- March 30, 2025
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A big season awaits high school softball teams in the Sarasota area.
Several area teams are loaded with senior leadership and standout players with collegiate potential.
That means most teams are setting lofty standards for themselves, including winning district championships and making it into the state tournament.
Don’t wait until that happens to learn which of these softball players are worth the price of admission.
Here are the top Sarasota-area prep softball players to watch in 2025:
Stats don’t get much better than what Cole’s were last season. Despite debuting in varsity softball as a junior last year, Cole dominated on the mound and at the plate.
She hardly left the pitcher’s circle, throwing 124 ⅔ of Riverview’s 150 innings last year with a 14-5 record, a 1.40 ERA and an eye-popping 232 strikeouts.
Cole also hit .492 with 19 RBIs and six doubles and played first base when she wasn’t pitching.
“I didn’t come out until my junior year because I was scared of a new team,” Cole said. “New coaches, new girls and a whole different environment. I was scared of making new friends. I was very anxious, but I got pretty comfortable. We all got close with each other. I’m confident now and I love it here.”
A senior catcher, Trandem is essential to everything the Rams hope to accomplish this season. She’s built up a strong relationship with ace Allison Cole, which empowers her to keep Cole calm in the circle and know when to call which pitches.
Trandem is a force at the plate, too. Last season she hit .362 with 23 runs, 17 RBI and a team-high seven doubles.
“Allie is a raw talent, but we have the same struggles when it comes to the sport with anxiety and being nervous,” Trandem said. “So we kind of understand each other, and instead of feeding off each other, I think we help each other to calm down. We make it fun instead of making it scary.”
Another team captain alongside Trandem, Cole and Isabelle Bain, Lipton brings defense, speed and contact hitting to the Rams.
She primarily plays shortstop and worked on her agility this season to further improve her defense and become a weapon on the basepaths.
If last season’s stats of a .365 batting average, 27 runs and five triples are any indication of what’s to come, she could be in for a special senior season.
“I did agility training with ladders and sprints and I used to have an agility trainer at my gym,” she said of her offseason work. “I wasn’t slow necessarily, but I knew to take it to the next step I had to be faster. I also did weightlifting here, and I knew that would help build strength in my legs.”
A key senior for Sarasota, Ramsden leads off and plays shortstop. Last season she hit .333 with 18 runs, 17 RBIs, six doubles, three triples, three home runs and six stolen bases.
After struggling to overcome mistakes during a sophomore season, Ramsden worked on her self confidence in travel ball and backed that up with an impressive junior year.
This year she said she’s working on becoming a better leader, and wouldn’t mind a few more home runs along the way.
“We actually had a really good year my sophomore year, the year that I struggled,” she said. “We were (21-5). We had a really good season, and that was probably the most fun season I’ve had. Last year was rough, so this year I want to have a season like we did my sophomore season. We have all the potential in the world. This team is full of talent. I think we could go far this year.”
Pint is another important senior leader for Sarasota who plays outfield and middle infield. She was one of the Sailors’ top hitters last season with a .377 batting average, 18 runs, 10 RBIs and seven stolen bases.
Pint said she prides herself on her ability to overcome mistakes and slumps, but that’s something that’s taken her some time to master.
“I had to work on my attitude when I struggled,” Pint said. “Last year I struggled a lot, so I worked on telling myself that it’s fine and I can get through it. It honestly gave me motivation for this year to work harder. This offseason I hit every day after school and was always here doing workouts with the girls.”
A slap-hitter speedster, Sommers bats second, plays center field, and is yet another senior ready to lead Sarasota.
Sommers said she’s best at tracking balls hit into the gaps on defense, but she is a weapon on offense, too. Last season she hit .354 with 18 runs, 11 RBI, two triples and a team-high 11 stolen bases.
“I definitely focused on hitting a lot,” Speers said of her offseason work. “I’m primarily a slapper, which is what I’m going to college for, but I like being able to do everything. So I really focused on hitting and being comfortable with my natural swing and not just slapping. That was a huge point of focus for me this past fall.”
A young Cougars team played a softer schedule last season, but the stats Lockhart put up were ludicrous.
Despite being a freshman, the shortstop hit .721 with 36 runs, 52 RBIs and 22 extra-base hits, including 10 home runs, along with 21 stolen bases.
Lockhart said she grinds in the offseason by lifting weights, playing travel ball and practicing on the side, but even she didn’t expect such a standout debut season.
“I want to do relatively as good as last year,” she said. “It’s hard to do better than that. I really want to help get my team together so we can win games against better teams.”
A sophomore second baseman and outfielder, Proffitt was one of many young Cougars last season who had to adjust to varsity softball while also being tasked with a full-time starting role.
Despite saying it took her time to feel comfortable, her stats don’t reflect it. She quickly turned into a top-of-the-order bat for Cardinal Mooney, hitting .469 with 34 runs, 18 RBIs, six extra-base hits and six stolen bases.
“The pitching was sometimes difficult to get used to and having to fill a position as a freshman on varsity was scary, just with the pressure,” said Proffitt who said she went to hitting coaches, played travel ball and did speed and agility work this offseason. “As a freshman, you can make mistakes.”
Griffith was a shutdown pitcher for Cardinal Mooney last season as a sophomore. She pitched 43 innings, allowing just 25 hits on the way to a 1.79 ERA, a 6-0 record and 52 strikeouts.
She was more than effective at the plate, too, with a .476 batting average, 15 runs and 14 RBIs across 51 plate appearances.
This season, Griffith is hoping for even better results in the pitcher’s circle where she throws a fastball, changeup and curveball.
“My goal is to have 100 strikeouts this year,” Griffith said. “It’s kind of a reach, but I’m a junior, so I still have one more year.”
Booker won no more than two games in a season from 2020-23 but turned the corner last year in a 6-8 season.
Howard, a captain last year, is back for her senior season.
The outfielder and third baseman said she’s best at defense, but her biggest improvement has been becoming a coachable player and leader.
“I had to learn how to understand what I’m doing wrong and fixing it,” she said. “I had to put my pride to the side.”
Avila-Ramirez joining Booker this year as a freshman is one of the reasons that head coach Shatoya Davis is so optimistic about the future.
The catcher, pitcher and second baseman said she’s best at catching, but is expected to be an impact player in the pitcher’s circle, too.
“I really want to get my timing down and taking a second to collect myself when I’m pitching,” she said.
