The world looks pretty darned good right now to Valley Christian's Brynne Fitzpatrick.

Start with the fact the Warrior pitching star is in Hawaii with her family and then move on from there.

Besides the excitement and fun of going to prom and to the beach and her favorite pro baseball team (the Giants) being in first place, Fitzpatrick also has that softball deal going for.

She's merely coming off a 2014 season in which she struck out more than two batters an inning (381 strikeouts in 186 1/3 innings), went 21-7 with 10 shutouts in the circle, limited opponents to a .096 batting average and hit .348 herself, with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

For her efforts, Fitzpatrick is the Prep2Prep Player of the Year.

But as joyous as Fitzpatrick's life may appear right now as she frolics in the surf of our 50th state, it's back to work when she returns for the lanky girl with the killer rise ball and 3.8 grade point average.

"There really is no off-season," Fitzpatrick said. "Our (travel) team will be in the premier qualifier and I'll be working out with my trainer and I have pitching lessons multiple times a week."

Improvement has been a constant for the 5-foot-10 1/2 Cal commit. Hindered by a back injury as a sophomore, she went 8-5 with 83 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings.

But diligent off-season workouts and pitching lessons with her private pitching instructor Brandy Bailey shot Fitzpatrick's game into the stratosphere this past season.

Bailey is a former prep All-American pitcher who is molding Fitzpatrick into a Keilani Ricketts-like force in the circle. Ricketts struck out 2.38 batters per inning for Mitty in 2009 and then earned two Player of the Year honors at Oklahoma.

"Brandy is the best mentor I could ask for," Fitzpatrick said. "She's on the of the best pitching coaches I know."

Tall with sandy-blonde hair, Fitzpatrick has drawn nicely from the best attributes of her parents, Scott and Jacqueline. Scott is nearly 6-foot-3 and played basketball, baseball and did track and field at his Michigan high school. Her mom was nails in the classroom, partially explaining her oldest daughter's ability to crack the books.

The Warrior ace says hasn't been timed, but she says she thinks she throws in the mid-60s, which would equate to a mid-80s to low 90s fastball in baseball. She also has every pitch -- though the rise, screw and change are her specialties.

Sometimes, as Fitzpatrick is in the process of striking out 16, 17, 18 players in a game, she laughs to herself at the frustration of opposing coaches.

"They'll swing at the same pitch over and over and the coach's eyes will roll," she said. "They'll get mad and say 'Why don't you lay off that pitch?' But if they knew what was coming, they could lay off it. Things look a lot different from the box. Hey, you'd probably swing at it too."

Ever the optimist, her goal is to hit 70 mph on the radar gun, completely harness all her pitches, strike out 400 next season and win a section title. Given her improvement in one year, nobody is betting against the WCAL Pitcher of the Year.

Los Altos High coach Tom Barrera who oversees the San Jose Lady Sharks program Fitzpatrick plays for, expects the VC star to only improve.

"I think the best is yet to come for Brynne," Barrera said. "She has a lot of potential and I think that was one of the things Cal was looking at when they gave her a scholarship. She has a lot of movement on her rise ball. I haven't seen one like that in many, many years."

Back to the present, the weather is perfect in Hawaii, the waves are tasty and all appears right at the moment for Fitzpatrick.

"I'm excited," she said. "It's unpredictable what will happen in the future, but I love the teams I play on and I have the best teammates and coaches, and best trainers and pitching coach. I wouldn't change a thing."

Also considered: Jazmyn Jackson, SS, Archbishop Mitty.

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Mount Hamilton Division
Player of the Year: Holly Geranen, Leland
Senior of the Year: Ally Kido, Leland
Junior of the Year: Alex Luna, Pioneer
Sophomore of the Year: Makenzie Drake, Pioneer

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Santa Teresa Division
Player of the Year: Morgan Martinelli, Sobrato
Senior of the Year: Natalie Dorsey, Branham
Junior of the Year: Damari Simon, Evergreen Valley
Sophomore of the Year: Mattea Carveiro, Prospect

BLOSSOM VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-West Valley Division
Player of the Year: Victoria Guzman, Lincoln
Senior of the Year: Valerie Sanchez, Andrew Hill
Junior of the Year: Missy Lalisan, Del Mar
Sophomore of the Year: Kaitlin Dunkle, Del Mar

MONTEREY BAY LEAGUE-Gabilan Division
Player of the Year: Callee Heen, San Benito
Senior of the Year: Liz Ray, Notre Dame-Salinas
Junior of the Year: Sarah Muzik, Notre Dame-Salinas
Sophomore of the Year: Serena Casteneda, North Salinas

MONTEREY BAY LEAGUE-Pacific Division
Player of the Year: Janell Godfrey, North Monterey County
Senior of the Year: Kimberly Eaton, North Monterey County
Junior of the Year: Hillary Guerrero, Monte Vista Christian
Sophomore of the Year: Demelza Perez, North Monterey County

MISSION TRAIL ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Mission Trail Division
Player of the Year: Dominique Seva'aetasi, Stevenson
Senior of the Year: Puava Talau, Stevenson
Junior of the Year: Lauren Davis, King City
Sophomore of the Year: Lauren Garcia, Santa Catalina

MISSION TRAIL ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Coastal Division
Player of the Year: Montana Sprague, York
Senior of the Year: Jessie Holback, Marina
Junior of the Year: Alexandra Pequin, Trinity Christian
Sophomore of the Year: Alyssa Paquin, Trinity Christian

PENINSULA ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Bay Division
Player of the Year: Rebecca Faulkner, Carlmont
Senior of the Year: Harlee Donovan, Half Moon Bay
Junior of the Year: Sophia Fanucchi, Woodside
Sophomore of the Year: Eryn McCoy, Hillsdale

PENINSULA ATHLETIC LEAGUE-Ocean Division
Player of the Year: Emily Cotla, South San Francisco
Senior of the Year: Gina Titus, San Mateo
Junior of the Year: Lucy Stanley, Mills
Sophomore of the Year: Sarah Cisneros, Mills

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Bailey Lotz, San Lorenzo Valley
Senior of the Year: Anna Gurr, Soquel
Junior of the Year: Jamie Sugimoto, Soquel
Sophomore of the Year: Maliah King-Jones, Santa Cruz

SANTA CLARA VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-De Anza Division
Player of the Year: Noa Yakir, Homestead
Senior of the Year: Marialena Ahern, Los Altos
Junior of the Year: Morgan Ratliff, Wilcox
Sophomore of the Year: Eleni Spirakis, Saratoga

SANTA CLARA VALLEY ATHLETIC LEAGUE-El Camino Division
Player of the Year: Rachel Norman, Milpitas
Senior of the Year: Natalie Vigent, Cupertino
Junior of the Year: Iris Chin, Gunn
Sophomore of the Year: Theresa Prada, Lynbrook

WEST BAY ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Kris McIntyre, The King's Academy
Senior of the Year: Sabrina Miller, Mercy-Burlingame
Junior of the Year: Jessa Cruz, The King's Academy
Sophomore of the Year: Erin Dougherty, Mercy-Burlingame

WEST CATHOLIC ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Player of the Year: Brynne Fitzpatrick, Valley Christian
Senior of the Year: Jazmyn Jackson, Mitty
Junior of the Year: Desiree Severance, Mitty
Sophomore of the Year: Regan Heslop, St. Francis

NOTE: We would like to thank our readers for all of the nominations you sent in for the season-ending CCS softball awards. It is a daunting task to narrow down our selections to just the top few as we recognize there are lots of great players who make contributions on the diamond that are not necessarily well-documented but mean a great deal to the success of their teams. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of CCS softball.