The dust has settled on the 2024-25 travel ball circuit as PGF Nationals and Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series. Who were the best 18U club teams? Softball America took a poll among staff and peers to rank the top 18U club teams from this past season. Stay tuned next Monday, August 18th, as we release our […]
The dust has settled on the 2024-25 travel ball circuit as PGF Nationals and Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series. Who were the best 18U club teams? Softball America took a poll among staff and peers to rank the top 18U club teams from this past season.
Stay tuned next Monday, August 18th, as we release our Top 100 2027 Rankings ahead of the opening of the September 1st recruiting window.
Top Five 18U Softball Club Rankings
1. Aces Fastpitch Club
The Aces, based out of Kansas City, closed out their summer with a dominant performance in Indiana to win the AFCS crown, which included wins over Texas Bombers, OC Batbusters-Stith, Texas Glory and Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden. They also won the P5 Patriot Games and the Atlanta Legacy Invite. The strong pitching duo of Allyssa Parker (2025-Oklahoma) and Cece Dotts (2027), with a lineup filled with talent, stood out all summer long.
2. Arizona Rising Appel
Arizona Rising took home the PGF Premier title after a tournament run that included wins over Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier, Georgia Impact Taylor and Lady Dukes Lamar/Perkins. Goose Goodwin will likely see a bump in our last 2026 rankings update after a tremendous summer for the lefty. The heart of the order of Payton Westra, Torynn Slaughter and Madison Sauni was a headache for opposing pitchers.
3. Texas Bombers Gold-Smith
The AFCS runner-ups were pretty flawless until the championship series. The Bombers had one of the deeper pitching staffs in the country, and barring team changes, will return two future SEC arms with Caroline Stanton (2026-Florida) and Jada Savage (2026-Ole Miss) in the circle. They’ll need to replace a few bats in the lineup, such as Elsa Morrison, who could quickly be a star for Tennessee next season.
4. OC Batbusters-Stith
The Batbusters are one of the most talented teams year in and out. Kai Minor, our top-ranked player in the 2025 class, who is headed to Oklahoma, headlines a roster that has plenty of future stars. Abby Ford, Riley Hilliard and Maya Matthiesare names to know for our 2027 rankings. Mike Stith’s team won the Alliance Super Cup and IDT Boulder tournaments.
5. Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier
The 2024 PGF Champions nearly made it back to defend their crown after forcing the if necessary game against Lady Dukes Lamar/Perkins and falling one run short in the second game. Nevertheless, only losing to the two teams in the championship was a good run. They’ll have a lot of innings to replace with Victoria Moten and Lillie-Faye McWhorter headed to the SEC in 2026.
The Rest of 18U Softball Club Rankings
6. Georgia Impact Taylor
7. Texas Glory
8. Select Fastpitch
9. Tampa Mustangs-Rene
10. Athletics Mercado Smith
11. Top Gun National 18U
12. Corona Angels-Tyson
13. Lady Dukes Lamar/Perkins
14. Oklahoma Athletics National-Madden
15. Nebraska Gold
Others Considered: USA Athletics Gold, Impact Gold Jackson, Iowa Premier, Unity Johnson, Hotshots National Nelson
More from Softball America:
2026 Recruiting Rankings
2025 PGF National Standouts
20 stars from 18U, 16U 2025 AFCS
Category: General Sports
