SPRINGFIELD, IL - Perfect Game Softball 16u Winter Elite Showcase, February 20-22, 2026. Twenty-Four teams arrived in Springfield for the opportunity to showcase some of the best talent in the midwest. After 3 pool play games, the field was split and seeded into either the Platinum or Gold Division to begin bracket play. With several highly sought after young arms on display, it was Indiana Magic Gold 16U Carroll and Indiana Magic Gold 14U National making it into the Platinum Division Championship, and through a mutual agreement, they decided to end the tournament as Co-Champions. In the Gold Division, it was Gts 16u Elite-Gonzalez with a 7-2 win over Cedar Rapids Blue Devils 14u, to earn the championship. Below are some of the players that played their way onto the top performers list, including the MVP and MV-Pitcher from both the Platinum and Gold Divisions.
Earning the MVP award in the Platinum Division was Brooklyn Haag (2027 Big Bend, WI), a RHH for tournament co-champion, Indiana Magic Gold 16U Carroll. Haag, setting up in a conventional stance, sitting into her legs, with her bat held high, displayed good weight transfer, utilizing a good tilt and turn to set an aggressive bat path through the zone. Hitting from a firm front side, and working her hands inside the ball, Haag showed the ability to hit to all fields. Haag also has displayed the ability to barrel up a pitch and drive it with authority, showing pull-side power. Haag collected six hits on the weekend, which included three doubles and a grand slam bomb, that helped her total nine rbi’s and score six runs, while finishing with a .545 batting average.
Earning the Platinum Division MV-Pitcher award was Caitlyn Krause (2029 Brandon, WI), a LHP for Indiana Magic Gold 14U National. Krause shows hitters a consistent motion and delivery, with a loose, quick arm whip. Topping out at 65 mph, Krause sat consistently in the 61-63 range, working hitters with a five pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop and curve. In her 9.2 innings of work, Krause sat down 19 batters via strikeout, consistently hitting her spots, and utilizing her rise which hitters were unable to get on top of, resulting in several swing and miss attempts. Krause gave up four hits, and one base on balls, while only allowing one earned run, finishing the weekend with a 0.70 ERA and 0.52 WHIP.
Earning the Gold Division MVP was Kaelyn Kelly (2027 Roscoe, IL) playing for Gold Division champion, Gts 16u Elite-Gonzalez. Kelly, hitting from the right side, takes an athletic set-up in the box, slightly sitting into her legs, utilizing a leg kick to transfer weight, and as a timing mechanism. Kelly works her bat through the zone,with a line drive approach, and shows good extension through contact which helped her pick up eight hits, which included one double and four home runs, with two of those bombs coming in the championship game, finishing the weekend hitting at a .444 clip. Kelly also had the opportunity to highlight her speed while scoring eight runs, and while also successfully swiping six bases.
Earning the Gold Division MV-Pitcher award was Tori Buglass (2028 Johnson Creek, WI) a RHP for Gold Division champion Gts 16u Elite-Gonzalez. Buglass, shows hitters a very repeatable motion and delivery, with solid use of her lower half in the drive phase. Working with a full arsenal of pitches, Buglass was successful due to her ability to effectively change speeds, locate her fastball throughout the zone, and work both sides of the plate with her screw and curve. In her 13.1 innings of work, while topping out at 61 mph, Buglass struck out 13, gave up nine hits and four base on balls, while allowing three earned runs. These numbers also include her five inning outing, where she allowed four hits, struck out four, and gave up two runs in pitching her team to the championship win. For her efforts, Buglass finished the weekend with a 1.60 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.
Other players earning their way onto the top performers list includes Addison Edlen (2027 Gilberts, IL), a RHH for T-Force 09. Edlen sets up in a parallel stance, sitting into her legs with weight evenly distributed. She utilizes a pre-pitch toe tap and then small stride for weight transfer, timing and to gain separation. Edlen sets an aggressive attack angle, generating power with excellent use of her lower half, and although working the ball gap to gap, Edlen displayed plus pull-side power. Edlen collected eight hits, which included one double, a triple, and four bombs, to score six runs and picked up eight rbi’s, finishing with a .667 batting average.
Irene Rangel (2027 Danville, IL) is a RHH for Midstate Blaze 16u. Rangel sets up in a conventional stance, slightly wide and into her legs. At launch, working her hands inside the ball, Rangel gets the barrel through the zone, staying connected, and drives the ball to all fields. On the weekend, Rangel picked up eight hits, which included two doubles and two triples, crossing the plate five times and knocking in eight. Rangel takes a good approach to each at bat, showing good discipline at the plate, which assisted her in not recording a strikeout, and finishing the weekend with an outstanding .800 batting average.
Ally Compton (2027 Munster, IN) is a RHP for tournament co-champion Indiana Magic Gold 16U Carroll. Compton, a recent Indiana University commit, works from a deliberate motion, and utilizes a slight leap in her drive phase, closing the distance to the hitter, and finishes with very lively and consistent arm swing and release. Compton, while topping out at 64 mph, showed hitters a devastating rise that had the addition of some glove side run, a screw that worked into the hands of righties, and a mid-40 mph change-up just to keep hitters honest. In her 11.1 innings of work, Compton sat down 24 batters via strikeout, gave up three hits, one base on balls, and allowed one earned run to finish with a 0.60 ERA and 0.35 WHIP.
Irelyn O'Brien (2027 Rockton, IL) is a RHP for T-Force 09, and a recent Trine University commit. O’Brien shows hitters a consistent motion and delivery, with a solid push in the drive phase and an accelerated arm swing, while topping out at 62 mph. With a five pitch mix of fastball, change-up, rise, drop and screw, O’Brien worked 14.1 innings and collected 23 strikeouts. O’Brien was able to throw her fastball to spots and work her rise just out of the zone, resulting in several swing and miss attempts. For the weekend, she scattered nine hits, gave up two free passes and allowed four earned runs, finishing up with a 2.00 ERA and 0.77 WHIP for her effort.
Eden Campanella (2029 Germantown, IL) was a young arm that impressed this weekend playing against some quality competition. Campanella, a RHP for Top Gun 29/30 IL, showed hitters a very explosive motion and delivery, utilizing a very strong leg push in her drive phase that closed the distance to the batter, and then finished tall with a quick arm swing. Working with a five pitch bag of varied grip fastball, change-up, rise, drop and screw, Campanella struck out 16 in her 11.2 innings of work, while topping out at 62 mph. She effectively worked all quads of the zone and did not give up a base on balls, while allowing seven hits and two earned runs, to finish with a 1.20 ERA and 0.60 WHIP.
Gracie Risley (2028 Logansport, IN) is a RHP for tournament co-champion, Indiana Magic Gold 16U Carroll, and may have been the best arm in the tournament. Risley, who topped out at 65 mph, worked with a repeatable motion and delivery, with an aggressive arm swing and consistent release. With a full mix of pitches, Risley peppered the zone, top to bottom, while throwing to both sides of the plate, showing hitters high velocity and late movement. Risley, with 9 innings in the circle, struck out 11, while allowing three hits, without giving up a walk or earned run to finish the tournament with an outstanding 0.00 ERA and 0.33 WHIP.