Top 20 high school softball third basemen entering the 2023 season

Expect these 20 third basemen to excel on a national level this season

Giselle Alvarez photo by Heston Quan / Photo by Heston Quan

High school softball is set to herald the dawn of spring as the winter sports season draws to a close.

Earlier this month we featured 20 top pitchers and 20 top hitters expected to be among the best in the nation in high school softball in 2023.

Now it's time to take a position-by-position look at some of the country’s top high school softball players. We started with catchers, then first basemen, and now up to bat are the top third basemen.

Note: Many high school softball players excel at multiple positions. Don't be alarmed to see a slick-fielding shortstop listed here as a third baseman, for example.

Giselle Alvarez, sr., Los Alamitos (California)

Alvarez led Los Alamitos in home runs and RBIs as a junior, including a three-run bomb off Oaks Christian ace Micaela Kastor (now at Notre Dame) to help send the Griffins to the state championship game. She'll be heading north after this season to play for Washington.

Jaysoni Beachum, sr., Florida State University High (Florida)

After starring for Houston Academy in Alabama, Beachum has transferred to Florida State University High, which operates in cooperation with the Florida State Seminoles, her college choice. The power hitter played through a broken hand and fractured wrist over the summer with TN Mojo Danley/Fisher but still hit .463 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.

Ryan Brown, sr., Independence (Tennessee)

Brown is coming off a junior season where she hit .627 with 29 runs scored, 12 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and drove in 27 runs. The two-sport star (basketball) has tons of defensive versatility and will be playing college softball for Texas next season.

Hannah Davila, sr., Wesley Chapel (Florida)

Davila’s time terrorizing Illinois high school softball pitchers has come to an end, as she moved to Tampa in the offseason. The Georgia commit has a ton of raw power and immediately becomes a favorite for player of the year in talent-rich Florida.

Andee Dircks, jr., Chapin (South Carolina)

Dircks is coming off a sophomore season in which she hit .538 with a .625 on-base percentage, belting 13 home runs, driving in 38 runs and scoring 40. She's already committed to play college softball for Michigan, where her coach at Chapin, Megan Betsa, starred from 2014-2017.

Amayah Doyle, jr., Carterville (Illinois)

It's scary to imagine Doyle showing any more power than she displayed as a sophomore, hitting 18 home runs and driving in 54 runs. The Tennessee commit hit .587 and walked 31 times, compared with six strikeouts. She also had 13 doubles and five triples.

Tori Edwards, sr., Flower Mound Marcus (Texas)

Edwards earned SBLive All-North Texas honors last season after hitting .418 with 14 home runs, 11 doubles, 46 runs scored and 39 RBIs in 43 games. She excels at either corner infield position and will be playing for LSU next year.

Katie Flannery, sr., Spain Park (Alabama)

Flannery hit .451 with a .541 on-base percentage as a junior, slugging 10 home runs, 11 doubles and three triples, driving in 50 runs and scoring 49. The Oregon Ducks commit struck out only seven times in 173 plate appearances. 

Karli Godwin, sr., East Columbus (North Carolina)

Godwin had one of the most productive seasons at the plate in the country, hitting .733 with 55 hits. And her unreal contact rate didn't affect ­­her power, as she hit 18 home runs with 53 RBIs. She'll be playing college softball for Oklahoma State next season.

Alyssa Hovermale, sr., Norco (California)

Hovermale is half of one of the most feared power-hitting duos in the country alongside Mya Perez. The pair hit back-to-back home runs in a win over Corona Centennial last season (video above). Hovermale will be a Florida Gator next year. 

Sa’Mya Jones, jr., Dawson (Texas)

Good luck getting Jones out. She had an absurd on-base percentage of .701 as a sophomore, hitting .583. Nicknamed "Money," the versatile slapper/power hitter can play all over the infield and outfield and has already committed to play college softball at LSU.

Layla Lamar, jr., Panther Creek (North Carolina)

The daughter of Duke softball coach Marissa Young, Lamar has been committed to Florida since sixth grade. She had an enormous sophomore season at the plate, hitting .680 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. 

Jordan Lynch, jr., Rising Sun (Maryland)

Lynch hit .600 as a sophomore while leading Rising Sun to the Class 2A state runner-up trophy, falling by one run in the state championship game. She has two more seasons to go after state titles before heading to Virginia Tech to play college softball.

Jolie Mayfield, sr., Riverton (Utah)

Mayfield has helped lead Riverton to back-to-back state championships, and last year she tied the state record with 19 home runs. The Utah commit also hit for average, batting.596 with 65 RBIs.

Zoe Rensel, sr., Tallmadge (Ohio)

Rensel set Tallmadge's single-season home run record with 10 as a sophomore, then hit 10 more as a junior, setting the school's career mark. She hit .442 with 38 hits and 38 RBIs last year. The Rhode Island commit also shares the school record with 11 doubles in a season.

Maranda Runco, sr., Mid Valley (Pennsylvania)

Eight out of 10 times up last season, Runco got on base. The Villanova commit finished the season with a .729 batting average, hitting 10 home runs, drawing 18 walks and never striking out. That followed a sophomore season in which he hit .671 with 19 home runs, 31 walks and just one strikeout.

Karley Shelton, jr., Lexington (South Carolina)

After committing to South Carolina to play college softball, Shelton moved from Florida to South Carolina and will play for Lexington High School this spring. The left-handed hitter slugged 11 home runs last year and 12 as a freshman for Newsome in Florida.

Devin Simon, sr., Cascade (Iowa)

Simon hit .500 and dressed to the nines on the stat sheet last season, finishing with nine home runs, nine triples and nine doubles. The Iowa signee also stole 39 bases on 39 tries and scored 48 runs. She holds the school records for home runs, triples and runs scored.

Jenna Sniffen, jr., Maryknoll (Hawaii)

Sniffen led Maryknoll to its first state championship in program history last season. The Arizona commit pitched a three-hitter and hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the championship game.

Tia Titi, jr., Gulf Shores (Alabama)

Titi hit .515 with four home runs, 39 RBIs and 23 runs scored as a sophomore, and in the field she can shift seamlessly between catcher and third base. Expect the NC State commit’s power numbers to go way up this season.