The IHSAA softball season is upon us. Here is this year's ALL-USA Central Indiana softball preseason Super Team.

More: What you need to know about Indiana high school softball 2024 season

Classics & bashes: These are the best Indiana high school softball events for 2024

FIRST TEAM

We'll have a "get to know them" story on our first team selections Tuesday.

Allie Blum

New Palestine, Sr., IF

College: Kentucky

Why she’s here: The three-sport standout is coming off a career year at the plate: .447 average with 40 RBIs, nine doubles, three triples and nine homers. Blum also swiped 16 bases and was nearly perfect in the field, with only eight errors on 103 chances at short (six double plays).

Favorite high school softball memory: “My freshman year when we beat Roncalli. We were so hype, so energetic, because that was our perfect regular season and beating them was the icing on that regular season. It was absolutely insane, a great game. I think about it a lot when I’m in high school season. It was a great feeling.”

Fab 15: Ranking Central Indiana's top teams entering season

Sammie Bolding

Eastern Hancock, Sr., IF

College: Toledo

Why she’s here: Bolding holds the program's all-time records for home runs (46), walks (51) and runs scored (148) to go with 130 RBIs and a .556 average over four varsity seasons. The two-sport standout batted .531 as a junior with 44 RBIs, 15 home runs and only seven strikeouts in 104 plate appearances. She also stole 29 bases and posted a .955 fielding percentage on 66 chances.

Favorite high school softball memory: “We had a tarp incident. We had to go out on the field and lay our tarp out, but it was so windy — which it always kind of is with the interstate right there — and the thing blew up and went over the dugout. It was throwing tires and hurdles and people were getting thrown. It was just chaotic. And I think for like a week the tarp just stayed there, covering our entire dugout, because they couldn’t get it off. It happened my freshman year and ever since then it’s just been laying on the side by our fence. Nobody touches it. If it rains, we just let it rain.”

Kate Dowden

Lawrence North, Sr., P-OF (injured)

College: Northwestern

Why she’s here: Dowden helped lead the Wildcats to a sectional championship, batting .519 with 59 runs scored (second-most in Class 4A), 11 doubles, five homers, 33 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. She also collected nine wins and fanned 85 batters with a sub-4.00 ERA. The Northwestern commit, who's currently recovering from an offseason knee injury, is a .487 career hitter with 10 homers, 68 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Winning sectionals last year was so fun, because a lot of the girls from my grade were on the team and it was so amazing having Kaci Kirkpatrick, our center fielder, make an amazing diving play at the end. It’s just so rewarding to win sectional after working your butt off and seeing everybody else doing the same thing, working just as hard as I was. Even though we didn’t win regionals, that moment, winning sectionals with everybody together and happy was so fulfilling. And Anna (Mauck) would bring this big speaker on the bus and we would blast music on the bus. It was so fun. I’m so excited for sectionals to roll around this year, because it’s such a fun time with these girls.”

Gabby Fowler

Noblesville, Sr., INF

College: East Carolina

Why she’s here: The East Carolina-bound slugger set the school's single-season home run record with 15 over 26 games. She drove in 47 runs, scored 34 herself and batted .482, while also netting a .925 fielding percentage with 51 assists, 23 putouts and two double plays. Fowler has seven multi-home run games in her career (three last season).

Favorite high school softball memory: “Winning sectionals my freshman year. I loved every moment being with that team. Everything just felt unreal. It was my freshman year, so everything was new to me. I didn’t really know what high school softball was. I mean, I’d played that season prior to the tournament, but I never really fully grasped what an IHSAA tournament felt like and being able to make it that far showed me the rules of how to be a team player, what to do, how to do the things I was able to do. It contributed a lot to my future success and being a leader, a teammate, putting others above me and focusing on the team aspect. That group was so much fun to play with. Every pitch, just waiting and anticipating it, it all just felt so unreal. Am I really in this moment? Am I really a freshman doing this? It was an amazing experience.”

Katelin Goodwin

Pendleton Heights, Sr., C

College: Dayton

Why she’s here: A key contributor to the Arabians' run to a regional championship, the Dayton-bound Goodwin led the team in RBIs (a career-high 45) and doubles (eight) and ranked second with 10 home runs. She batted .337, swiped a couple bases and turned 10 double plays in the field (.972 fielding percentage). Goodwin will move to catcher, her primary position, this season.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Individually, the home run I hit off New Pal in the sectional championship. But overall, Bo (Shelton)’s walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh (to beat Lawrence North) in regionals last year. That’s one of the greatest moments I’ve ever witnessed. It was such a great game and probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. That type of excitement is what I love about the game and I love Bo. We played together a couple years and are super close. She’s super fun to be around and play with, so I was super excited in the moment.”

