By: Trey Donovan
Going alongside the Tulsa Elite Summer Invite, the Heartland College Showcase is running this weekend from June 7 through June 10. The event will be played at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex and Adair Park in Lee’s Summit. The tournament is run through an open division and an invite division with around 136 teams signed up across both divisions. The event will have 14u, 16u, and 18u teams from Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas.
Gate Fees:
Children (1-12): Free
Teens & Adults (13-64): $12.00
Senior (65+): $6.00
Military: Free
Check out some of the teams joining us below!
14u Invite
Kansas Renegades Enfield
Coaching Staff: Leeza Enfield and Robert Thomas
Team Social Media: Kansas Renegades Enfield (Facebook)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: In summer 2023 as a first year 14’s team we placed 5th in the Kansas-Missouri USSSA State Championship, and we went 18-11-1 for the season. In fall 2023 we had two 1st place finishes and three 3rd place finishes. In spring 2024 we won 1st in the Mother’s Day Play for Rings and 2nd in the Wichita 7 Game Showdown.
Key Players: Emerson Hiebert pitcher and infielder who brings morale to this team every chance she can play hard and does whatever she can for the team.
Lexie Brasser is an outfielder and middle infielder with a great attitude and great addition to the team. She also brings a strong bat to this team.
Jaycie Thomas all around utility player who can play anywhere on the field the team needs her to play and brings a strong bat to the team.
Kylie Matthews pitcher who continues to improve her pitching abilities.
Expectations for 2024 Season: We expect to continue to play many exceptional teams this summer. In doing so we will be challenging ourselves so that we can improve our game and be the best version of our team. We will instill the love of the game by cheering each other on that way we can succeed on and off the field.
TBSA Wahoos ’09 Smithers
Coaching Staff: Bob Smithers, Chris Jones, and Josh Warren
Team Social Media: @tbsa_wahoos_09 (Twitter/X), TBSA Wahoos ’09 (Facebook)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: 9/8: PG College Showcase Louisville Slugger (Peoria, Il) 3 -2 losing twice to same pitcher, shut out first game and put up 8 next. (Schlader 2027 twice) – 9/22: LP4U Queen of the Hill 3-2 (Peoria, Il) – 10/14: Top 100 Showcase (Grand Park, IN) 2-3 with 3 one run games losses – 10/22: PG Top 100 Showcase 5-0 (Chesterfield, MO), 10/28: LP4U Showcase 3-1 (Peoria, Il).
Key players: Addi Jones ’27, C/CF, #40: incredible leadoff hitter with slap and power, L/L, blocking, framing, and picking are off the charts. One of the fastest players you will see on the field, constantly pushing the envelope making plays happen. Her secondary position is CF and is a D1 talent there as well. Addi is currently in the final 4 of the Illinois State Finals as the leadoff hitter, currently hitting over .400, OPB .580, leading the conference in runs scored. She is also playing 3B and well, as a lefty, an amazing athlete!
Khloe Kearns ’28, P, #16: spin rates are off the charts. 5 pitch arsenal with Fastball (60), Screw Ball (58), Rise (58-60), Curve Ball (56) and Change (dies midway in, 42-45). Has pitched in the national spotlight on ESPN a year ago and dominated. Khloe pitches with an edge and calmness that is hard to find a balance in. The power and movement mixed with incredible changeup she gets a lot of swing and miss, and soft contact.
Elle Smithers ’27, SS/3B #1: Left-handed power bat (L/R), runs the bases well, will be one of the better defenders on the left side of the infield at any tournament. Strong arm, very fast feet and always in the game assessing the game, communicating with her teammates. She has been a leader that this team has leaned on, whether it be a moment that we need picked up or just to calm the team in a big moment. Was named 1 of 4 varsity captains this year, as a freshman. Finished freshman season with a .980 OPS (15 singles, 9 doubles, 4 triples, 3HR), a true leader with D1 talent.
I could keep going, they are all very disciplined at the plate and defensively.
Expectations for 2024 Season: Showcase in front of as many schools on all levels as possible this year, staying focused on the Midwest where all the players will attend college in some capacity. We are unique to most teams we compete with; we have a very close-knit group. All have played against or with each other competing since 8U. We have continued to add talent throughout central Illinois but have a core of 6 that have pushed each other for the last 5 years. We have an indoor facility that allows us to work year-round, keeping up with the national programs. My expectations this year are to make several “grocery lists” as we can heading into 16U.
