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

Xavier Prep has built a strong reputation for producing dominant pitchers throughout the past five seasons.

With an emphasis on depth and little reliance on just using one pitcher, the Gators seem primed to have four main contributors in the circle for 2026. Three made at least five appearances last season.

“I feel like they are all good leaders,” Xavier Prep co-coach Sydnie Steffen said. “They know it does not just take one of them to win a game; it takes everyone around them. I feel like that helps everyone work together.”

Last season, Xavier Prep pitchers had a 24-3 record. As a staff, they compiled nine complete games, 11 shutouts and three no-hitters. The Gators mustered a 1.49 team ERA, helping the Gators be ranked the No. 37 overall team nationally, according to MaxPreps.  

It helps, in part, when three of your four pitchers in the circle are juniors. Coming in together, they understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, allowing them and the coaching staff to help each other. 

With two right-handed pitchers and two left-handed pitchers, different approaches and strategies can be taken every single game. The pitching staff credited working together last year as a key contributor to its success. This year, they all have personal goals, as they all touched on how the staff complements each other. 

“Sydney [Root] throws really hard and clocked really high numbers,” junior right-handed pitcher and outfielder Angie Falls said. “She is really hard to hit. I think that Molly [Frazier] spins the ball really well, and she has really good movement. Makenzie [Latvaaho] also has really good movement and I feel like we all complement each other very well.”

Falls is set to be the ace of the staff for the third season. She will look to improve her career-best sophomore campaign in 2026. 

Last season, Falls went 13-2, five complete games, six shutouts and three no-hitters. Her 0.59 ERA was No. 1 in the 6A conference, No. 3 in Arizona, and top-85 nationally, according to MaxPreps. 

In her career, Falls has posted a 36-3 record across 50 appearances and a 1.60 ERA. 

For Falls, she is striving to be even better and stay as consistent as possible heading into her third season.

"Adding more pitches to my repertoire was good this year,” Falls said. “I had to go up an age level in club ball, which has really helped me. I faced a lot of good batters consistently, so that will help me a lot this season.”

Sophomore right-handed pitcher and infielder Sydney Root is coming off the heels of an impressive freshman campaign, where she saw herself as not just a premier hitter and fielder in the middle of the diamond, but also a driving force in the circle. 

As a freshman, Root compiled an 8-1 record across 17 appearances. In those outings, she accrued four complete games and five shutouts, ending the season with a 1.80 ERA. 

“(I have) some goals to get stronger,” Root said. “Adding curveballs and getting physically and mentally stronger.”

Junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman Molly Frazier garnered the third-most appearances for the Gators last season. As is the theme with every pitcher, she also had big contributions at the plate last season. 

Frazier accrued a career 4-2 record with a 4.24 ERA across 12 appearances. The left-hander improved on her freshman campaign. As a sophomore, she appeared in five games, going 2-0 and accruing a 2.72 ERA. 

Junior left-handed pitcher Makenzie Latvaaho will step into the rotation ready to make a bigger impact for an Xavier Prep team that wants to utilize its depth. 

In seven appearances across the prior two seasons, Latvaaho registered a 1.40 ERA and a 3-0 record. 

Despite only making one appearance in the circle in 2025, Latvaaho made six appearances as a freshman, where she recorded a 1.24 ERA, thus looking to showcase an increased workload in 2026. 

In a world where finding and developing talent is hard, and keeping talent seems even harder, Xavier Prep has built a foundation for success. On the backs of a junior class that has stuck together and shown togetherness and a desire for success, it is no shock to see how this unit has had so much success in the past as they look ahead to another big year in 2026.

“Our approach is to win the week,” co-coach Tom Sahhar said. “If we have three games in a week, you want to win at least two of them. That sets the approach.”