Arri Romero (left) from Mater Dei of Chula Vista is the winner for the 2026 season among all juniors in the state regardless of school size. A different junior, Mia Camacho from Whittier Christian of La Habra, is the season’s honoree for medium schools. Photos: Jon Bigornia / The Star News & John Luciano / For OC Sports Zone.
One of these honorees — Dailynn Battee of Etiwanda for the sophomores — is a winner in her class for the second year. We have a new winner compared to last season for the juniors while our freshman honoree is from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section. This year’s medium schools and small schools winners are from Whittier in Southern California and Le Grand in Northern California.
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Congratulations to the following five players also who also have been selected this week as Cal-Hi Sports State Players of the Year.
JUNIORS:
Arri Romero (Mater Dei Catholic, Chula Vista)
The pitching ace for the Crusaders and one of the team’s top hitters as well has been among the finalists to be the state’s freshman and sophomore of the year for the past two seasons and this year just did too much to be denied the very top spot for juniors.
Romero had two of her best overall outings in Mater Dei Catholic’s wins over La Habra and Point Loma of San Diego for the CIF SoCal D1 and CIF San Diego Section Open Division titles. In her final game, she tossed a three-hitter and had two hits, including a double, as the Crusaders topped La Habra, 5-3. In the section final, Arri gave up three runs as the pitcher but got the win and led the way at the plate with three hits, including a double and a homer, in a 5-3 win against Point Loma.
MD Cathoic won its second straight SoCal D1 title, had a 31-3 final record and was No. 4 in the final overall state rankings (trailing only unbeaten Destiny Christian of Sacramento, CIF Southern Section D1 winner JSerra and CIF Southern Section D1 semifinalist Norco, which had a head-to-head win over the Crusaders).
Romero had that kind of two-way dominance for her team throughout the season as well. Her final pitching totals saw her go 27-3 with a 1.06 ERA. Arri also had 176 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings with just 16 walks allowed. She also had two playoff shutouts. Romero’s double in the final game nearly went over the fence with what would have been her sixth home run of the season. Her team had a few others who had big hitting totals but Arri was among the leaders with a .377 average and she had 31 RBI.
The San Diego Section media panel that votes for post-season honors does it with separate player and pitchers of the year. Romero was recently named as the pitcher of the year for the second straight season, but if it voted for just a player of the year we’re pretty sure she would have been the one. The girl who was named player of the year, Carlsbad senior Gabby Nevarez, will be a future teammate of Arri’s at the University of Arizona. Romero has been a commit with the Wildcats since last year.
The only other San Diego Section winner as state junior of the year since 1982 (there were a couple in the 1970s) has been Megan Faraimo of Cathedral Catholic, who was the honoree in 2017. She went on to become a three-time All-American at UCLA. Faraimo is about as big time of a softball player from the section as you can get. And if Romero has a senior season next year that’s as good as what she just turned in, she can certainly be in the conversation as the best ever from that section.
Recent State Juniors of the Year: 2025 – Ayla Tuua (Sacramento Destiny Christian); 2024 – Taelyn Holley (Murrieta Murrieta Mesa); 2023 – Miali Guachino (Temecula Great Oak); 2022 – Ryan Maddox (Fresno Clovis North); 2021 – Jessica Oakland (Mountain View St. Francis); 2020 – No selection (pandemic); 2019 – Nicole May (Pleasanton Foothill); 2018 – Kinzie Hansen (Norco); 2017 – Megan Faraimo (San Diego Cathedral Catholic); 2016 – Camryn Ybarra (Mission Viejo); 2015 – Mia Camuso (Redding Shasta); 2014 – Taylor McQuillin (Mission Viejo); 2013 – Johanna Grauer (Pleasanton Amador Valley); 2012 – Gabrielle Maurice (Modesto Beyer); 2011 – Melissa Taukieaho (Etiwanda); 2010 – Lauren Chamberlain (Lake Forest El Toro); 2009 – Taylor Edwards (Murrieta Vista Murrieta).
If the end of this season is an indication, Etiwanda’s Dailynn Battee might walk 50 times next year. Photo: Instagram.com.
SOPHOMORES:
Dailynn Battee (Etiwanda)
Moving up from being named as the 2025 State Freshman of the Year, Dailynn had a phenomenal sophomore season swinging the bat and has followed up with another major statewide honor.
So in her freshman season, Battee played 25 games and put up a .541 average on 40 hits with 35 RBI, 31 runs scored, 10 doubles and 11 homers. For this year’s sophomore season, she was in 25 games again (Etiwanda had a 24-4 record) and amazingly her totals were even higher in all metrics. Dailynn batted .616 on 45 hits with 38 RBI, 50 runs scored, 11 doubles and 15 homers.
During one week in April, when Battee was the Inland Area player of the week, she reached base in all nine trips to the plate in Baseline League wins against Chino Hills and Rancho Cucamonga, which included two homers. Most of those times getting on base were because of walks and later in the season it was getting harder and harder for her to get anything to hit.