ROI Fastpitch Kessler
Coaching Staff: Brad Kessler.
Team Social Media: @R.O.I Fastpitch (Twitter/X), R.O.I Fastpitch (Facebook), R.O.I Fastpitch (Instagram).
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: Summer record: 75-15-3, Fall record: 19-2.
Key Players: Gabriyella Kessler #77-Shortstop, Raegan Brandt #7/Pitcher, Maisey McCarty #55/Pitcher/1st, Courtney Bandy #16/Pitcher.
Expectations for 2024 Season: To continue to develop and compete at the highest level against the best teams.
16u Invite
St Louis Chaos Roth
Coaching Staff: Jeff Roth and John Kiene.
Team Social Media: @chaos08Roth (Twitter/X), St Louis Chaos National 16u Roth (Facebook), @STLCHAOS08ROTH (Instagram)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: 3rd place finish at USSSA Nationals and 2nd place finish at PG Midwest Iowa Nationals.
Key Players: 2025 Sophia Otten – 3B, 1B, RHP
2025 Jalaya Ries – OF
2026 Coley Hunt – Catcher, Utility
2026 Summer Branch – RHP, 3rd
2026 Aidan Dintelman – RHP, 1B
2026 Ameila Raziq – 3rd, 1st, Catcher
Expectations for 2024 Season: Build a strong team foundation, promote the girls and finish strong in the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series.
Nebraska National Taylor 16u
Coaching Staff: Brett Taylor & Kirsten Dargy
Team Social Media: @NENational08 (Twitter)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes:
-42-29-3 playing an elite level schedule last season
-1st Place at Top Gun NE National Tourney
-2nd Place at Top Gun Thunder/NE Gold Tourney
-2nd Place at USSSA 16) Swing into Spring
-3rd Place at Top Gun Swing into Spring Tourney
-4th Place at USSSA SEC National Championship
-7 Top 4 finishes out of 10 tournaments (not including rain shortened/canceled tournaments)
-14U PGF Nationals at large bid (Platinum Division)
Key Players:
-Maizey Carpenter
-Toria Rother
-Lauren Schneider
-Elli Ridgley
-Alexa Taylor
Expectations for 2024 Spring Season: We are an improved team over last year. We have a great group of girls and parents. Our goal as coaches is to continue to develop our players to help them reach their potential.
18u Invite
South Dakota Renegades McDougall
Coaching Staff: Kara McDougall and Ashley Mickschl. Kara – 2019 National Champion at Augustana University as a player, 2021 National Champion at West Texas A&M as a graduate assistant. All NSIC and All NSIC Academic, NFCA Scholar Athlete
Ashley – 2019 National Champion at Augustana. D2 National Championships Tournament MVP. 4X NFCA All American. Won 114 games in her career at Augie.
Team Social Media: @south_04 (Twitter/X)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: South Dakota State Champions 16u, 18u Top Gun Elite Champions, Boulder IDT participant.
Key Players: Paxton Dekkers – Uncommitted 2025 1B/3B/DP who is just tapping into her power potential. In 22 games this high school spring season Paxton hit .491 with 28 hits, 6 doubles and 8 home runs. had an OPS of 1.636.
Madison Evans – dominant pitcher that misses barrels. Elite two-way player that often hits from the lead-off spot as well. Led her high school to an undefeated season and state championship in the spring of 2024. Committed to University of South Dakota
Amanda Vacanti – Game changing power. 17 doubles and 19 home runs in summer 2023. Committed to South Dakota State University.
Norah Christiansen – Energy leader with a lot of power in the middle of the lineup. Plays to win and can play anywhere on the field with elite arm strength. Committed to Augustana University (SD).
Claire Wynja – An absolute gamer and leader on the field. Has great range, great speed and can hit for both power and average from the top of the lineup. Committed to South Dakota State University.
Tierney Schramm – breakout season in summer of 2024 with 19 doubles and 5 home runs moving back and forth from middle infield to the outfield. Walked 39 times from the left side. Committed to Augustana University (SD).
Expectations for 2024 Season: This team has been in the works for many years. Watching these players develop into the elite players they are, has been a joy. They work hard, stay focused while having fun and enjoy the process behind everything. We expect them to compete and play against the best across the nation this summer in preparation for many to go off to great colleges and universities this fall or to come back for their senior year. They have a grueling 8-week schedule against some amazing competition, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to push them to get them ready for their collegiate careers.