Hannah Haberstroh

Center Grove, Sr., OF

College: Ohio State

Why she’s here: The Ohio State-bound base burglar swiped a school-record 30 bases, leaving her with 72 entering her senior year. Haberstroh also batted .495 with seven doubles, 37 runs scored and 20 RBIs for the 22-win Trojans, and recorded putouts on 37 of 38 chances in the outfield.

Favorite high school softball memory: “This past year when we played Avon. It was a battle. We kept going back-and-forth the whole game — I think we even went extra innings. It was really cool to see us in a battle and how much grit we had to get out on top.” (Final score: 11-10)

Audrey Lowry

Tri-West, Sr., P

College: Oklahoma

Why she’s here: One of the state's best, the future Sooner led the Bruins to a second consecutive 3A runner-up finish, posting a 20-5 record with a 1.04 ERA and 252 strikeouts over 148 innings pitched. Lowry was excellent at the plate, as well, batting .607 with 50 RBIs and eight home runs.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Sophomore year semistate, because we had lots of fun, then last year’s semistate. Those weekends with two games are just really fun. We stay in a hotel together, the bus ride down — we really bond together. … Individually, our sophomore state game, that was amazing. I didn’t realize how many strikeouts I had, then someone told me after that I had like 21 or 22 and I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I had 10.”

Anna Mauck

Lawrence North, Sr., IF

College: Kentucky

Why she’s here: Mauck ranks second in state history for career grand slams (3), single-season RBIs (70) and home runs in a game (3 — done twice). She accounted for two of those grand slams and led 4A in RBIs as a junior, rounding out her line with a .529 average, 48 runs scored, 13 homers, 13 stolen bases and four triples.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Just being in the dugout with these girls, building a connection and being able to be on the field with them, making jokes and knowing if the game is close, I’m fine, I’m relaxed, like I have my sisters next to me. And just being able to rely on each other and calm the nerves.”

Malone Moore

Beech Grove, Sr., P

College: Coastal Carolina

Why she’s here: The nationally ranked Moore dominates in the circle and rakes at the plate. She's posted a sub-2.00 ERA in each of her first three seasons, totaling 39 wins (10 shutouts, five no-hitters) and 461 strikeouts. As a batter, she hit .575 (50 hits) with 46 RBIs and seven homers, leading Beech Grove to its first sectional and regional championships.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Either our drive to semistate (last season) in the mini buses and the send-off, or when we went to Kentucky my sophomore year. We didn’t win a single game, but it was just so much fun being there with everybody and coach (Kacy) Ferrell bought us Chik-Fil-A after we went 0-4 on the weekend.”

Hannah Sutton

Avon, Sr., 2B

College: Murray State

Why she’s here: Sutton hit 15 home runs last season, triple her total from 2021-22. She also hit 10 doubles, drove in 47 runs, scored 37 times herself and posted a career-best .404 average. The Murray State-bound slugger stole a couple bases and scored 43 putouts and 13 assists at second base.

Favorite high school softball memory: “Sectional my sophomore year when Mandy (Lauth) and I went back-to-back. That was so fun. I homered, then she was like, ‘I’m going to hit one further than you.’ And she did. I was like, ‘OK, Mandy, you don’t have to show off.’ That game was top-tier.”

SECOND TEAM

Pitchers

Zoey Kugelman, Mooresville, Sr., P-SS-OF

College: Franklin

Kugelman was a critical piece to the Pios' regional championship run. She dazzled in the circle, posting an 11-0 record (two shutouts), a 1.36 ERA and 59 strikeouts, and was a reliable bat in the lineup, hitting .407 with 50 hits, 52 runs scored, 37 RBIs and three home runs.

Kate Murray, Fishers, Jr.

College: Butler

The future Bulldog took strides in her second season, doubling her win total (10) and lowering her ERA to 2.83. Murray's 138 strikeouts nearly matched her 2022 total. She established herself as a staple in the Tigers' lineup, too, batting .349 (68 plate appearances) with 27 RBIs and eight home runs.