Over one three-game span (also in league), Battee was walked four, four and five times in those outings. Her season total of 31 walks will go down as one of the highest in state history, similar to the 34 that softball greats Ally Shipman and Ella Parker had in their senior seasons in 2018 and 2023 at Valencia and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
Dailynn is the second straight state soph of the year from the Inland Empire after Norco’s Coral Williams from last season. The area also has had the winner in 2022, 2021, 2018 and 2017.
Recent State Sophomores of the Year: 2025 – Coral Williams (Norco); 2024 – Ayla Tuua (Sacramento Capital Christian); 2023 – Mya McGowan (Poway); 2022 – Cambria Salmon (Beaumont); 2021 – Mya Perez (Norco); 2020 – No selection (pandemic); 2019 – Savannah Pola (Santa Ana Godinez); 2018 – Sarah Willis (Norco); 2017 – Kinzie Hansen (Norco); 2016 – Vanessa Strong (Oakley Freedom); 2015 – Holly Azevedo (San Jose Pioneer); 2014 – Katie Kibby (Vacaville); 2013 – Alyssa Palomino (Mission Viejo); 2012 – Johanna Grauer (Pleasanton Amador Valley); 2011 – Gabrielle Maurice (Modesto Beyer); 2010 – Nancy Bowling (Simi Valley Royal); 2009 – Ally Carda (Elk Grove Pleasant Grove).
Freshman Madelyn Benzler of Elk Grove is shown in the middle of celebration after team won CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D2 title. Photo: Jose Luis Villegas / The Sacramento Bee.
FRESHMEN:
Madelyn Benzler (Elk Grove)
For those already following young players at the PGF nationals and similar summer events, Madelyn’s selection as State Freshman Player of the Year probably isn’t a surprise. But at the high school level and with a couple of other freshman standouts at Elk Grove, including Kadence Pettis (had 54 hits and batted .470), Benzler had an impressive ninth grade season.
In her first varsity season, Benzler was the MVP of the Delta League and she has been named as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Freshman Player of the Year by MaxPreps. Elk Grove not only won the title in that league but had one of the top teams in the section. The Thundering Herd won a wild game at 24-1 Tracy, 12-10 in nine innings, then took on Del Oro of Loomis for SJS D2 title and won that game, 3-2. The season ended with a 4-1 loss on the road just a few days later at Clovis East in the CIF NorCal D1 playoffs, but Del Oro won the CIF NorCal D2 playoffs.
For the season as a pitcher, Madelyn went 11-4 with a 1.25 ERA. She also had 141 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings. With bat in hand, Benzler ranked third on the team with a .364 average. She led the Thundering Herd in home runs with seven, drove in 37 runs and had eight doubles and three homers.
Ncknamed “Mads,” our friends at Line Drive Media wrote last month that “the powers in the sport are well aware of her.” Benzler is appearing this summer at the 2026 USA All-American Games. Two years ago, Madelyn helped her travel ball team finish runner-up at the PGF 12U Premier Nationals.
Madelyn has become the first freshman from the SJS to gain top freshman state honors since Ali Aguilar from Casa Roble of Orangeval in 2010. There were only three others prior to that dating back to the first year of 1976 and one of those was all-time state strikeout queen Alicia Hollowell of Fairfield for 1999.
Recent State Freshmen of the Year: 2025 – Dailynn Battee (Etiwanda); 2024 – Abby Ford (JSerra, SJ Capistrano); 2023 – Taylor Faga (Hollister); 2022 – Kai Minor (Orange Lutheran); 2021 – Brynne Nally (Garden Grove Pacifica); 2020 – No selection (pandemic); 2019 – Ramsey Suarez (Temecula Great Oak); 2018 – Cydney Sanders (San Marcos); 2017 – Nicole May (Pleasanton Foothill); 2016 – Kinzie Hansen (Norco); 2015 – Danielle Williams (Pleasanton Amador Valley); 2014 – Taylon Snow (Chino Hills); 2013 – Zoe Marrott (Moraga Campolindo); 2012 – Amanda Lorenz (Moorpark); 2011 – Tera Blanco (Huntington Beach Marina); 2010 – Ali Aguilar (Orangevale Casa Roble); 2009 – Nancy Bowling (Simi Valley Royal); 2008 – Dani Gilmore (Woodland Hills El Camino Real).
MEDIUM SCHOOLS:
Mia Camacho (Whittier Christian, La Habra) Jr.
We’d have to say that this player of the year pick was the most difficult among all of them for the 2026 season. Camacho gets it in the end, however, for her big home run totals, especially the ones she hit in the CIF Southern Section D2 playoffs.
Whittier Christian by being in the CIFSS D2 playoffs also qualifies as medium schools. Not all of the teams in our final D2 state rankings are medium (especially those from D1 leagues and Open/D1 section playoffs), but the Heralds clearly are. It doesn’t matter that the CIF had to reach down and invite them for the SoCal D1 playoffs. That happened since so many of the others from the CIFSS in D1 opted out.
