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THE HOT 100: Smith, Thompson, Bryant are the leading ladies of Greater Houston; photo gallery
The VYPE Hot 100 "Girls List" recognizes the Top 50 female athletes in the Houston area, celebrating those who have distinguished themselves through elite performance, athletic achievement and impact on their respective programs.
The primary factor in determining the rankings was their performance during the 2025-26 school year. Additional consideration was given to multi-sport athletes, college commitments, national recruiting status and overall accomplishments at the district, regional, state and national levels.
The result is a collection of the area's most dynamic and accomplished athletes — competitors who have proven themselves on the biggest stages in 2025-26..
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Halle Thompson, Grand Oaks
TOP 50
No. 1 EK Smith, Katy, Softball
Nation’s Top Softball Recruit, State Champ (OU-commit)
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No. 2 Halle Thompson, Grand Oaks Volleyball
2X State Champ, Under Armour All-American (Wisconsin-signee)
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No. 3 Macie Bryant, Barbers Hill, Softball
Super Ace; Threw Perfect Game in State Final (LSU-commit
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No. 4 Kennedy Simpson, Summer Creek, Basketball
Led team to back-to-back State Titles, All-State (Tulane-signee)
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No. 5 Sara Wiggins, Lake Creek, Softball
Ace on Back-to-Back State Champs (Wichita State-signee)
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No. 6 Landri Von Gonten, College Park, Wrestling
Junior is a 3x State Champion
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No. 7 Elsa St. Rose, Tompkins Volleyball, Basketball and Track
District MVP led Falcons to Final Four
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No. 8 Lainy Zabiegala, Lake Creek, Soccer
Scored nearly 40 goals on State Champion Team
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No. 9 Emerson Lechler, Foster, Volleyball and Softball
District MVP in VBall and Softball (Baylor-signee)
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No. 10 Bayleigh Taylor, Liberty, Softball
Carried Liberty to State Championship (Florida State-commit)
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No. 11 Ogechi Okeke, Hightower, Basketball
Top 15 National Recruit; All State; Went to Regional Final
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No. 12 Gemma Hopkins, Tomball, Volleyball
District MVP led Tomball to State Finals (Arkansas-commit)
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No. 13 Cadence Johnson, Bellaire, Swim
VYPE Swimmer of Year and State Meet (UCLA-commit)
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No. 14 Carolyn Liu, Katy Jordan, Golf
Won Class 6A State Golf
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No. 15 Jayden Robinson, Ridge Point Volleyball
Under Armour All-American (Nebraska-signee)
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No. 16 Addison Martin, Summer Creek, Basketball
All-State, 2x State Champ, Offensive POY
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No. 17 Madalyn Davis, Lake Creek, Softball
2x Offensive POY, 3-Time State Champ (UNC-signee)
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No. 18 Wiggles Ngoh, Seven Lakes Volleyball, Basketball, Track and Flag Football
Explosive Junior Headed to USC Volleyball
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No. 19 Emily Betran, Katy Wrestling
Won state individually and was on best team in H-Town
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No. 20. Ahona Chowdhury, The Woodlands, Tennis
State Champ in Tennis Singles
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No. 21 Jenna Thedford, Dawson, Volleyball
Defensive POY; Led to State Finals (Texas A&M-signee)
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No. 22 Hope Smith, Bridgeland, XC and Track
Finished 6th on State XC Champ; Silver in Both Long Distance Events
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No. 23 Concepcion Maya, Kingwood Soccer
Led Kingwood to State; District MVP
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No. 24 Ma’Ryiah Alfred, Kinkaid, Basketball
Won SPC State, TABC All State
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No. 25 Naomi Booker, Tomball, Track and Field
Gold & Bronze in Hurdles; Defending Champ (Texas A&M Signee)
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No. 26 Nadi’ya Shelby, Friendswood, Volleyball
State Final Four (Florida-signee)
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No. 27 Avery Koonsen, Dawson, Volleyball
District MVP; Led to State Finals (SFA-signee)
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No. 28 Laney Barnes, Cy Woods, Cross Country
Silver at State (Texas A&M-signee)
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No. 29 Ari Holbert, Logos Prep, Swim
4 Gold Medals at TAPPS State Meet
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No. 30 A’Zyua Blair, Houston Christian, Basketball
Dominated SPC as a Junior Transfer; TABC All State
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No. 31 Tyler Weaver, Kingwood, Soccer
The State MVP (DBU-Signee)
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No. 32 Ashtyn Lewis, Iowa Colony, Track and Field
Gold in the 100m; Silver in 200 Meters
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No. 33 Claire Guydon, The Woodlands, Wrestling
Highlander dominated and won State
