LSU softball and coach Beth Torina welcome eight new athletes from the class of 2018 during the 2017 early signing period.
The signees include pitchers Shelby Wickersham and Ali Kilponen; infielder Georgia Clark; outfielders Savannah Stewart and Karrington Houshmandzadeh; utility players Taylor Tidwell and Jordyn Perkins and catcher Morgan Cummins.
Both Perkins and Wickersham come to Baton Rouge from Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they won the state championship in 2017.
Wickersham is ranked No. 9 on FloSoftball’s Hot 100 list with nine perfect games in her career. As a junior, she earned the Advocate’s All-Metro MVP honor, Times Picayune All-Metro MVP/Pitcher of the Year and District 9-5A MVP. She let MCA to a 21-5 record with a 0.85 ERA, three no-hitters and 192 strikeouts.
Perkins hit .511 with eight home runs, 30 runs scored and 13 stolen bases in her junior year. She earned Offensive MVP, First-Team All-Metro, NFCA South Team, All-Region, All-District and All-State honors.
Clark is ranked No. 16 on FloSoftball’s Hot 100. She was a three-time All-District performer with All-State Second Team and Preseason All-Greater Houston honors at Stratford High School in Houston, Texas. She batted .366 with a 1.148 on-base percentage as a freshman, .400 with 12 home runs as a sophomore and .479 with 1.470 on base percentage as a junior. 
Cummins was a three-year letterwinner at Lakewood Ranch High School in Sarasota, Florida. She is currently ranked 131st in the FloSoftball Hot 200. The three-time All-State player hit .394 with eight home runs and a .734 slugging percentage.
Houshmandzadeh started her prep career at Richard Gahr High School in Cerritos, California before transferring to Los Alamitas prior to her junior year. She led her team to a National Championship in Division I, finishing with a 27-3 record.
Houshmandzadeh is also the daughter of former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft after playing at Oregon State.
Kilponen is ranked 69th in the FloSoftball Hot 100 after playing at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She let her team to three straight state championships and another appearance in her final season. She had an 87-4 overall record as a pitcher with a 0.43 ERA.She totaled 283 strikeouts and just 18 walks with a 0.47 ERA as a senior.
In high school she was a three-time all-region selection, four-time Colorado Player of the Year and the Colorado Sportswoman of the Year. Kilponen was also a nominee for Xfinity Female Athlete of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year. 
Stewart played at Hillgrove High School in Marietta, Georgia and is ranked 56th in FloSoftball’s Hot 100. In her junior year, she had a career best batting average of .515 wiht 53 hits and 18 stolen bases.
She was Second Team All-County as a freshman, Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Region as a sophomore and First Team All-State, All-Region and All-County as a junior.
The final signee,Tidwell, from St. Amant High School in Gonzales, Louisiana, ranked 176th in FloSoftball’s Hot 200. In her junior season, she hit .499 and slugged .919 with a .542 on-base percentage. She totaled nine home runs, 15 doubles and 63 runs scored. She earned her District MVP, First Team All-State, All-Metro and All-District.