Nebraska Gold Jarzboski
Coaching Staff: Edward Jarzobski (9th year coaching competitive softball), Maurice Anderson (10th year coaching competitive softball, NE Gold coach Team Anderson and Softball President MUS) & Dave Hobza (7th year coaching competitive softball)
Team Social Media: @negold18u (Twitter/X)
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: 6 seniors went on to play in college (1 D1, 1 D2, 1 D3, 3 NAIA), All 12 of our current seniors are committed to play in college (2 D1, 4 D2, 6 NAIA)
Key Players: Mackenzie Groniga, Emi Waldow, Katelyn Jarzobski, Addy Hobza, Kriestyn Linn
Expectations for 2024 Spring Season: Goal is to finish top 4 Top Gun Viper and top 10 in Top Gun Championship
St Louis Chaos 18u Mazzola
Coaching Staff: Steve Mazzola, Randy Viefhaus, Katlyn Thomas, and Skeeter Gentile.
Team Social Media: @stlchaos04 (Twitter/X), St Louis Chaos 18u-Mazzola (Facebook), Stllouischaos04 (Instagram).
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: 2023 was a fun year with lots of girls committing to schools and playing in some of the best tournaments in the country. Probably one of the most memorable tourneys of ‘23 was the Alliance National Championship in California. After we got our girls back in the fall from Missouri High School Softball, we competed in 3 exposure tournaments before headed into December.
Key Players: Sophi Mazzola-University of Washington
Emma Gipson-Southern Illinois U-Carbondale
Hailey Nuener-Harvard University
AJ Jones-Loyola University
Lauren Nichols-Southern Illinois U-Edwardsville
Carle Bachman-Southern Illinois U-Edwardsville
Lauren Rowland-Missouri State University
Jay Brister- Northern Illinois University
Trinity Brandhorst-University of Illinois-Chicago
Tyra Haffer-Southwest Baptist University
Kylie Witthaus-Southern Indiana University
Expectations for 2024 Season: Have fun and make it a memorable one for our seniors. To prepare all of these kids for the next level and win some ballgames! The goal is to make it to Super Regionals in the Alliance National Championship and see what happens.
18u Texas Glory Agnew
Coaching Staff: Taylor Agnew, Ryan Zamudio, and Molly Huffman.
Team Social Media: @TXGloryCO (Twitter/X), Texas Glory, CO – Agnew (Facebook), tx_glory_co (Instagram).
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: Finished fall season 8-1; Finished 5-0 @ Don Battles On, outscoring opponents 54-16. Fall season- scored 80 runs, allowed 25. No 2023 summer season.
Key Players: Hadley Hudson, 2024 RHP, Southwestern Oregon CC commit. Reagan Diamond, 2024 C, Carnegie Mellon commit. Kaylee McDonald, 2024 3B, Ohio University commit. Marisol Miranda, OF, uncommitted. Avery Salisbury, 2025 SS, uncommitted. Reagan Agnew, 2024 2B, Hutchinson CC commit. Natalynn Lundeen, 2024 C, Hamline commit. Lia Martinez, 2025 3B, uncommitted.
Expectations for 2024 Season: Our expectation is to be competitive in every game we play. Win or lose, we compete on every pitch of every inning. Of course, we also want to win and look to finish at the top of each tournament. Through all this, we want our players heading to college in the Fall to be as prepared as they can be to step foot on campus.
14u Open
Synergy Gold Clurman 14u
Coaching Staff: Cam Clurman (head coach), Willie Dean (assistant coach) & Jeremiah Feurt (assistant coach)
Team Social Media: Synergy Softball Organization (Facebook), & synergysoftballorg (Instagram & TikTok)
2024 Summer & Fall Successes: 2nd place at Road to the Beach 12A Nationals in Destin, FL
Expectations for 2024 Spring Season: Competing in Top Gun Events, PGF Stars and Stripes, 13A Nationals in Nashville, TN.
KC Rebels Lickel
Coaching Staff: Dan Lickel (head coach), Megan Arnott (assistant coach), Bob Waddel (assistant coach) & Mitch Hughes (assistant coach)
Team Social Media: KC Rebels 14A Lickel (Facebook) & @KCRebelsLickel (X)
2023 Fall & Summer Successes: 1st Place Swing for the Rings
Key Players: All of ‘em.
