Shore Sports Insider 2026 Week 1 Softball Top 10

Shore Sports Insider Softball 2026 Week 1 Rankings

 

1. St. John Vianney (0-0) – After winning back-to-back state titles, SJV fell short last season in the South Jersey Non-Public A final against Donovan Catholic. The Lancers only graduated two starters from last year’s team, but they were important pieces to the puzzle. Catcher Elisabeth Figliolino might be the hardest player to replace with her passion and leadership behind the plate. Monmouth commit Madison McDougall returns for her final season with 735 career strikeouts after finishing with a 0.98 ERA last season. Senior shortstop Gabby Gonzalez has a career batting average of .477 and will be one of the leaders on the field this season. Juniors Mia Favato, Emma Fitterer and Brynn Utter all had big seasons at the plate last season and help make the SJV lineup one of the most dangerous in the Shore Conference. The Lancers open the season on Tuesday at No. 6 Middletown South in a divisional game. 

2. Donovan Catholic (0-0) – Donovan Catholic returned to the Non-Public A state championship game for the first time since 2022, but fell short in a 4-3 loss to Mount St. Dominic. The Griffins graduated a significant amount of firepower from the team that scored eight runs against SJV in the sectional final last season. Five starters graduated who all batted over .300 last season, including Shore Sports Insider Player of the Year Christina Ginex. Playing at Seton Hall this year, Ginex finished with a .511 batting average, five home runs, and 46 hits. Donovan does return lead-off hitter and Auburn commit Isabella Maria. Maria has 142 career hits and a .495 career average through her first three seasons. One of the best power hitters in the Shore Conference, junior Isabella Cino has 19 home runs in her first two seasons and a .436 batting average. Dani Rodriguez and Gylian Hixenbaugh both return on the mound for the Griffins this season. Hixenbaugh battled injuries her freshman season, but had a 1.06 ERA last year as a sophomore for Donovan. Jaelynn Nunez, who transferred in last season, provided Donovan with more power in the middle of the lineup, finishing with nine home runs and a .479 batting average last season. The Griffins host Central on Monday and Jackson on Wednesday in two divisional games to start the season. 

3. Red Bank Catholic (0-0) – The defending Shore Conference Tournament champions graduated half their starting lineup from last season. Ace pitcher Lily Hagan, who is now playing at Notre Dame, finished with a 1.45 ERA and 150 strikeouts and had a knack for hitting timely home runs. Shortstop Nicole Knox graduated with a career batting average of .543 and 23 home runs. Sophomore Mackenna Savage won Shore Sports Insider Freshman of the Year last season and will take over as the ace of the staff for the Caseys. She pitched 36.1 innings and struck out 47 batters and she hit for a .395 AVG. Seniors Torri Case and Jayden Kane will take over the leadership role for RBC. All-Shore returner Grace Lombardi was one of the best hitters in the conference last season and finished with a .518 batting average and will now take over shortstop for Knox. RBC opens the season at home against Middletown North on Tuesday and No. 6 Middletown South on Thursday in two divisional games. 

4. Colts Neck (0-0) – Colts Neck beat some of the Shore Conference’s best pitchers on their way to a Shore Conference Tournament finals appearance last season. The Cougars defeated Jackson’s Emily Hersh in the second round, Middletown North’s Madilynn Boyce in the quarterfinals and Marlboro’s Emily Gaudio in the semifinal round. With only two players in the regular rotation graduating, Colts Neck will be one of the favorites this season in the Shore. Ace pitcher Angela Sasso has 581 strikeouts in her career and looks to end her senior year on top before heading off to the University of Connecticut. Sasso also provided the Cougars with offense, batting . 427 last season with two home runs. Senior shortstop Gabby Bryce was one of the hottest hitters in the postseason and was named Shore Sports Insider’s Most Improved Player of the Year. Bryce batted .432 and hit seven home runs, including two in the Shore Conference Tournament. Sophomore Jillian Heyser was one of the most consistent freshmen last season at the plate and finished with a .407 AVG and four home runs. Falling to Steinert in the Central Jersey Group 3 final, Colts Neck has their eyes set on returning this season. The Cougars open the season at home on Saturday against Middletown North in a divisional game. 

