and UCLA commit ended up batting .500 and smashed eight long balls against some of the top pitching around.

IF — Angelina Deleon, Calaveras (San Andreas)
Ole Miss signee was a four-sport athlete who finished with a career .547 batting average.

OF — Kailer Fulton, Oakmont (Roseville)
The lockdown center fielder ended the year with a 15-game hit streak.

OF — Kyra Gooler, Rocklin
The Chico State commit robbed a pair of home runs in center and drove in the second most runs for the Thunder.



P/UTIL — Lexi Holihan, Vista del Lago (Folsom)
She did it all for the Eagles, from hitting over 10 home runs to striking out over 80 batters in the circle.

IF — Grace Johnson, Oakmont (Roseville)
Posted a section-best 33 stolen bases and 55 total hits.

IF — Claudia Kirchner, Rocklin
St. Mary's College signee is a pure athlete, as she was a varsity starter for both softball and soccer at the same time.

IF — Claudia Medina, River City (West Sacramento)
She had at least one hit in every game this season, finishing with a .660 batting average.

P — Kennedie Magorian, Oakmont (Roseville)

The hard throwing right-hander struck out over 100 batters in 79 innings.

IF — Maddie Moore, Del Oro (Loomis)
The future Clemson Tiger had 30 hits in 22 games.

P — Hannah Ortega, Linden
During her four varsity seasons (including 2020), Ortega struck out 589 batters.



IF — Sydney Peterson, Franklin (Stockton)
The LSU commit had at least two hits in all but two games. She led the section with a .839 batting average.

C — Brooklynn Pettis , Elk Grove
The future Boise State Bronco racked up 38 hits and 37 RBI for the Thundering Herd.

C — Shelby Pfeiler, Folsom
Not a lot of teams wanted to pitch to her, as she led the section with 16 walks.

IF — Hailey Seva, Granite Bay
Seva blasted nine long balls and hit over .500 against great competition.

IF — Tai Wilson, Vanden (Fairfield)
The speedy lefty had a hit in every game and also stole 18 bases.

Class of 2022

Player of the Year: P — Hope Jenkins, St. Francis (Sacramento)
The UConn commit struck out 174 batters in 2021. The Delta League MVP also hit .561 with seven home runs. She had at least two hits in 13 games this season.



IF — Tayler Biehl, Vista del Lago (Folsom)
Arguably one of the toughest outs in the state. The Arizona commit hit over .600 at the plate utilizing speed and power.

IF/P — Jenna Birch, Del Oro (Loomis)
Oregon State commit smashed nine home runs and also pitched over 78 innings for one of the top squads around.

P — Brooke Davis, Escalon
She struck out 152 batters in 102 innings. In seven games, the Cougars ace K'd 10 or more hitters.

P — Ava Domenici, Lincoln
The workhorse for the co-Foothill Valley League champions as she pitched over 100 innings.

P — Emma Falen, Folsom
Facing arguably the toughest schedule in the section, the junior set a school record with 173 strikeouts in 20 games.

IF — Jazzy Fines, Sheldon (Sacramento)
A natural with the glove at second base and a threat at the plate as she batted .457 this year.

P — Hazyl Gray, Vanden (Fairfield)
She was 8-0 in the circle as a pitcher and also did damage at the plate hitting .441.

P — Brooklyn Heffernan, Ceres
She had at least nine strikeouts in 10 games, including one game where she mowed down 17 hitters.



C — Gracie Jenkins, St. Francis (Sacamento)
The left-handed catcher and hitter had at least two or more hits in 10 games this season.

IF — D'auna Johnson, Sheldon (Sacramento)
Another Husky who had a stellar season as she had 42 total hits and 39 RBI.

P — Malaya Johnson, Roseville
The UC Santa Barbara commit was second in the section with 184 strikeouts.

OF — Dakota Kennedy, Sheldon (Sacramento)
The Arizona commit batted .581, hit nine home runs and walked 14 times.

IF — Grace Matej, Capital Christian (Sacramento)
The powerful left-handed slugger had multiple games where she hit two or more home runs.

IF — Shaylen McDowell, Roseville
The Oregon State commit ended the season with a 14-game hitting streak.

OF — Naomi Moore, Golden Valley (Merced)
The Central California Conference League MVP batted over .500.



IF/C — Lily Peterson, Oakmont (Roseville)
In her last eight games, the Chico State commit had 14 hits.

