SPRINGFIELD, IL - 2026 Perfect Game Softball Winter Elite Showcase, February 6 - 8, 2026. Twenty teams rolled into Springfield to showcase their talents in this 18u, four-game guarantee, pool-into-bracket play, at the newly opened 170,000-square-foot domed facility at Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. In the Silver Bracket, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers taking home the championship over the CR Blue Devils 18u National. In the Gold Bracket, a championship game that featured the tournament's top two pitchers, it was the Iowa Dynamite 18u with the win over GTS 15u Elite-Herrick, by a score of 2-1.
The tournament, with a mix of committed players, and those young ladies striving for the next level, was loaded with talent. Below are some of the players that excelled on the field and made their way onto the tournament’s Top Performers list.
Earning Silver Bracket MV-Pitcher was Lily Nibaur (2027 Iowa City, IA) playing for finalist CR Blue Devils 18u National. Nibaur, a RHP, showed hitters a consistent motion and delivery, with good arm whip and solid use of her lower half in the drive phase. In her 13 innings in the circle, Nibaur, worked hitters with fastball, change-up, rise, curve, screw and drop curve, while topping out at 61 mph. With good movement on her spin pitches, and changing speed, Nibaur was able to collect 11 strikeouts. Nibaur was effective when she worked the edges of the zone, but got into trouble when leaving the ball over the plate. For the weekend, Nibaur gave up 15 hits and three walks, while allowing five earned runs to finish with a 2.70 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.
Picking up the MVP was Ruby Stagg (2028 Bettendorf, IA), playing for the Silver Bracket tournament champion 09 Midwest Sluggers. Stagg, hitting from the right side, sets up in a parallel stance, with some space between her feet. Getting weight transferred early, Stagg also gains separation by pushing her hands back to get stacked over her back hip. Although small framed, Stagg shows the ability to drive pitches out of the yard, utilizing a quick, compact swing and solid use of her lower half. Finishing tied for the tournament's top hitter, Stagg scored six runs, while collecting seven hits that included two doubles, a triple and two home runs. She knocked in seven, drew one walk and struck out once to finish with a .636 batting average, helping lead her team to the championship.
Earning both the MVP and MV-Pitcher awards in the Gold Bracket was Tiffany Taylor (2028 Des Moines, IA), of tournament champion Iowa Dynamite 18u. Taylor, a RHP, was dominant in the circle and is already a highly sought after arm in the 2028 class. Utilizing a very efficient motion and delivery, appearing relaxed and loose, Taylor sat consistently in the 64-66 mph range, and did touch 67. Working with a six-pitch bag of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and drop curve, Taylor, in 20 innings of work, sat down an impressive 45 batters via strike out, mainly using a nearly unhittable curve that had an insane amount of horizontal run. So as not to have hitters sitting on her speed, Taylor also showed hitters a 45 mph change-up that she consistently threw for strikes. Taylor gave up five hits and six base on balls, while allowing one earned run, to finish with a 0.40 ERA and 0.55 WHIP. At the plate, hitting from the left side, Taylor scored eight runs on seven with one double. She collected six rbi’s and worked pitchers for three free passes, closing out the weekend hitting .700 clip.
Other players earning their way onto the top performer’s list included Zoie Duran (2028 Topeka, KS) playing for MHK Prospects Gold. Duran sets up in an open stance, getting weight transferred with a lean, and back to parallel with a toe touch. Duran, not large in stature, generates power with solid use of her lower half, and with an aggressive attack angle, gets the ball in the air, working gap to gap. Duran, who finished tied for the tournament's top hitter, picked up nine hits that included three doubles and two home runs. She scored six runs, knocked in seven, drew one walk and struck out two times to finish with an impressive .750 batting average.
Anna Salvador (2027 Le Claire, IA) is a RHH for Iowa Aries 16u CE Fire Red. Salvador sets up in a conventional stance, sitting into the legs with a slight hinge at the waist. She does a good job of working her hands inside the ball, utilizing a gap to gap line drive approach. Salvador always seems to get the bat on the ball, usually resulting in a quality at bat. For the weekend, Salvador collected five extra base hits, three doubles, a triple and a home run, in her nine total hits. She scored five runs, picked up eight rbi’s and did not record a strike out, to end the weekend with a .727 batting average.
Gabby Felman (2026 Mount Prospect, IL) is a RHH for GTS 18u Elite-Gonzalez. Felman loads into the box with an open, athletic stance, utilizing a lean into the back hip to transfer weight. With her stride, she picks up timing and gains separation, consistently getting her front foot back to parallel at toe touch, she displays explosive hips, to aid in generating pull-side power. For the weekend, Felman scored five runs, while picking up eight hits that included a triple and two home runs. She knocked in four, drew one walk and did not record a strike out, hitting at a .571 clip for the weekend.
Jensyn Gustafson (2027 Chillicothe, IL), playing for Game Changers,showed she has the ability to change a game in a hurry. Gustafson, hitting from the right-side, sets up with a slightly open stance, and displays solid use of her lower half, assisting her to drive the ball. With a seemingly smooth, easy swing, Gustafson made the most of her five hits, collecting two doubles and three home runs, showing gap to gap power. She scored six runs, picked up seven rbi’s, and struck out four times, to finish with a .417 batting average. With the development of some patience at the plate, this young lady could hit for power, and also for average.
Hailey Hutchens (2028 Pewaukee, WI) was the 6 foot 1 inch workhorse for GTS 15u Elite - Herrick on their march to the championship finals. Hutchens, a RHP, with obvious long levers and a consistent motion and delivery, worked 25 innings over the weekend. Topping out at 60 mph, Hutchens showed hitters a simple mix of fastball, change-up, rise and curve to record 39 strikeouts. She relied heavily on the rise and curve to do damage, as her rise jumped out of the zone just as it reached the hitting zone and her curve showed late sharp movement that led to several swing and miss attempts. Although she gave up 13 hits and 10 walks, Hutchens was able to work out of jams and only allowed three earned runs, finishing with a 0.80 ERA and 0.92 WHIP.
Madelyn Barsness (2027 Stoughton, WI) is a RHP for Madison Revolution Midwest. Barsness showed hitters a deliberate motion, utilizing a leap in her push phase to close the distance to the batter, and assist her in topping out at 61 mph. With a six pitch bag of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and screw, Barsness works the whole zone, keeping hitters off balance with late moving spin pitches and change of speed. In her 15 innings of work, Barsness sat down 22 batters via strikeout, gave up 12 hits and six free passes, but only allowed one earned run to close out the weekend with a nice 0.50 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
Calli Smith (2029 New Berlin, IL) , a RHP for Top Tier 2011, is the youngest arm to make it to the upper shelf of the top performers list. Smith, working with a delivery that included a slight leap in her drive phase, showed hitters a six pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop, curve and screw, with a top velocity of 59 mph. Smith logged 7.2 innings and recorded 14 K’s, only giving up two hits and one base on balls while allowing one earned run. Smith was successful as she was able to disrupt the hitters' timing with her change-up, which she threw for strikes, and was able to get ahead in the count and hit her spots.
Madelynn Andres (2028 Ankeny, IA) is a RHP for Gold Bracket tournament champion Iowa Dynamite. With a smooth motion and repeatable delivery, Andres, topping out at 58 mph, showed hitters a five pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop and curve as she worked 11 innings in the circle. Andres kept hitters guessing, and off balance, with her ability to throw her change-up for strikes, without any tip-off it was coming, and her curve that showed late horizontal run. Andres struck out 16, gave up eight hits and four walks, while allowing three earned runs to finish with a 1.09 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.