The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Adds Ten in Early Signing Period
11/20/2015 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. - Ten players hailing from five different states will join the Ole Miss softball program for the 2017 season, head coach Mike Smith announced Friday in the release of his 2016 recruiting class.
The 2016 class, once ranked as high as No. 8 according to FloSoftball.com, checked in as the No. 20 recruiting class in the country. Joining the Rebels for the 2017 season will be Allison Stark (Riverside, Calif.), Marissa Varrati (Corona, Calif.), Morgan Bruce (Roanoke, Va.), Gabriela Alvarez (Riverside, Calif.), Kiriany Hornberger (Baytown, Texas), Dylinn Stancil (Temecula, Calif.), Kennedy Legg (Keller, Texas), Alyssa Gonzalez (Chino, Calif.), Kaylee Horton (Jasper, Ala.) and Kaitlin Lee (Gulfport, Miss.).
Allison Stark - OF - Riverside, Calif. (Martin Luther King, Jr. HS)
Stark joins the Rebels as one of five signees from California, currently a member of the King High School team in Riverside, Calif. Stark is a three-time King HS Scholar Athlete, and helped lead the squad to the Big 8 League Championship in 2014. She was part of a team that was a CIF Division I finalist in 2014, and also helped her team to the Riverside County Team Academic Award and the Big 8 All-League Academic Team award this past season.
Stark currently plays travel ball with the 18U Explosion Morgan, and helped the 16U Explosion Greg Premier girls fast pitch team to an 11th place finish. She also played for the 14U Batbusters Ybarra Premier girls fast pitch team and helped that squad to a seventh place finish.
Marissa Varrati - OF - Santiago, Calif. (Corona HS)
Varrati, also a native of California, will make the cross-country trek to Oxford following her career at Corona High School. Varrati has totaled a .320 batting average, .410 on-base percentage, 74 hits, 56 RBI and .541 slugging percentage.
Varrati is a four-year scholar athlete and four-year member of the honor roll. She helped her team to the Big VIII League Championship in 2015 and also earned the all-league award. In 2015 she played with the So Cal Athletics Richardson travel ball team, finishing runner-up at the 2015 PGF finals. In 2014 she spent the season with the So Cal Athletics Myers/McNee squad, helping claim the 2014 PGF National Championship.
Morgan Bruce - P - Roanoke, Va. (Northside HS)
As a member of the Northside High School team, Bruce was a standout earning multiple accolades and slotting herself in many state records. As a junior, Bruce was named First Team Blue Ridge District and Conference 31, was an All-Region 3A West Honorable Mention selection, and was also named to the All-Timesland Second Team.
During her sophomore year, Bruce stole the spotlight, earning Player of the Year honors from Conference 31 and the Timesland. She tied the Virginia state record for most home runs hit in one game (three), broke the school record with 12 single-season home runs, and also broke the state record for single-season RBIs with 53. She holds a place in the top five of every offensive stat in the Virginia record books. Bruce added to her list of accomplishments by being named First Team Blue Ridge District and Conference 31 as both a pitcher and infielder.
Gabriela Alvarez - 3B/1B - Riverside, Calif. (Martin Luther King, Jr. HS)
Alvarez joins Stark as one of two Ole Miss recruits from Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in California. Her freshman and sophomore season, Alvarez earned the Big 8 League Champion Award, and has earned the participation award for outstanding achiever for her sports each season. As a junior she earned the Riverside County Academic Award and also earned the team's academic athlete award. In travel ball, Alvarez has helped her squad to 11th-place finishes each of the last two seasons.
Kiriany Hornberger - P/INF - Baytown, Texas (Barbers Hill HS)
A five-sport athlete, Hornberger joins the program as a native of Baytown, Texas. Throughout her high school career, Hornberger has been named first team all-district, and has helped lead her team to the state semifinals and earned the district championship each season.
On the travel ball side, Hornberger has been a part of teams that finished first and second in Colorado, and also helped her squad to the DeMarini Invitational Championship.