P — Breanna Romero, Sheldon (Sacramento)
Spent some time in the circle in all but three games this season as she faced one of the toughest schedules in the area.

OF — Ava Tingey, Lincoln
The speedy junior had 27 hits during her 15 game hit-streak to end the season.

P — Brielle Wright, Rocklin
The Princeton commit was a key weapon coming out of the bullpen and shutting down teams in her starts.

SS/C —Reina Zermeno, Sheldon (Sacramento)
In 14 games this season she had at least two hits. The junior also hit eight home runs.

Class of 2023

Player of the Year: P — Jaylee Ojo, Sheldon (Sacramento)
She led the section, regardless of class, with 11 home runs. A beast in the circle as well striking out 82 in 67 innings of work.



C — Hailee Bustos, Western Sierra Collegiate Academy (Rocklin)
Although at a small school, Bustos still was impressive as she was second in the section with a .759 batting average.

OF — Gracie Carpenter, Folsom
Carpenter robbed a home run to lift the Bulldogs past Del Oro. She also had a walk-off hit against Oakmont.

OF — Jenissa Conway, Marysville
The lefty smashed 10 home runs and batted .493

P —Delainey Everett, Oakdale
She had a 0.43 ERA for the Mustangs. She also hit .442.

IF/OF — Jenna Joyce, Ponderosa (Shingle Springs)
The utility player had at least two hits in 10 games this year.

IF/OF — Mariah Hopkins, Cordova (Rancho Cordova)
The Lancers utility player hit .561 with five home runs.



P — Jacquelyn Lujan, Orestimba (Newman)
Batted .561 at the plate and she also went 10-0 as a pitcher.

OF/P — Olivia Manchester, Vista del Lago (Folsom)
The lefty batted over .500 with a 12-game hitting streak.

C/IF — Addie Mettler, Pitman (Turlock)
Mettler was nearly impossible to get out this shortened season, as she batted .727.

P — Ariel Nava, St. Mary's (Stockton)
Nava threw over 90 innings for the Rams and went 8-1 overall.

IF — Ana Niles, Ponderosa (Shingle Springs)
She finished with 26 hits, 18 RBI and four home runs.

OF — Abi Pikas, Pacheco (Los Banos)
Pikas had a .613 on-base percentage and stole 24 bases.



P — Randi Roelling, Central Catholic (Modesto)
In 15 games this season, Roelling struck out 161 batters.

P — Aissa Silva, Elk Grove
The powerful left-handed pitcher led the section with 198 strikeouts.

OF — Tatum Silva, Ponderosa (Shingle Springs)
The speedy outfielder had a hit in all but two games in 2021.

P — Samantha Stoll, Inderkum (Sacramento)
She finished with a 1.56 ERA in 99 innings of work for the Tigers.

IF — Morgan Sweet, Vista del Lago (Folsom)
A big bat in the middle of the lineup for the Eagles as she has hit seven bombs so far this year.

P — Rylei Trujillo, Center (Antelope)
The do-it-all player for the Cougars was a powerful force as a hitter and a pitcher.



C/IF — Madyson Welch, Center (Antelope)
Welch had a hit in all but one game this season.

Class of 2024

Player of the Year: IF — Sydney Barker, Rocklin
Batted lead off for the top-ranked Thunder and was the starting shortstop. In her first at-bat of the season, Barker homored as they beat Elk Grove 1-0.

P — Bree Barner, Golden Valley (Merced)
The ace for one of the top teams in Sac-Joaquin Section.

P/C — Alyssa Dethlefson, Bella Vista (Fair Oaks)
The do-it-all player put in innings behind the plate and as a pitcher for the Broncos.

P — Felesha Lepenske, Dixon
She hit five home runs this season and is 6-0 in the circle.



P — Allie Vincent, Kimball (Tracy)
A workhorse this year as a ninth grader as she pitched over 119 innings.

C/IF — Mya Flindt, Whitney (Rocklin)
One of the top hitters in the Sierra Foothill League and was only a freshman. She hit .429 with five home runs.

IF/P —Chase Mueller, Ponderosa (Shingle Springs)

The lefty had 24 hits and batted .421 for the Bruins.

C/IF — Macie Vickers, Escalon
The Cougars utility player hit .451 with three home runs.

IF — Audrey Graham, Dixon
Had two or more hits in nine games.

IF — Mia Zabat, Vanden (Fairfield)
Hit .500 for one of the top teams in the section.