The Alliance Fastpitch is proud to announce our 2024 Alliance All-Stars, a top honor for Alliance Fastpitch athletes. These athletes represent the top senior softball players in the Alliance Fastpitch and will compete in our fourth annual Alliance All-Star Game powered by EvoShield. The 2024 Alliance All-Star Game will be played July 21^st at the brand-new Kokomo High School Softball Stadium in Kokomo, Indiana.

Alliance All-Stars are selected by our national committee spearheaded by Derek Allister, founder of OnDeck Softball. The National All-Star Committee has representation from all nine Alliance Member Leagues. The selection process begins in the Fall with an initial Watch List and is then narrowed down to League All-Star Teams. The final Alliance All-Star athletes are then selected from the League All-Star teams and must be members of the Alliance Fastpitch.

The All-Star national committee, who meets throughout the season, takes several factors into consideration when selecting the final Alliance All Stars to compete in the Alliance All Star game. They gather feedback from college coaches and evaluate the players those coaches have signed and recruited. To ensure a thorough assessment, the committee also cross-checks information with other travel ball coaches. A formal vote by the leagues is a crucial part of the process. The committee then narrows down the candidates by building a balanced team, paying specific attention to primary positions. They ensure league representation and review top performers from league all-star lists. The committee strives for a balanced pitching staff and catching group, evaluating both defensive skills and hitting abilities. Hitters are balanced between slappers and power hitters, while outfielders are assessed for both hitting and defensive capabilities. Finally, the infield is carefully constructed, taking into account middle infielders, corner infielders, and utility players.

Every All-Star athlete is signed to play DI college softball starting this fall. All Power 4 (formerly Power 5) conferences will be represented with the SEC (14 athletes) and Big 12 (11 athletes) leading the way.

Here is a breakdown of the Alliance All-Star Athlete representation.

• At least one player from all nine Member Leagues
• 19 different travel ball organizations represented including five organizations with their first All-Star (Crossfire Fastpitch, Tampa Mustangs, Colorado Batbusters, Epic National, and St. Louis Chaos)
• 28 different colleges All-Star athletes are signed to
• All Power 4 conferences represented; SEC leads the way with 14 athletes
• Arkansas and Oklahoma each have 3 All-Star athletes signed
• Four mid-majors represented – UNLV, North Texas, Florida Atlantic, and Utah Tech

Many of these Alliance All-Stars have spent their entire high school careers inside the Alliance Fastpitch, which is currently in its fourth season, competing in Alliance National Events like the AFCS, Super Cup Series, and Stars of Tomorrow Games. A majority of the Alliance All-Stars have garnered Alliance Player Recognition honors throughout their Alliance careers such as All-Tournament Teams, Player of the Month, Most Outstanding Player, and AFCS skills challenge winners.

Here are a few of the All-Star athletes with multiple Alliance Player Recognition Awards.

• Brooke Wells – 2023 16U AFCS Most Outstanding Player and National Champion, Stars of Tomorrow Games Points Champion for the 2024 Class
• Paislie Allen – Stars of Tomorrow Top 4 Point Earner for the 2024 Class, Super Cup All-Tournament Team
• Ella McDowell – 2022 Super Cup Most Outstanding Player, Super Cup All-Tournament Team 2022, 2023 & 2024, AFCS All-Tournament Team 2022 & 2023
• Aleena Garcia – 2023 AFCS All-Tournament Team, 2023 18U AFCS Fastest Woman, and 2022 Super Cup All-Tournament Team
• Taylor Shumaker – 2023 Super Cup Offensive MVP, 2022 AFCS All-Tournament Team, 2022 & 2023 AFCS National Champion
• Townsen Thomas – Super Cup Offensive MVP, Super Cup All-Tournament Team, and TFL Player of the Month

Six of the Alliance All-Stars are members of USA Softball’s U-18 Women’s National Team including Paislie Allen, Cameryn Harrison, Ella McDowell, Isabella Ruggiero, Townsen Thomas and Brooke Wells.

Two Alliance All-Stars currently serve on the Alliance Player Advisory Committee (PAC) – Tyah Charlton and Cameryn Harrison.

Paige Ernstes of Indiana Magic Gold, a local of New Palestine will get to compete in her home state of Indiana. Ernstes is considered the number 41 prospect in her class by Extra Inning Softball and the number 21 catcher. The 2024 catcher played at New Palestine High School where her team was the 2023 conference champion. Ernstes will be attending Mississippi State in the fall.

The All-Star athletes will be divided into two teams — Alliance American and Alliance National. The roster for each team will be announced within the next few weeks. In the inaugural contest of 2021, the National Team beat the American Team in a 10-9 slugfest. The following year, the American Team secured a 4-0 victory against the National Team in a pitcher’s duel led by NiJa Canady (Stanford) and Sydney Berzon (LSU). Last year, the National Team regained control, winning 3-1 against the American Team thanks to an Ella Parker (Oklahoma) homerun.

As we approach the fourth annual Alliance All-Star Game, we anticipate an impressive display of talent and dedication from these outstanding athletes. This event, scheduled for July 21st at Kokomo High School Softball Stadium in Kokomo, Indiana, will highlight the best in Alliance Fastpitch.

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about the Alliance All-Stars and the 2024 Alliance All-Star Game.