5. Marlboro (0-0) – After winning back-to-back Central Jersey Group 4 titles, Marlboro fell short last season in the semifinals against Hunterdon Central. The Mustangs have graduated a lot of bats the last two seasons, but bring back ace pitcher Emily Gaudio for her final season. Gaudio also was one the leaders with the bat last season, finishing with a .414 AVG. Junior Isabella Wuelfing has been one of top hitters in the Shore Conference her first two seasons and will look to continue that this season. Juniors Alyssa Abadiatokis and Lily Fitzpatrick enter their second season as starters and will provide experience in the field and in the batters box. Marlboro opens the season on Thursday at Watchung Hills in a non-conference game. 

 

6. Middletown South (1-0) – Middletown South brings back the majority of their team that went to the sectional semifinal the last two seasons. Pitcher Riley Smith and catcher Nora Sarcone return to lead the Eagles. Smith, who is committed to Princeton, finished with 203 strikeouts last season. Sophomore Jordyn Cowell had a great rookie season and led the team with a .361 batting average. Middletown South moved into the American Division this season, the Shore Conference’s top division, after edging out Raritan last season to win Class B North. The Eagles opened their season with a 11-1 victory over No. 9 Southern on Saturday. Smith struck out seven batters and did not allow an earned run. Junior Mia Collins had a triple with three RBIs. Middletown South hosts No. 1 SJV on Tuesday and travels to No. 3 RBC on Thursday in divisional games. On Saturday, the Eagles travel to Cranford to play A.L. Johnson in a neutral site non-conference game. 

7. Raritan (0-0) – Raritan fell one game short from winning the division title last season, falling to Middletown South. The Rockets had a young roster last year that hit the ball very well. Replacing All-Shore center fielder Julia DelMasto will be Raritan’s biggest challenge. DelMasto was a leader on and off the field who finished with a .416 career batting average. Sophomore Katelyn Ruta became the team’s ace as a freshman and finished the season with a 1.97 ERA and batted .343 for the season. Juniors Holly Bellofatto and Janelle Clausi provide Raritan with experience and strong bats in the lineup. Sophomores Brielle Brosonski and Lila Houlihan both proved to be dangerous at the plate and will look to improve on their rookie season. Raritan hosts Matawan on Tuesday and No. 10 Holmdel on Thursday in divisional games to start the season. 

 

8. Barnegat (1-0) – Barnegat only graduated one every day player from a team that won 18 games last season. Junior Gianna Gomez led the Shore Conference in strikeouts last season with 307 and was equally as dangerous at the plate with a .388 batting average. Barnegat’s middle of the infield had a strong season at the plate with senior Riley Schmidt batting .434 and sophomore Brooke Rizzo hitting .500. Seniors Jadeyn Bodziak and Brianna Dato will help lead the team on the field with Bodziak behind the plate and Dato patrolling the outfield. Barnegat started the season with a 1-0 victory over Jackson on Friday. Gomez picked up where she left off last season, striking out 19 batters. Barnegat hosts Toms River East on Monday and New Egypt on Wednesday in divisional games. The Bengals play a non-divisional game against Rumson-Fair Haven on Thursday.

 

9. Southern (0-1) – Southern is a team that graduated several important pieces but also brought back several big bats. Replacing Emily Evans will be the hardest task this season. Evans was not just the ace of the staff, she was a power hitter in the middle of the lineup with a .494 AVG. Southern also graduated Madison Groschel-Klein and Kayla Riley, who both helped make the Rams a dangerous line-up last season. This season the bats will be led by senior Emily Zellman and junior Abigail Krill, who both batted over .400 last season. Last year Brooke Sutter and Samantha Jillson saw a little time on the mound, but will be thrown into the spotlight this season.  Southern opened the season with a 11-1 loss against No. 6 Middletown South on Saturday. On Monday, they travel to Jackson to play their first divisional game. 

 

10. Holmdel (0-0) – Holmdel has all the pieces to challenge Raritan for the Colonial Division title behind pitcher Julia Henderson. Henderson finished with a 1.58 ERA and 160 strikeouts last season for the Hornets. She was also one of Holmdel’s best hitters, finishing with a .433 batting average. Holmdel will need to replace shortstop Avery Lewandowski who was not only a strong hitter but also a strong fielder. Sophomore Molly Debias was second last season with a .404 batting average for Holmdel. The Hornets have a big divisional test to start the season, traveling to No. 7 Raritan on Thursday. 

Bubble:

Shore, Middletown North, Jackson