Setting the Stage

+Sarasota Heat 16U Roster 

Braden River High 

Brooke Farrow

Casey Farrow 

Lakewood Ranch High

Maddie Koczersut 

Morgan Cummins

Gretchen Ebert

Maddy Yoder

Manatee High

Kelli Gault

Sarasota High 

Kourtney Linn

Alexis Albero

Alexis Johns

Hannah Roberson

Brittany Bendel

Riverview High

Deanna Stevens

Marina Clark

Venice High

Antonia Rosa

Carryne Martin

Bishop Verot High

Erin Kyle 

+College Commitments 

Seven members of the Sarasota Heat 16U team already have verbally committed to play college softball while two others have received offers but have yet to commit. 

Verbal Commitments:

Morgan Cummins (LSU) 

Kourtney Linn (University of South Carolina Upstate) 

Brittany Bendel (Colgate) 

Marina Clark (Alabama State University)

Kelli Gault (Florida Southern College)

Carryne Martin (Liberty University)

Erin Kyle (Lamar University) 

Offers Received: 

Maddie Koczersut (Stony Brook University)

Deanna Stevens (Columbia State University) 

Drawing Interest: 

Gretchen Ebert (Morehead State University, Coker College and Florida Institute of Technology)

Alexis Albero (Harvard)

Alexis Johns (The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)

Hannah Roberson (George Mason)

Casey Farrow (Piedmont College)

Brooke Farrow (Piedmont College)

SARASOTA — After falling short in its last seven ASA National Championship qualifiers, the Sarasota Heat’s 16U team is headed to its first-ever ASA National Championship July 26 through Aug. 2, in Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Heat 16U catcher and rising Lakewood Ranch High sophmore Morgan Cummins' eyes light up at the mere mention of the ASA National Championships. 

It’s been six years since Cummins, along with fellow Heat teammate Kourtney Linn, made her national championship debut. 

The two were playing on the Heat’s 10U team at the time, and the experience playing against the top softball players in the nation only motivated the girls further and helped pave the way for the future. 

“ASA Nationals is really big in softball,” Cummins says. “It’s a pretty big tournament, so it’s cool to be able to say that you gone before and to tell the other girls how big and special it is.” 

Since then, Cummins and Linn have been focused on helping the Heat return to the national stage.

The Heat qualified for the ASA National Championships by winning the South Florida ASA Qualifier June 6 and June 7, in Plantation.

“It was a relief,” says Linn, who will be a senior at Sarasota High this fall. “There was a lot of weight lifted off our shoulders knowing we’re the first 16s team to go.” 

“I was pleasantly surprised,” coach Tony Cummins says. “Our main focus isn’t about winning championships, but rather, getting kids recruited for college. We just (fortunate) to have the right mix of girls who play really well together.”

Since winning its qualifier, the Heat has been busy working on basic fundamentals and skills that it hopes will set it apart from the competition. 

At the beginning of the summer, Tony Cummins listed the specific areas the girls needed to work on to be successful on the diamond. During each practice, Tony Cummins picks one area for the girls to focus on, so they’ll be ready for any situation. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of detail-oriented work,” Tony Cummins says. “We’re hoping that if they practice enough the right (way) then, if they get behind, they’ll know what to do in the back of their heads. We’ve got some incredibly hard working girls.” 

The Heat practices three days a week — one day of which is spent in the batting cages at Extra Innings. In addition, when the team isn’t competing in a tournament, the girls will scrimmage one of the other Heat teams or have three-hour practice on the weekend. 

It took the girls a solid month after their respective high school seasons ended to get used to playing together again, especially the girls from district rivals Lakewood Ranch, Braden River and Sarasota. 

“It’s definitely interesting,” Tony Cummins says. “They have to set their high school pride aside and play together as a unit. It’s difficult. We call it 'knocking off the high school rust.'” 

The Heat spent the summer competing in qualifiers across Florida, as well as one in Chattanooga, Tenn. and also has competed in tournaments in New Jersey and Colorado. 

“It (allows) us to see the other teams we’ll be competing against,” Linn says. “It’s definitely new to this team, so it helps us know what to expect.”

After taking eight days off, the Heat boarded a plane for the Atlanta Legacy Showcase July 17 through July 19. From there, the team will head to Chattanooga to prepare for the ASA National Championships. 

“Nationals takes a little bit of luck,” Tony Cummins says. “I think we’ll finish well. I think they’ll represent their area and their high schools very well.” 

But while the Heat have aspirations of winning a national title, the girls are looking to use the experience as a way to get recognized and hopefully recruited for college. Seven of the Heat’s players already have verbally committed to colleges with several more having either secured offers or drawing interest. 

“There’s going to be a lot of college coaches there, so I just want to do everything I can to help the other girls get offers and commitments by the end of the summer,” says Cummins, who verbally committed to LSU. “That’s the biggest goal other than winning.” 

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].