Softball: Playoff predictions, top players, team favorites, upset alerts
The N.C. High School Athletic Association softball playoffs begin Tuesday with opening round games. The winners advance to Friday's second round.
In this playoff preview we hand out bracket superlatives, give four favorites and one dark horse for each bracket half, and even make championship predictions (that we're sure nobody will have any problem with and will be shocked if any of them don't pan out, right?).
We also listed the top 10 players in each bracket half. Many of these players are candidates for our all-state teams that are released a few weeks after the regular season. There's a first, second, and third team of 25 players each, plus an honorable mention team of 50.
Quick links
- Preseason Watch List (Insider)
- Class of 2024 recruits
- End-of-regular-season rankings
- Last year's 4A title (Apex over Hickory Ridge)
- Last year's 3A title (East Lincoln over Western Alamance)
- Last year's 2A title (West Stanly over Midway)
- Last year's 1A title (Union Academy over North Duplin)
- Last year's all-state team
- Last year's final rankings
Enjoy the rest of this column below:
4A East breakdown
Bracket Superlatives
Best first-round matchup — Apex at Wake Forest. Wake Forest made a run last year with one of the 4A east's top arms in Jil Livengood who is good enough to carry a team on a run. The defending 4A champs have had a rollercoaster of a season but continue to prove time and time again that they don't mind battling on the road. You can never count them out from making a run.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (27) Gray's Creek is in a tough league and plays a (6) Cardinal Gibbons team that won the Cap-6.
The hardest road — (2) Wakefield getting potentially South View or Panther Creek in the second round and Cleveland or Lumberton in the third is brutal.
The easiest road — (3) D.H. Conley has a decent path to the fourth round already.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Wakefield
Favorite #2 — (1) Garner
Favorite #3 — (3) D.H. Conley
Favorite #4 — (5) Apex Friendship
Dark horse — (10) Cleveland
Our top 10 players in the bracket
- Layla Lamar, Panther Creek
- Jolyna Lamar, Panther Creek
- Gaby Mizelle, Garner
- Brooke Masingale, Wakefield
- Dayna Bland, Wakefield
- Leah Gore, Middle Creek
- Jordynn Parnell, South View
- Kylie Specht, Jordan
- Olivia Hadnott, D.H. Conley
- Macey Ciamillo, Hoggard
4A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (17) Cuthbertson at (16) Davie County. Two teams that put together strong seasons in loaded conferences. Cuthbertson is fresh off of a nice run in its conference tournament before falling to Marvin Ridge.
Best chance at a first-round upset — Best is probably not the accurate word, but (20) East Forsyth at (13) West Forsyth gets our vote. Not too many realistic options here.
The hardest road — (2) Mooresville could come upon Lake Norman in round two and Alexander Central in round three, and either Weddington or Marvin Ridge in round four!
The easiest road — (1) South Caldwell has smooth sailing until round four.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) South Caldwell
Favorite #2 — (10) Alexander Central
Favorite #3 — (2) Mooresville
Favorite #4 — (4) Northwest Guilford
Dark horse — (11) Marvin Ridge
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Sydney Horton, West Forsyth
- Ella Tracy, Marvin Ridge
- Campbell Schaen, Mooresville
- Anna McGowan, Marvin Ridge
- Bel Varadi, Northwest Guilford
- Sydnee Bumgarner, South Caldwell
- Madelyn Miller, Weddington
- Natalya Salo, Porter Ridge
- Laney Wilke, Alexander Central
- Madden McMahan-Waters, Hough
3A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (21) Harnett Central is better than its RPI and meets a pretty good (12) Richlands team.
Best chance at a first-round upset — Going with (22) Western Harnett on the road against (11) Vance County.
The hardest road — (4) South Johnston simply doesn't get a break. Orange, C.B. Aycock, Richlands, Harnett Central, and South Brunswick could come to Four Oaks in the first three rounds!
The easiest road — (3) Southern Alamance gets the vote here, but the 3A East is loaded, so "easy" is a relative term here.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Scotland
Favorite #2 — (3) Southern Alamance
Favorite #3 — (5) South Brunswick
Favorite #4 — (2) Southern Nash
Dark horse — (8) Triton
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Kina Davis, South Brunswick
- Mackenzie Goin, Richlands
- Anna Dickinson, Southern Nash
- Reese Penny, South Johnston
- Haven Roebuck South Central
- Rylee Humble, Southern Alamance
- Avery Stutts, Scotland
- Lannah Price, South Johnston
- Kara Alday, Western Alamance
- Aubree Bass, Triton
3A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (21) Eastern Guilford at (12) Crest is a fantastic pitching showdown in round one.
Best chance at a first-round upset — Let's roll the dice with (27) Central Davidson at (6) Rockingham County.
The hardest road — (1) Oak Grove has a decent path until round four.
The easiest road — (3) Kings Mountain gets one round that it should win easily, and the rest will be closely contested.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Oak Grove
Favorite #2 — (10) North Davidson
Favorite #3 — (2) Kings Mountain
Favorite #4 — (3) East Rowan
Dark horse — (12) Crest
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Emma Clarke, West Rowan
- Mary Petyon Hodge, Oak Grove
- Taniyah Thomas, East Lincoln
- Riley Vogel, Fred T. Foard
- Jasmine Mack, Eastern Guilford
- Carly White, Oak Grove
- Tatum Martin, East Lincoln
- Anicka McFarland, St. Stephens
- Avery Moffitt, Franklin
- Madeline Huffman, Kings Mountain
2A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (19) Farmville Central at (14) Nash Central feels like a pretty evenly-matched contest.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (27) Eastern Wayne at (6) South Lenoir. The Warriors have the pitching to win a playoff game if they don't make too many errors.
