Ashton Sharinn is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Xavier College Prep for AZPreps365.com.

TEMPE – “The best players do not win championships. The best team players win championships.” This quote by former UCLA basketball coach and player John Wooden encapsulates what it takes to win championships.

For Xavier Prep, it has been a similar formula.

With support from each other, the Gators have never gone complacent as they look to continue to fill their roles. 

“We hold ourselves to a really high standard here,” junior right-handed pitcher and outfielder Angie Falls said. “We all really want to win for each other and not just for ourselves.” 

When you win four state championships in five years, success is expected, and for Xavier Prep, it has been nothing but success since former head coach Bradley Downes and current father-daughter duo co-coaches Sydnie Steffen and Tom Sahhar took over. They all have contributed to making Xavier Prep softball history, winning back-to-back state championships twice, most recently in 2024 and 2025.

“The school takes a lot of pride in everything that they stand for,” Steffen said. “So being a part of that outside softball is really cool, and then getting to be a part of our own legacy that we are creating is also really cool.”

Who to watch? 

While the Gators have talent in every position, three juniors will be heavily relied upon to use their leadership and talent to help continue the dominant reign the Gators have created in Arizona high school softball: Falls, infielder/outfielder Sariah McNabb, and catcher/utility Joie Ramos.

Angie Falls: Falls shone in a two-way role in the 2024-2025 season and strives to be even better. She pitched to a 13-2 record in 22 appearances and had a 0.59 ERA, good for No. 3 amongst Arizona high school pitchers, according to MaxPreps. 

At the plate, she was second on the team in a plethora of categories, including RBIs with 32, home runs with four, and doubles with 11. 

While she saw limited action in terms of balls hit to her for possible outs in the field, Falls did not record a single error and generated three putouts and 10 assists. 

Sariah McNabb: McNabb, a two-sport athlete, came up clutch at the plate for Xavier Prep softball. 

McNabb was one of two players to hit for an average above .500, and the only one to do so in more than 100 plate appearances. Finishing the season with a .517 average and a .569 OBP. McNabb also led the team in hits (47), RBIs (33), runs scored (40) and triples (3).

She also came second on the team in doubles (10), home runs (4), and fourth in at-bats with 91. It was not just at the plate where McNabb shone. McNabb also led the team in stolen bases with 17. 

Joie Ramos: Ramos’ bat was a key contributor for the Gators last season. The then-sophomore slugged for the third-highest average amongst qualified hitters, hitting .388 and coming second on the team with an OBP of .524. 

Ramos ended last year with 29 runs scored, 38 hits, 28 RBIs, five doubles and eight stolen bases in 98 at-bats. 

Fielding-wise, she committed only one error across 96 total chances and recorded 69 putouts. 

Xavier Prep relies on its entire team, made predominantly of juniors, to make impacts with a heavy emphasis on fielding to preserve runs. It looks to try to make history by going back-to-back-to-back for the first time in school history.