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No. 34 Courtland Cloud, Shadow Creek, Basketball
District MVP; Led Sharks to Final Four
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No. 35 Zora Bello, Cypress Ranch, Volleyball
District MVP (Rice-commit) led ‘Stangs to State Final Four
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No. 36 Winnie Liu, Dulles, Swim
Won 2 Silver Medals at Class 6A State (Rice-signee)
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No. 37 Ryan Fox, Episcopal, Soccer
Led Knights to Back-to-Back SPC Titles (ULL-signee)
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No. 38 Hunter Quentel, Kingwood, Softball
Best hitter, pitcher on one of city’s best teams
(Oklahoma State-commit)
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No. 39 McKale Lee, Alief Taylor, Track and Field
Gold in 800m
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No. 40 Delaney Wright, Montgomery, Volleyball
District MVP, City’s Leading Kill Artist (Utah-commit)
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No. 41 Faith Etienne, Dawson, Basketball
Was District MVP, 1000-points, Went to Regional Final
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No. 42 Jacey Carroll, St. John’s, Volleyball
Dominant in SPC play, won State Title
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No. 43 Rowan Saake, Bridgeland, Cross Country
Led Bears to State Gold, Finished 5th at State
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No. 44 Makenzie Thomas, Clear Springs, Softball
USA Softball Team, Beast at the Plate
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No. 45 Saniya Reynolds, Cypress Ranch, Volleyball
District Attacker of Year (Kentucky-commit)
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No. 46 Ashley Baxter, Friendswood, Soccer
Scored 46 goals as sophomore; US National Player
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No. 47 Reagan Rohrlich, TWCA, Softball and Track
One of State Top Private School Players (Texas A&M-signee)
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No. 48 Taylor Synnott, St. John’s, XC and Track
Sophomore has won Back-to-Back SPC Titles
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No. 49 Eguonome Akpobassa, Bridgeland, Track
Won Class 6A Gold, Silver in Jumps
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No. 50 Macey deGroot, Clear Springs, Swim
Gold at Class 6A State (Arizona-signee)
EVERYTHING ON THE LINE: 2026 UIL Softball State Championship Preview — Katy vs. Forney, 6A D2
WHERE: Red & Charline McCombs Field -- Austin, TX
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CLICK HERE TO STAY UPDATED ON ALL OF THE UIL SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
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KATY TIGERS
The long-anticipated breakthrough has arrived for Katy (38-5). In just her second season as head coach, Meghan VanEtta has guided the Tigers back to the pinnacle of Texas high school softball, as the ballclub now prepares to compete in its first UIL State Championship since 2019.
VanEtta (formerly Meghan Burrell) is no stranger to the standard Katy carries year after year. Before taking over the program, she spent 12 seasons as an assistant under Kalum Haack and was part of the Tigers’ 2015 and 2019 title-winning squads along the way.
While Austin had long been viewed as the destination entering the season, the possibility of bringing home a third state trophy truly began to crystallize after Katy swept defending 6A Division II champion Kingwood in the third round of the playoffs.
From there, the Tigers handled business against Clear Creek in the Region III Final before securing another hard-fought sweep over Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in last week’s State Semifinal series.
It’s no secret where Katy’s firepower originates. The “Death Valley” portion of the batting order—seniors Ella Kate “EK” Smith (Oklahoma signee) and Maddie Smith (NC State), alongside junior Auburn commit Evie Willemssen—is formidable enough on its own.
Add in the veteran presence of senior outfielder Lexie Waugh (UT Arlington), along with the emergence of freshman pitcher Haley Schmitt (16-1 in 2026) and sophomore second baseman Nevaeh Phillips, and this Tigers squad looks destined to make history on Saturday.
Some of the stars of 2025-26 Katy Tigers SoftballBradley C. Collier (VYPE)
FORNEY JACKRABBITS
From one established state power to another, Forney returns to the 6A Division II title game for the second year in a row. Since assuming command of the program prior to the 2016-17 campaign, head coach Pat Eitel has guided the Jackrabbits to four UIL State Tournament appearances, with last week’s impressive sweep of Guyer also marking the seventh trip in school history.
Needless to say, Forney (37-3) is operating at full throttle and now sits one victory away from adding a second state banner to the trophy case alongside the one secured in 2018, when the team competed at the 5A level.
The Jackrabbits boast the luxury of not one, but two ace-caliber arms in their pitching staff, namely sophomore Avery Pitts and junior Emmie Santos. Pitts has pieced together a phenomenal 20-1 record while piling up well over 200 strikeouts in the circle, while Santos—an Eastern Kentucky commit—stands at 17-2 and has also made her presence felt at the plate, hitting .316.
On the batting side, shortstop Carlee Rabal and outfielder Bailee McGhee pair reliability with big-play potential, as the sophomore duo is hitting .448 and .416 at the plate, respectively. The same can be said for sophomore Sophia Heredia, who is batting just under .400 while stepping up in the catcher role.
