Should recruiting rankings be done for 12-year-old athletes? In 2022, Arrianna “Arri” Romero was one of 27 very young athletes in the “top 10” of Extra Inning Softball’s class of 2027 rankings. The right-handed pitcher and first baseman was ranked No. 1 by the outlet at the time.
Things have changed since then. EIS is under new management and no longer ranks upwards of 30 players in its “top 10.” Romero is no longer in the rankings at EIS, but, ultimately, it didn’t matter whether she was No. 1 or
unranked. She was seen by the right people and has completed the first step of her dream of playing college softball by committing to play at Arizona.
The rankings and ratings may give media and fans an idea of how a player stacks up to her peers. Ultimately, development will be more important. Romero has the opportunity for that simply because of where she’s from. She plays in the softball hotbed of Southern California and has made an impact.
The high school junior plays for Mater Dei in Chula Vista, Calif. She is currently part of the Corona Angels Slye travel team, but she played for Athletics Mercado-Bustamante when she was younger. She was honored as the Co-Junior National Player of the Month for the Pacific Coast Fastpitch League in February of 2022 as part of Athletics Mercado.
In 2024, Romero led her travel team to the Alliance Fastpitch 14U Super Cup title. Over the course of the season, she had a 2.82 ERA in 151.1 IP for Corona Angels Tyson. She struck out 125 batters. With the bat, she hit .287 with 29 hits, 4 homers, and 25 RBI.
Romero has been a major contributor at Mater Dei as both a hitter and a pitcher. In the circle, she has a career ERA of 1.52 in 253.1 innings pitched. She has notched 36 wins. Opposing batters hit just .198 against her and have struck out 187 times.
Romero has been steady at the plate, as well. She hits .428 and has taken 187 at-bats in 60 games. She is not a big home run hitter, notching just four long balls in her prep career. She also hit 22 doubles. She improved both her home run and doubles numbers last year. She has only struck out 12 times and has drawn four walks.
Romero’s numbers earned her a place on the MaxPreps Underclass All-America Softball Team in 2025. She landed on the second time after a season when she went 24-4 in the circle and .424 in the batter’s box. She led her team to the the SoCal Division 1 championship.
Romero becomes the third 2027 commit for Arizona. She joins fellow pitcher Eloisa Maes and infielder Charlie Simi.
In addition to the three commits, Arizona hosted Taylor Sansaver on an official visit this weekend. The outfielder is from Tracy, Calif., about an hour outside San Francisco and Sacramento.
