Ricketts Secures Nation’s No. 15 Signing Class

STARKVILLE – Samantha Ricketts has landed another top ranked class for Mississippi State softball, signing the nation's No. 15 recruiting class on National Signing Day.

State added nine players for its 2024 class, including six who have been ranked by Extra Inning Softball as Top 100 prospects. It is Ricketts' largest number of top 100 prospects since taking over as head coach in 2020. She previously signed five in 2022 and four in both 2021 and 2020.

"We are thrilled to introduce next year's class of future Bulldogs," Ricketts said. "They are a highly-touted group that can do it all on the field. They bring a mix of pitching, elite defense and big bats to next year's roster. I want to express my gratitude to our dedicated staff for their tireless efforts in assembling a team of not only outstanding ballplayers but also exceptional young women. We can't wait to see the impact they make in Starkville both on and off the field."

MSU's signees hail from Mississippi, Alabama, California, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas and Wisconsin, and the class is made up of a pair of pitchers, two catchers, three outfielders and a pair of infielders.

The Bulldogs have landed a top-20 class nationally in five of the last eight cycles.

The full class can be found below.

Paige Ernstes, C | New Palestine, Ind. (New Palestine HS)

Ernstes is considered the No. 41 prospect in the country by Extra Inning Softball and the No. 21 catcher. Despite a significant injury in her freshman season, she returned to claim two straight all-county honors while posting a 1.191 and 1.212 OPS in her sophomore and junior seasons. She played travel ball with Indiana Magic Gold and Indy Edge. Early in her travel career, she won a USSSA National Championship with the Edge. She's hit .458 and .500 in her most-recent travel ball seasons.

Gretta Grassel, OF/P | Boscobel, Wisc. (Boscobel HS)

Grassel is just the second Bulldog in program history from the state of Wisconsin and is the No. 45 prospect nationally. In addition to her primary position in the outfield, she has some pitching experience and was rated the No. 63 two-way player in the 2024 class. She helped Boscobel win three regional and conference titles, including an undefeated run through conference play on the way to a school-record 21 wins in 2022. She is a three-time Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League Player of the Year. In the circle, she was among the top five in the state in each of the least three years in strikeouts and has thrown 19 shutouts, five no-hitters and a perfect game. Offensively, she holds Boscobel single-season records for hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and RBIs. Grassel played travel ball with Midwest Speed National, which won the 2023 Alliance National Championship. She was tabbed a MaxPreps High School All-American in 2022.

Sara Phillips, P | Trussville, Ala. (Hewitt-Trussville HS)

Phillips is the No. 18 prospect nationally according to Extra Inning Softball and won two state titles at Hewitt-Trussville High School. The only year her team didn't win the championship, they finished as the runners-up. She is a three-time All-State Tournament team member and two-time First Team All-State selection. Over three high school seasons, she's never posted an ERA higher than 1.93. She holds a career record of 56-2 in the circle. Phillips played travel ball with Georgia Athletics Gold and the Birmingham Thunderbolts. She also played basketball and volleyball and was a state runner-up on the basketball court.

Abby Grace Richardson, C/INF | Brookhaven, Miss. (Brookhaven Academy/Copiah-Lincoln CC)

Richardson is fresh off an NJCAA National Championship and Third Team All-American selection at Copiah-Lincoln CC in 2023. She sent Co-Lin records with 80 RBIs and 24 home runs last season, with none bigger than her grand slam in the national championship game. Richardson was named the NJCAA World Series Tournament MVP. She posted a .981 fielding percentage and committed just four errors on the year at catcher and shortstop. She led Brookhaven Academy to its first state title in school history and was a four-time all-state selection. Her high school career included recognitions as MAIS Defensive Player of the Year and an MAIS All-Star nod. She played travel ball for Mississippi Elite.

Xiane Romero, INF | Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Temescal Canyon HS)

Romero was rated as high as the No. 10 player in the class in 2022 by Extra Inning Softball. She led Temescal Canyon to an undefeated record in league play as a freshman and was named all-league that year. As a junior, she batted .413 on her way to team offensive MVP recognition. She also hi two walk-off home runs that season. Romero played travel ball for Athletics Mercado, which won the Triple Crown National Championship and the Colorado Sparkler in 2021. She hit .459 on the club circuit the previous season while helping her team win The Alliance National Tier 2 Championship.

Kalani Sells, OF | Jasper, Texas (Jasper HS)

Sells helped Jasper High School to an undefeated district championship in 2022 while leading the team in batting average, RBIs, home runs and stolen bases. She was also named the team's defensive MVP that year. She played travel ball for the Texas Dirt Divas and also lettered in volleyball in all four years of her high school career. Her older sister, Kiarra, is currently a member of the Bulldogs' softball team.

Abigail Stevens, P | Braxton, Miss. (East Rankin Academy)

Stevens led East Rankin Academy to the first district and North State championships in school history in 2022 and repeated the feat in 2023. She won three straight team MVP honors. In the circle, she boasts 408 career strikeouts over her the last three seasons and has been named All-MAIS, MAIS All-Star MVP and District Player of the Year. Offensivly, she hit .483 with seven home runs as a sophomore and .443 with nine homers as a junior. Stevens played travel ball with the Tennessee Mojo and posted a 0.80 ERA in her junior summer while striking out 82 batters in 52.0 innings.

Morgan Stiles, INF | Athens, Ala. (Athens HS)

Stiles is the No. 15 prospect nationally and the No. 10 middle infielder according to Extra Inning Softball. She led Athens High School to a state title in 2022 and is a three-time First Team All-State honoree. She began playing with the varsity team in seventh grade and has won three team MVP and golden glove awards. Stiles was named the Alabama 6A Hitter of the Year as a junior after posting a .571 average, .642 on-base percentage, 23 homers and 78 RBIs. She was named to the AHSAA North-South All-Star Team that year as well. She played travel ball with Alabama Sparks Elite and finished seventh at The Alliance Fastpitch Nationals in 2022 after her club went 32-6 that summer. She posted a .548 average with 25 homers and 70 RBIs during that campaign and was named to Extra Inning Softball's All-Summer Team.

Taylor Troutman, OF | Henderson, Ky. (Henderson County HS)

Troutman is a consensus top-10 recruit, being named No. 8 nationally by Perfect Game and No. 9 by Extra Inning Softball. She was selected to both the PGF Futures All-American Game and the Triple Crown Futures All-American Game. Troutman holds Henderson County records in career RBIs and home runs and is among the top 10 in school history for batting average, hits, runs and triples. She was First Team All-State as a junior after posting a career-high 1.488 OPS with 12 homers, 10 doubles and 53 RBIs. Troutman played travel ball with Top Gun National. Most recently, she hit .382 on the travel circuit with 16 homers, 12 doubles and 53 RBIs.

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Ricketts Secures Nation’s No. 15 Signing Class

Related News

Related Videos