Camacho, who has committed to Rutgers, ranked among the state season leaders in home runs with 17 and in RBI with 60. The first baseman also had a .532 batting average, scored 47 runs and collected 10 doubles.
The biggest homer of the season for Mia came in the bottom of the seventh inning in the CIFSS D2 title game vs Mater Dei of Santa Ana. With the Monarchs leading 3-1, Camacho crushed a two-run homer that tied the score. Whittier Christian later won 5-3. Camacho also had home runs in each of Whittier Christian’s four other CIFSS playoff games.
Already named as the San Gabriel Valley Tribune Player of the Year, Camacho had a season high of seven RBI with a grand slam and two-run homer in a tournament win vs Sauk Prairie of Wisconsin.
Others who were strongly considered for the medium schools honor included two cousins from different schools in the CIF Northern Section, senior McKena Harvey from Chico High and sophomore Brooklyn Atterberry from Las Plumas of Oroville. They have been named Co-Players of the Year for that section and we’re glad not to have to pick between them. DaNae Lee of Monterey and Karmen Vasquez of Hanford West also were closely checked out.
Camacho is the second medium schools winner from Whittier Christian in the last five years. In 2021, the honor went to Brooklyn Carrion of the Heralds. She played in the 2026 season at the University of Utah. Since 1976, Camacho also is just the fifth honoree on the list from the San Gabriel Valley.
Recent Medium Schools State Players of the Year: 2025 – Abi Jones (Salinas); 2024 – Lila Partridge (Petaluma Casa Grande); 2023 – Randi Roelling (Modesto Central Catholic); 2022 – Riley Wickum (Sutter); 2021 – Brooklyn Carrion (La Habra Whittier Christian); 2020 – No selection (pandemic); 2019 – Lexi Webb (Oakdale); 2018 – Maile Newman (Torrance West); 2017 – Brooke Yanez (Ventura Buena); 2016 – Nicole Bates (Ceres); 2015 – Rachel Garcia (Palmdale Highland); 2014 – Kylee Perez (Martinez Alhambra); 2013 – Rachel Garcia (Palmdale Highland); 2012 – Nisa Ontiveros (Bakersfield Ridgeview); 2011 – Cheyenne Cordes (Fairfield Rodriguez); 2010 – Courtney Ceo (Lake of the Pines Bear River); 2009 – Jenna Rich (El Segundo); 2008 – Erin Arevalo (Manteca East Union).
Ava Avila of LeGrand has piled up the offensive and pitching statistics the past two seasons with one still to go that has put her on track to gain numerous career state record listings. Photo: lghs_softball / Instagram.com.
SMALL SCHOOLS:
Ava Avila (Le Grand) Jr.
A player well on her way to posting career totals that will rank high in the Cal-Hi Sports state records in both hitting and pitching, Avila has gained her first state player of the year selection after leading Le Grand to the CIF NorCal D5 title as well as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D7 championship.
For this season, Ava mashed 12 homers and batted .593 on 48 hits. She also ranked among the state leaders with 61 RBI and had 14 doubles and 45 runs scored. It was her second straight season putting up those kind of totals. In 2025, she also drove in 61 runs and hit 13 homers with a .615 batting average. She was our NorCal Player of the Year for a game against Waterford in which she drove in 10 runs. She’ll come into her senior year next season with 131 hits, 149 RBI and 26 homers.
But that’s just the hitting part of it. Avila went 21-1 in the circle this season for the Bulldogs and had a 0.56 ERA with 252 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings. She didn’t pitch that much as freshman two years ago, but last season as a sophomore she finished 18-1 with a 0.76 ERA and had 269 strikeouts in 165 2/3 innings. Ava will have a 42-3 career record and 579 strikeouts entering her senior season.
Avila is the first SJS small schools player of the year since current Ms. Softball Ayla Tuua was a freshman at Capital Christian of Sacramento. Yes, that was considered a small school program just three years ago. The last state small schools player of the year from the southern part of the SJS was Juliana Santos from Orestimba of Newman for 2008.
Recent Small Schools State Players of the Year: 2025 – Audrina Rodriguez (Woodlake); 2024 – Olivia Bauer (Sutter); 2023 – Ayla Tuua (Sacramento Capital Christian); 2022 – Natalie Gleason (SJ Capistrano Capistrano Valley Christian); 2021 – Anabel Teperson (Kentfield Marin Catholic); 2020 – No selection (pandemic); 2019 – Sydney Kuma (Easton Washington); 2018 – Lindsey Walljasper (Manteca Sierra); 2017 – Livy Schiele (La Jolla Bishop’s); 2016 – Kailia Searcy (Lancaster Paraclete); 2015 – Zoe Casas (San Bernardino Aquinas); 2014 – Grayce Majam (Pine Valley Mountain Empire); 2013 – Zoe Casas (San Bernardino Aquinas); 2012 – Cheridan Hawkins (Anderson); 2011 – Elizabeth Caporuscio (Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World); 2010 – Sammy Albanese (Palo Alto Castilleja); 2009 – Jessica Moore (Sutter).
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
