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Evidence? ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ prep softball teams have won 38 state championships from 2000-25, more than any other ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ prep sport in the quarter-century. More than boys soccer (21), more than 31 Sunnyside-charged state wrestling titles, more than even the dominant boys tennis programs at Catalina Foothills, leading to a total of 35 boys state tennis championships.

In the last 20 years, a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-area team has failed to win a state softball championship just once, 2013. (The 2020 COVID season doesn’t count). That’s some serious softball.

So you might understand how complicated it was to select the Star’s All-Quarter Century Softball Team. After a week of research, we chose a 12-member first team and a 12-member second team, followed by 10 honorable mention selections. That’s 34 softball players. It wouldn’t have taken much imagination to double that number. That’s how good high school softball has been in Pima County the last 25 years.

Since so many of the All-Quarter Century softball players were pitchers, we chose not to go position-by-position, but to honor the top 34 players, no matter the position.

The most obvious selection was Canyon del Oro pitcher Kenzie Fowler, who was named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. She was also ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2007. It isn’t a stretch to suggest that Fowler is the state’s player of the quarter-century.

LINEUP

Pitcher: Kenzie Fowler, CDO (2006-09)

In four seasons as a Dorado, Fowler went, in order, 28-0, 28-1, 24-1 and 25-2, winning state championships the final three seasons. She pitched 14 no-hitters as a senior, and also was a force in CDO’s offense with 163 base hits. It wasn’t a fluke; in her freshman season at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, she pitched the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series championship game. She was a starting shortstop when not pitching at CDO.

Shortstop: Mattie Fowler, CDO (2011)

Kenzie’s younger sister probably had the best individual season in CDO or ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ prep history in 2011. She led the Dorados to a historic 35-1 record and the state title by going 18-0 as a pitcher. As a shortstop, she broke the state record with 91 RBIs, hitting 17 home runs and batting .529. Mattie went on to become a four-year team captain at Nebraska.

First base: Ashley Monceaux, Flowing Wells (2002)

A big part of the Caballeros’ 2000 and 2002 state championships, Monceaux was the state’s ’02 Player of the Year, hitting .488 with 12 home runs. After Flowing Wells, she led Pima College to the 2004 national championship and became an All-Big 12 first baseman at Baylor. She was also all-city pitcher at Flowing Wells.

First base: Carlie Scupin, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ High (2020)

The 2019 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Gatorade Player of the Year, Scupin hit .683 as a senior with 17 home runs. Her 44 career home runs at THS remains a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ prep record. Scupin went on to become an All-Pac-12 first baseman at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

Shortstop: Desiree Williams, Flowing Wells (2004)

The 2004 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Gatorade Player of the Year hit .521 at shortstop and, as a pitcher, compiled a 0.41 ERA. She went to Texas and became an All-Big 12 shortstop.

Outfielder: Kayla Bonstrom, CDO (2012)

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year hit .595 as a Dorado senior. A year earlier, she hit .554 with 65 RBIs. She went on to become the Pac-12 freshman of the year at Stanford.

Third base: Isabel Pacho, Ironwood Ridge (2018)

While helping the ‘Ridge win the 2016 state championship at 33-4, Pacho hit 30 career home runs and batted .655 as a senior in 2018, and .508 across her prep career before becoming a slugger in the middle of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats starting lineup.

Pitcher: Yvette Alvarez, Sahuarita (2011)

The leader of Sahuarita’s 2011 state championship team, Alvarez hit .483 with 19 home runs and 81 RBIs. She went 30-4 as a pitcher in 2011, giving her a career 81 pitching victories. She later became an All-American pitcher at Pima College.

Shortstop: Molly Johnson, Sabino (2006)

As the Sabercats went 33-1 to win the 2005 state title, Johnson hit 11 home runs and batted .478 and was chosen the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ co-player of the year. Johnson went on to become an all-SEC shortstop at Kentucky, where she is now an assistant coach.

Outfield: Yannira Acuna, Salpointe (2018)

Over a four-year Lancer career, Acuna hit .547, including a high of .637 as a junior. She led the Lancers to the 2018 state championship and became an All-Pac-12 outfielder at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State.

Catcher: Samantha Nettling, CDO (2014)

As a freshman on CDO’s 2011 state title team, Nettling hit .440. Over four years, she had a cumulative .459 batting average with 20 home runs and went on to be an All-Big Ten catcher at Northwestern.

Pitcher: Courtnay Foster, Sahuaro (2002)

Pitching the Cougars to the 2001 state championship, Foster compiled a 54-5 career pitching record and then pitched Northwestern to the 2006 Women’s College World Series.

SECOND TEAM

Pitcher: Valerie George, Sabino (2005)

As the Sabercats went 33-1 to win the 2005 state title, George went 28-0 and struck out 15 in the state championship game.

Pitcher: Celena Velasquez, Rincon (2002)

Leading the Rangers to the 2002 state title, Velasquez went 25-3 with a 0.45 ERA. She also had 260 career strikeouts.

Catcher: Callista Balko, CDO (2004)

An All-ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ shortstop on the Dorados’ 2001 state championship team, Balko hit a combined .391 in her CDO career before becoming the UA’s starting catcher and an All-Pac-10 choice.

First base: Kristiana Watson, Amphitheater (2020)

In Watson’s first two seasons at Amphi, before a delay for COVID, she hit an amazing .736 with 31 home runs. She has since played at ASU, Duke and New Mexico State.

Second base: Kelsey Jenkins, Sabino (2014)

Hit .540 for her Sabercat career with 191 runs and 89 stolen bases, 2011-14. She went on to become a three-time All-Big Ten player at Wisconsin.

Shortstop: Logan Hall, Sahuaro (2008)

When her Sabercat career ended, Hall had a cumulative .503 batting average. She became a starting second baseman at Texas Tech.

Outfield: Ellessa Bonstrom, CDO (2018)

With a .489 career batting average, Bonstrom hit .518 for CDO’s 2017 state championship team. She later became an All-Pac-12 player at Utah.

Pitcher: Alexa Cash, Cienega (2010)

When Cienega won the 2010 state championship. Cash had a 28-4 pitching record and a .307 career batting average.

Shortstop: Rebekah Quiroz, Flowing Wells (2000)

Leading the Caballeros to the 2000 state championship, Quiroz hit .461 with 27 stolen bases. She is now the head coach at Pima College.

Pitcher: Gianna Mares, Salpointe (2023)

A big part of three Salpointe state championships, Mares hit .486 with 15 homers in 2023 and, a year earlier, she hit .429 with 14 homers. She was 18-0 as a pitcher in 2022 and is now at BYU.

Catcher: Alexis Kaiser, CDO (2018)

In four years as a starting catcher at CDO, Kaiser hit 31 home runs and had a cumulative batting average of .508 as she helped the Dorados win the 2017 state title.

Second base: Breezy Hayward, Cienega (2021)

On the Bobcats’ 2018 state title team, Hayward, then a freshman, hit .511 with eight home runs and had a .545 four-year batting average before playing at BYU.

COACH

Eric Tatham, Cienega (2008-22)

Tatham, part of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ High’s 1987 state championship baseball team, worked for 10 years as a manager at Walmart before becoming the first-ever softball coach at Cienega High School in 2008. Over the next 14 years, Tatham won state championships in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2018. When he retired after the 2022 season, he had 315 career victories, the most of any ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach in that period.