Expectations for 2024 Spring Season: Top Gun Ranger, USA Memorial Day, Top Gun Discovery Showcase, Top Gun Heartland Showcase, PG Recruit Revolution Showcase, USSSA Dust & Diamonds, USA Heartland World Series
16u Open
Tenacity Hagardt
Coaching Staff: Sarah Hagardt, Jeff McCoy, and Kenny Clinton.
Team Social Media: @tfhagardt (Twitter/X), Tenacity Fastpitch – Hagardt (Facebook), @tfhagardt (Instagram).
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: We, as a team, strive to push our ladies to a higher level while maintaining the love of the game. We played a tough schedule, placing the ladies in events that were above their skill level at the time, to show them the levels that can be achieved with hard work and determination. They succeeded in so many ways and learned valuable lessons along the way. We ended strong with a nice showing in a national tournament, finishing in 3rd place. It’s not about the wins and losses, as it is about teamwork, commitment, and playing for each other. Success can be found in many ways, and to measure that in our year, we were very successful. It allowed several of our players to break out and get awarded in their high school level endeavors.
Key Players: We are big believers in win as a team and learn as a team. Each player has a place, and this can’t be done with just one player. We do have some successful players in their respective high school teams that make it a key to our success. Without these players to push us along, we would be a much different team. They are our engine and our leaders.
Kendall McCoy- #0- P/OF
Brie Chilton- #23- P/1B
Taryn Hagardt-#1 SS
Rylee Harper- #19- OF
Kara Goeke-#42 P/1B
Harlow Hawkins- #21 C
Mylee Harper- #14 OF
Expectations for 2024 Season: We will continue to build on the past successes, while pushing to new levels. Continue to build new skill sets and instill confidence at whatever level they play. Allow them to have fun and be who they are yet showing them how to be first class pillars in their schools and communities. We challenge them to be better every day.
KC Bombers Adkins
Coaching Staff: James Adkins, Aaron Kaden, Makena Adkins & Cody Winburn
Team Social Media: Bombers KC Fastpitch (Facebook) & @KCBombersAdkins (X)
2023 Fall & Summer Successes: As a young 15U squad, we saw a lot of development amongst our players and finished with an overall 31-31-4 record against strong competition from across the Midwest.
Key Players: Pitchers Addison Cole & Trinity Krause and hitters Madison Dudok, Joselyn Gartner & Hannah Winburn
Expectations for 2024 Spring Season: We are playing a Top Gun heavy schedule, also with trips to Nebraska and to the Southeast Bombers Invitational in Mississippi with the goal of playing competitive winning softball and providing our players an opportunity to play in front of college coaches from across the country.
18u Open
KC Rebels National Ingle
Coaching Staff: Mark Ingle, Buddy Letts, and Ivana Taylor.
Team Social Media: @KCRebels_Ingle (Twitter/X), KC Rebels National Ingle (Facebook).
2023 Summer & Fall Successes: 6/7 – 6/9 Top Gun Heartland College Showcase
6/13 – 6/16 AFA National Championship (St. George, Utah)
6/21 – 6/23 KC Metro A Championship
7/1 – 7/7 IDT Colorado (Louisville, CO)
7/11 – 7/14 Top Gun Events Elite Championship
7/19 – 7/28 PGF National Championship (Huntington Beach, CA)
Key Players: MaKenzie Yoder, 2024, SS/OF
Salah Williams, 2025, OF/UT
Emma Reeves, 2025, MIF/OF
Addison Arbo, 2026, RHP/1B
Kaylee Wood, 2027, CIF, OF
Primetime Koozer
Coaching Staff: Head Coach Todd Koozer & Assistant Coaches Kelsey Koozer and Alyssa Grewcock
Team Social Media: @Primetime_Kooz (Twitter) & primetimesoftball06.com
Key Players:
-2024 Kaidence Dumas – Quincy University commit, powerful hitter who will pitch, play 3B and 1B
-2025 Makala Koozer – Uncommitted, great speed, slapper/power slapper, OF
-2024 Avery Gossett – Fort Hays State commit, great athlete, really good power at the plate, OF
-2024 Morgan Stock – College of St. Mary’s commit, very fast, versatile hitter, OF
-2025 Sydney Atkins – Uncommitted, pitcher & has become a good hitter
-2024 Joslyn Policky – Southeastern CC commit, catcher, SS, 3B
Expectations for the 2024 Spring Season: As a team, we have always prided ourselves on developing kids and getting them prepared for the next level by using a team first mentality and competing against high level competition. This team was created with the purpose of having fun, while still being able to accomplish those high goals and expectations.