Grace Swedarsky, Hamilton Southeastern, So.

College: Undecided

Swedarsky took the state by storm last spring, limiting opposing hitters to a .164 batting average. She struck out 242 and walked only 22 across 119.2 innings pitched, and finished the season 12-5 with a 1.35 ERA. One opposing coach suggested she might be the best pitcher in the state this season.

Chloe Tanner, Westfield, Jr.

College: Undecided

Tanner's career has followed a similar trajectory to Murray, with the Shamrocks standout dropping her ERA to 3.09 and adding 154 strikeouts to her career total. She out-dueled Swedarsky in the sectional championship game and did work at the plate, batting .313 with four triples and 19 RBIs.

Infielders

Adeline Blackwell, Franklin, Jr., SS

College: Undecided

The lefty slapper swiped 50 stolen bases as a sophomore, leaving her with 92 for her career and positioning her to challenge the state record set by her older sister, 2023 Roncalli grad Lyla Blackwell (now at Virginia Tech). Adeline batted .540 with 54 hits and 41 runs. She only struck out three times.

Paige Ernstes, New Palestine, Sr., 3B

College: Mississippi State

A model of consistency, Ernstes batted .443 in her second varsity season, with 39 hits, six home runs, 29 runs scored and 28 RBIs. She only struck out five times, swiped three bags and improved as a fielder, finishing with 45 assists and 20 putouts on 72 total chances.

Riley Janda, Center Grove, Sr., INF

College: Louisville

Janda turned six double plays and committed just three errors on 92 total chances (.967). She was equally dependable at the plate, batting .317 with seven doubles, a triple and two homers, plus 29 runs scored and 22 driven in. Janda also stole a career-high 13 bases.

Carley Keller, Roncalli, Jr., 3B

College: Undecided

Ranked 19th in her class by Extra Innings Softball, Keller batted .504 as a sophomore for the 4A runner-up Royals. She collected 57 hits, scored 38 runs and drove in 21 herself, while logging a .964 fielding percentage on 56 chances (36 assists, 18 putouts).

Anna Moore, Cathedral, Jr., SS

College: Purdue

Moore was the Irish's second-leading hitter, batting .518 (43 hits) with a team-high five triples, 40 runs scored, 25 RBIs and a couple home runs. The future Boilermaker also stole 13 bases and posted an .896 fielding percentage that included five double plays, 55 assists and 40 putouts.

Addison Stieneker, Shelbyville, Jr., 1B

College: Marshall

The 5-7 junior is the Golden Bears' biggest returning threat at the plate. She followed a breakout freshman campaign by batting .436 with 41 hits, 40 RBIs, 12 doubles and seven home runs as a sophomore. She only struck out nine times in 103 plate appearances, stole five bases and was nearly perfect in the field (one error on 81 chances).

Outfielders

Emma Fegan, Roncalli, Sr.

College: Thomas More

Fegan emerged as a critical contributor for the senior-driven Royals in her first varsity season. She posted a well-rounded line at the plate: .511, 40 runs, 45 hits, 42 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples and three homers. She also stole six bases.

Crushing it: How Roncalli junior Emma Fegan became a top bat on senior-led team

Izzy Neal, Brownsburg, Jr.

College: Miami (Ohio)

A two-sport athlete in the spring, the speed demon Neal stole 32 bases as a sophomore (up from 13 as a freshman). She owned a .517 on-base percentage, batted .488 (41 hits) and scored 30 runs. She drew four walks, reached on an error four times and only struck out once.

Utility

Kiah Hubble, Pendleton Heights, Sr.

College: Bradley

The do-it-all Hubble batted .413 in her second full varsity season, helping the Arabians advance to the semistate championship game. Her final line included 38 hits, 34 runs, eight RBIs and a triple. Hubble also stole nine bases and was perfect on 15 chances in the field.

THIRD TEAM

Pitchers

Brylie Couch, Triton Central, Jr., P-SS

College: Undecided

A two-sport athlete, Couch spun a 5-3 record with a 1.88 ERA, 131 strikeouts and only 18 earned runs allowed over 67 innings pitched for the regional champs. She also hit .471 with 31 runs scored, 27 RBIs, six homers and 12 steals.

