LAKE CHARLES—If recruiting is the lifeline of a program, then McNeese softball will have a strong heartbeat for years to come following last week's 2020 signing class in which FloSoftball ranked the Cowgirl class No. 22 in their Top 25 Division 1 recruiting class and FloSoftball and Extra Inning Softball ranked incoming freshman Aaliyah Ortiz as one of their Top 100 Prospects.
"How exciting for these future Cowgirls to be recognized by two great college softball publications," said head coach
James Landreneau. "This honor is a result of the countless hours of hard work these young ladies have put in over the years. Not only are they great athletes but they are outstanding individuals coming from great families. We are humbled and honored to have these caliber of athletes choose to attend our University."
The class is the first known class to be ranked in program history and it's the only non-Power 5 school ranked in the Top 25 by Flo Softball along with ten SEC, 5 PAC-12, 3 ACC, Big 12, and Big 10 teams.
Flo Softball has infielder Aaliyah Ortiz from Atascosa, Texas ranked 29
th in their Top 100 prospects while Extra Inning Softball has her ranked 79
th overall and the 54
th best infielder.
"Ortiz is an outstanding, humble person that has performed at a high level in both high school (Northwest) and travel ball (Texas Bombers)," Landreneau said. "She has game changing power along with shortstop hands playing either corner. We are truly blessed to have Aaliyah along with the rest of her 2020 classmates join our family."
According to Extra Inning Softball, Ortiz is a feared power hitter who, as one Power 5 college coach put it, "is one of the best hitters in the class… she can flat out rake the ball." Nicknamed "Papi," as in former Boston Red Sox slugger David "Papi" Ortiz, Aaliyah also has also drawn comparisons to one of the greatest softball hitters ever, Crystl Bustos. The Texas Bomber slugger had offers from Houston as well as some Big 12 programs but fell in love with McNeese. The organization also went on to say that Ortiz is a "Legend in the Making".
Ortiz, a NFCA High School All-American, holds the area homerun record with 22 along with a .667 batting average.
FLO SOFTBALL Top 25 2020 Recruiting Classes
| Rank |
College |
Conference |
# of Recruits |
Top 100 Prospects |
| 1 |
Florida State |
ACC |
8 |
Nos. 6, 10, 18, 34, 47 |
| 2 |
LSU |
SEC |
9 |
Nos. 17, 28, 43, 50, 55, 73 |
| 3 |
Arizona |
PAC-12 |
8 |
Nos. 14, 21, 30, 35, 54, 89 |
| 4 |
Auburn |
SEC |
9 |
Nos. 2, 8, 20, 63, 96, 100 |
| 5 |
Oklahoma |
Big 12 |
5 |
Nos. 1, 4, 16, 79 |
| 6 |
Alabama |
SEC |
6 |
Nos. 3, 12, 41 |
| 7 |
Texas A&M |
SEC |
7 |
Nos. 9, 24, 26, 97 |
| 8 |
South Carolina |
SEC |
10 |
Nos. 23, 37, 66, 70, 74 |
| 9 |
Oregon |
PAC-12 |
4 |
Nos. 15, 31, 32 |
| 10 |
Washington |
PAC-12 |
6 |
Nos. 13, 39, 68, 80 |
| 11 |
Florida |
SEC |
5 |
Nos. 11, 19, 69 |
| 12 |
Arizona State |
PAC-12 |
7 |
Nos. 5, 65, 93 |
| 13 |
Georgia |
SEC |
10 |
Nos. 27, 62, 82, 98 |
| 14 |
Notre Dame |
ACC |
7 |
Nos. 22, 57 |
| 15 |
Arkansas |
SEC |
5 |
Nos. 40, 51 |
| 16 |
Kentucky |
SEC |
5 |
No. 7 |
| 17 |
Ole Miss |
SEC |
7 |
Nos. 59, 75, 85 |
| 18 |
Wisconsin |
Big Ten |
7 |
Nos. 52, 67 |
| 19 |
Texas |
Big 12 |
5 |
Nos. 33, 88 |
| 20 |
Oklahoma State |
Big 13 |
4 |
Nos. 44, 77 |
| 21 |
UCLA |
PAC-12 |
3 |
No. 25 |
| 22 |
McNeese State |
Southland |
8 |
No. 29 (Aaliyah Ortiz, IF, Atascosa, TX.) |
| 23 |
Penn State |
Big Ten |
7 |
No. 36 |
| 24 |
Clemson |
ACC |
6 |
No. 38 |
| 25 |
Northwestern |
Big Ten |
2 |
No. 42 |