Dylinn Stancil - UTL - Temecula, Calif. (Great Oaks HS)
Another California native, Dylinn Stancil will join the Rebels after her high school career at Great Oaks High School. She earned the coaches choice award in 2013, was named Defensive MVP in 2014, second team all-league in 2014, Offensive MVP in 2015, and first team all-league in 2015.
In travel ball, Stancil helped the OCBB Mcnee PGF to a fifth place finish in 2012 and second place finish in 2013. She also helped the OCBB Mcnee Colorado team to a third place in Power Pool in 2013, and recorded a 25th place finish with OC United PGF in 2014.
Kennedy Legg - C/OF - Keller, Texas (Keller HS)
Legg will join the Rebels following her career at Keller High School in Keller, Texas. The four-year varsity letterwinner has maintained a batting average over .360 in each of her seasons thus far, topping out at .385 this past spring with a .484 on-base percentage and .885 slugging percentage. In the two previous seasons she hit .370 and .363. Each season she's been named to the academic all-district team, and was also a 2014-15 District 5-6A All-District Honorable Mention selection.
A recipient of the KHS All-Heart Award, Legg has helped lead her team to the regional quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, earning the district championship in 2014-15. Ranked the No. 35 recruit in the country by FloSoftball.com, Legg has played travel ball at the 18U gold level since her freshman year. While with that team, she's helped the squad to a top five finish at the PGF Nationals, and numerous other high finishes at national tournaments. In three seasons with the American Freedom Gold, Legg has totaled 28 home runs and an average of .475.
Alyssa Gonzalez - 1B - Chino, Calif. (Chino HS)
Gonzalez joins the Ole Miss program from Chino High School. She is a two-time all-state honoree (2013, 2014) and was named first team all-league in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2013 she helped lead her squad to the state title and CIF Division II Championship, earning offensive player of the year accolades. She helped lead the team to a CIF Division I runner-up finish in 2014, and was named the 2015 All-CIF Southern Section Softball Player, and 2015 student-athlete of the year.
A varsity scholar, Gonzalez plays travel ball with the SoCal A's, and previously played on the Batbuster Briggs team. She helped the Batbusters to a Louisville CO Slugger Championship runner-up finish in 2015, and hit .720 with three home runs in the PGF finals. Off the diamond, Gonzalez also plays varsity basketball and earned first team all-league honors in 2014 and 2015, and was named team MVP last season.
Kaitlin Lee - P - Gulfport, Miss. (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC)
Lee joins the Rebels as a transfer from in-state Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Last season as a freshman, she went 19-4 on the hill with a team-low 1.85 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 151 innings. She helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 46-13 season that included MACJC and a Region 23 Championship. She also hit .369 in 160 at-bats, totaling 13 RBI.
Prior to Mississippi Gulf Coast, Lee lettered at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport. She helped lead that team to a 6A high school state championship in 2014, going 30-6. She was named to the East/West All-Star Team in 2014 and 2015, and North/South All-Star Team in 2015. She was also named MVP of the South All-Star team.
Kaylee Horton - UTL - Jasper, Ala. (Curry HS)
Horton joins the Ole Miss program after a very successful career at Curry High School in Jasper, Ala. In the last three seasons, Horton helped the Yellow Jackets to two third-place finishes in the AHSAA 5A State Championship, and a AHSAA 4A State Championship in 2015. She was named to the AHSAA 4A All-State team as a junior, all-state super elite team, Alabama High School All-Star North Team, and helped her club win the regional and Walker County Championships.
As both a freshman and sophomore, her team claimed the region and Walker County Championships, while she was on the list of top-100 juniors in 2014. As a junior she hit .521 with 58 steals, and totaled a .631 batting average in 2014 with 55 steals.
Her travel ball team finished third in the PFG Nationals, and she also played basketball at Curry HS.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at@msmithsb16.
