The 2020 college softball season is now under a month away, so why not give everyone a little something to look forward to. Here are seven of the top pitchers that you will see in the circle this 2020 season.
Summer Ellyson —Louisiana
The returning senior raging Cajun posted a 1.11 ERA through 272 innings pitched last season. She averaged 9.1 strikeouts through seven innings and was a third team NFCA All-American last season. The 2019 Sun Belt conference pitcher of the year led the nation in wins at all NCAA levels and posted 354 strikeouts.
Gabbie Plain — Washington
Plain was a NFCA first team All-American last season as a sophomore, and is back for more this year. Head coach Heather Tarr told D1softball.com, “the more she pitches, the better she gets.” She went 24-2 last season with a 1.24 ERA and struck out 9.3 per seven innings. Last season, the Huskies lost a heartbreaker to UCLA, but should have some high hopes with a lot of depth returning and an arm like Plain coming back.
Amber Fiser — Minnesota
Minnesota is returning an NFCA First-team All-American in Amber Fiser. Last season, she went 31-9 with a 1.27 ERA and 346 strikeouts. Fiser is entering the 2020 season ranked fifth in all-time strikeout leaders with 666.
Giselle Juarez — Oklahoma
Last season, Oklahoma fell to UCLA in the national championship. This season, the Sooners have Giselle Juarez returning. Juarez was a NFCA first team All-American in 2018 and 2019 and rightfully so. We’re talking about an ace for one of the top teams in the country. Juarez struckout a little over 10 batters per seven innings with a 1.39 ERA and just 3.64 hits allowed per game, which ranks third nationally. So you can expect this left-handed pitcher to have a strong senior season.
Megan Faraimo — UCLA
The reigning national champions were led by junior pitcher Rachel Garcia last season, the 2019 collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. This season, Garcia will forgo the season to play on the USA Softball Women’s National team, and the Bruins will look to Faraimo to pick up the slack. No worries though — in her freshman season, she posted a 1.41 ERA with 16 wins, and now will be the ace for the reigning champions. Last season, she allowed 4.3 hits per game.
Montana Fouts — Alabama
We’ve got another pitcher for a top team, Montana Fouts for Alabama. Fouts was a second team NFCA All-American as a freshman and SEC Freshman of the Year. She earned 21 wins with a team-leading 1.39 ERA, both of which ranked third in the SEC.
Danielle Williams — Northwestern
Williams was the NFCA National freshman of the year, the first Big Ten player to ever win the award. She was also a NFCA third team All-American pitcher who finished the 2019 season ranked first in the Big Ten in shutouts and batting average against. Williams will return for her junior year as Northwestern looks to make another tournament run.
