The 2019 softball season came to a close with UCLA picking up its 12th national title. You may have seen a lot of your favorite players graduate, and some players will be foregoing the 2020 season to play with US national team. But, we can tell you one thing: The 2020 season will not be lacking in home run hitters, so get ready to watch some potential history in the making this season.
TOP PITCHERS: 7 of the best arms returning for this season
Here are four of the top home run hitters to watch this season
Jessie Harper — Arizona
Senior shortstop
Harper led the entire NCAA in home runs last season with 29 bombs. That tied her for fifth most in Pac-12 history and 13th in NCAA history. If she were to match her number this season, she would be tied for first place with Lauren Chamberlain from Oklahoma, who currently holds the record for all-time home runs with 95. Or, throw in one more homer and you’re looking at the new all-time home run queen. Harper was named a second-team NFCA All-American, her second career All-America honor, and became the first Wildcat since 2009 (Stacie Chambers) to lead the country in homers and the 10th overall in Arizona history.
Mia Davidson — Mississippi State
Junior catcher/infielder
Davidson hit 26 home runs last season, which set the Mississippi State single-season record and shattered the SEC’s single season mark. She also slugged eight doubles to hold MSU's single-season record with a .882 slugging percentage. Mia Davidson can hit — and she was only a sophomore last season. Her 45 total home runs are ahead of where Harper was at the end of her second year, she had 37. Davidson was named to the 2019 NFCA All-America third team, and was tabbed a Top 10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
Bailey Hemphill — Alabama
Senior utility player
Hemphill finished the 2019 season tied with Davidson with 26 home runs. Hemphill also broke her single-season school record for home runs tying the SEC record with Davidson. But on top of that, she led the entire nation in RBI’s with 84 last year. The NFCA Second Team All-American led the Crimson Tide with a .375 batting average and 72 hits.
Morganne Flores — Washington
Redshirt senior catcher/infielder
Flores had 23 round trippers last season for Washington. A few of those were on pretty big stages too. She's had multiple postseason games of two homers in her career, the first Husky to ever do so. She also hit a home run to seal the deal and send Washington to the super regionals last season, and then tied Washington’s career postseason homer record with her ninth on a first-inning shot at the WCWS. Washington's season ended in another heartbreak in 2019, but they have a good core coming back for 2020.