Cheyenne Eads, Shelbyville, Sr., P-2B

College: UIndy

Eads collected 10 wins and 193 strikeouts over 127.2 innings pitched. She posted a 2.30 ERA in the circle and batted .344 with 32 hits, 23 RBIs, nine doubles and four homers for a power-packed Shelbyville lineup.

Grace Gray, Cascade, Jr., P-OF

College: Ball State

Part of a two-member pitching battery, Gray posted a 9-4 record with a 1.46 ERA and 168 strikeouts over 95.2 innings pitched. She swiped 13 bases and batted .474 with 37 hits, 40 runs, 44 RBIs, seven triples and nine home runs. Gray also boasted a .932 fielding percentage.

Shelby Messer, Pendleton Heights, Sr., P

College: Earlham

Messer put together a breakout junior campaign last spring, posting a 13-1 record with a 2.71 ERA and 89 strikeouts. She was terrific in the state tournament, stringing together complete games over Greenfield-Central (11 strikeouts), New Palestine, Lawrence North (15 strikeouts) and Mooresville (eight strikeouts) to send the Arabians to the state semifinals.

Lily Roush, Hamilton Heights, Sr., P-OF-INF

College: IUPUI

Roush led the Huskies to a sectional championship as a junior, finishing 9-3 in the circle with a 1.00 ERA and 182 strikeouts over 105.1 innings pitched. She was a factor at the plate, too, batting .381 with 31 runs, 26 RBis, 11 doubles and a homer. Roush also stole 15 bases.

Alayna Tesnar, Heritage Christian, Sr., P-INF

College: Marian

The first team all-state pick fanned 217 batters, held opposing hitters to a .177 batting average and only issued 18 walks in 109.2 innings pitched. Tesnar also batted .452 herself with 33 hits, 23 RBIs, 26 runs scored and eight doubles.

Infielders

Alli Gavin, Indian Creek, Sr., C

College: Indiana

Gavin was flawless behind the plate, recording 171 putouts, five assists and two double plays on 176 chances. She swiped 11 bases and batted a career-best .429 at the plate, logging 24 hits, 18 runs, six homers, five doubles, two triples and 17 RBIs.

Madison Poulson, Mooresville, Sr., SS-2B-C

College: Indiana State

Poulson enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Pios, batting .415 with 51 hits, 51 runs scored and 15 RBIs. She drew 11 walks, reached on an error nine times and swiped 15 bases (38 for her career). In the field, Poulson recorded 64 putouts and 34 assists on 110 chances.

Shelby Rakosky, Mt. Vernon, Sr., SS-OF-3B

College: Mount Saint Joseph

Rakosky will take on more pitching responsibilities after posting a 1.40 ERA and 10 strikeouts over her five innings as a junior. But she's been dependable in the field (.959 FP, five double plays) and at the plate: .506 average, 45 hits, 38 runs, 37 RBIs, 12 home runs.

Hailey Thompson, Brownsburg, Sr., SS-P

College: UIndy

In addition to racking up 129 strikeouts over 95.1 innings pitched, Thompson posted career-highs in average (.461), runs (29), hits (41), RBIs (47), doubles (10) and homers (9). She owned a .505 on-base percentage and a .898 slugging percentage.

Josie White, Greenfield-Central, Jr., SS

College: Undecided

An injury derailed White's sophomore season after 18 games, but she was very good for the Cougars, batting .530 with 35 hits, 27 runs scored, four doubles, three triples, two homers and 11 RBIs. She also recorded three double plays and 12 assists on 40 chances in the field (.950).

Outfielders

Mary Hughes, Cathedral, Sr., CF

College: Undecided

The Irish's leading hitter with a .520 average, Hughes logged 51 hits, drove in 14 runs, scored 33 times herself. She was successful on 21 of 24 steal attempts and registered 61 putouts and four assists on 65 total chances.

Mystic Means, Lutheran, Sr., LF

College: Marian

Means led the Saints to a 20-win campaign, batting .546 with 53 hits, 40 runs scored, her first career home run and 42 stolen bases. She has 90 steals through three seasons and is a career .486 hitter.

Hailey Trueblood, Fishers, Sr.

College: Grace

The Tigers' top hitter, Trueblood batted .423 with 33 hits, 24 runs and eight RBIs. She also posted putouts on 14 of 15 chances in the field and stole 10 bases for Fishers, which is among the front runners in a loaded sectional.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyStar softball Super Team loaded with big-time recruits, top players