The hardest road — (2) Roanoke Rapids is going to see some good teams and historic programs in almost every round.
The easiest road — (4) Martin County avoids some of the heavy hitters until the fourth round.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Camden County
Favorite #2 — (3) Midway
Favorite #3 — (5) Washington
Favorite #4 — (2) Roanoke Rapids
Dark horse — (6) South Lenoir
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Mallory Reed, Eastern Wayne
- Carlyn Tanis, Camden County
- Emma Orr, Washington
- Peyton Lane, Martin County
- Sarah Hess, Spring Creek
- Logan Gunter, Jordan-Matthews
- Maci Worrells, Nash Central
- Laycie Eastwood, Farmville Central
- Reah Lee, South Columbus
- Reagan Smith, Jordan-Matthews
2A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — Watch (19) Randleman at (14) Mount Pleasant for a close contest.
Best chance at a first-round upset — If you consider this an upset, maybe (22) CHASE over (11) East Gaston?
The hardest road — (4) Southwestern Randolph could meet McMichael in the second round and maybe Bunker Hill in round three and maybe West Wilkes in round four!
The easiest road — (2) North Stanly has a favorable draw through the first three rounds.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) West Wilkes
Favorite #2 — (2) North Stanly
Favorite #3 — (8) West Stanly
Favorite #4 — (3) Maiden
Dark horse — (12) Bunker Hill
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Lily Proffit, West Wilkes
- Macy Michael, Maiden
- Dakota Redmon, McMichael
- Macie Crutchfield, Southwestern Randolph
- Sophia Crist, North Stanly
- Serena Thurman, Bunker Hill
- Averie Waddell, Maiden
- Jordan McCorkle, East Gaston
- Maddie Huneycutt, Mount Pleasant
- Claire Wilson Brevard
1A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (20) North Moore at (13) Northside of Beauforth County might be the best of a bunch that figures to have a lot of blowouts.
Best chance at a first-round upset — There are not many upsets on paper, but maybe (23) Clover Garden at (10) Falls Lake Academy would suffice?
The hardest road — (3) Bear Grass Charter could get Rosewood in round two and either Roxboro Community or Chatham Central in round three.
The easiest road — (1) North Duplin will get a stiff test in the third round, but the first two should be easier.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) North Duplin
Favorite #2 — (3) Bear Grass Charter
Favorite #3 — (2) Vance Charter
Favorite #4 — (11) Roxboro Community
Dark horse — (6) Chatham Central
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Addison Higginbotham, North Duplin
- Reece Outlaw, North Duplin
- Bella Boykin, Northside of Beaufort County
- Lilly Fulghum, North Duplin
- Peyton Robinson, Pamlico County
- Layla Prescott, Pamlico County
- Morgan Matthews, Vance Charter
- Hailey King, Union
- Lilly Winslow, Perquimans
- Shaelyn Johnson, Weldon
1A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (19) Cornerstone Charter at (14) Elkin promises to be a good one.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (20) Gray Stone Day at (13) Murphy is a case where the visiting team's conference is tougher top-to-bottom than the home team's.
The hardest road — (1) Uwharrie Cahrter avoids some of the top challengers until a potential fourth-rounder with Cherryville or Robbinsville.
The easiest road — (2) East Wilkes has smooth sailing until the fourth round, or so we think.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (5) Cherryville
Favorite #2 — (3) South Stanly
Favorite #3 — (1) Uwharrie Charter
Favorite #4 — (2) East Wilkes
Dark horse — (11) Union Academy
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville
- Riley Griffin, Union Academy
- Addie Flinchum, Eastern Randolph
- Jayden Hutchison, East Wilkes
- Paisley Boatright, Union Academy
- Mollie Bulla, Uwharrie Chater
- Sydney Patterson, South Stokes
- Abby Hatley, East Wilkes
- Maddie Crouch, Draughn
- Ryleigh Pinnix, South Stokes
Championship and regional final predictions
Locations, dates named for NCHSAA spring sports state championships
NCHSAA
4A East: (2) Wakefield over (1) Garner
4A West: (1) South Caldwell over (10) Alexander Central
4A championship: Wakefield over South Caldwell
3A East: (1) Scotland over (6) South Central
3A West: (1) Oak Grove over (2) Kings Mountain
3A championship: Oak Grove over Scotland
2A East: (3) Midway at (1) Camden County
2A West: (1) West Wilkes over (2) North Stanly
2A championship: West Wilkes over Midway
1A East: (1) North Duplin over (3) Bear Grass Charter
1A West: (5) Cherryville over (3) South Stanly
1A championship: North Duplin over Cherryville
NCISAA
DI: (2) North Raleigh Christian over (1) Cannon School
DII: (1) High Point Christian over (2) Grace Christian of Sanford
DIII: (1) Freedom Christian over (2) Wayne Christian
