If there is one sport in San Pedro that has brought about the most success in the Prep Sports world, it's definitely softball.

San Pedro has won 16 CIF-Los Angeles City Section titles. In only six years, Port Of Los Angeles has won three CIF-LACS titles, while Mary Star has claimed 17 league titles and reached their first and only CIF-Southern Section final appearance just two years ago.

However in 2016, POLA asserted themselves again as the top team in town, victories over both the Pirates (twice) and the Stars said so, and a lot of it had to do with sensational pitcher Analise De La Roca, the 2016 San Pedro Prep Softball Player Of The Year. The New Mexico State-bound senior was truly remarkable in guiding the Polar Bears to the CIF-LACS Division 1 semifinals for a third straight season with a City-single season record 408 strikeouts.

For 2017 though, POLA is again the early favorite, but both San Pedro and Mary Star are stacked with senior leadership, and the most dangerous offense of the three belongs to the Pirates. The Stars aren't that short of firepower either, and has the top impact freshman in freshman pitcher Alessandra Samperio.

The majority of the top players to watch this year are all in the senior class, especially with the likes of De La Roca, Mary Star's Amanda Vitalich and Gianna Fletcher, and the All-City trio of San Pedro's Andrea Cline, Cindy Robles and Ricki Justiniano. 

Here's a look at all three schools.

POLA (27-5 overall in 2016) - Jesse Espinoza returns for his second season as coach, and will no doubt rely on De La Roca to carry them throughout most of the season but, the future Aggie is not alone.

Junior 3B/P Angie Vargas also made All-City along with last year's CIF-LACS Co-Pitcher Of The Year, and has already made gigantic strides hitting a grand slam home run in a 4-3 season-opening shocker over Banning of Wilmington, last year's CIF-LACS Division 1 runner-up. Vargas, senior second baseman Destiny Sambrano, sophomore catcher Allison Torstensen and junior first baseman Allie Dukes are viable returning contributors.

Junior outfielder Brittany Mercado, sophomore infielder Yolanda Racaza and junior outfielder Noelany Benitez will be crucial, and the Polar Bears also bring in two talented freshmen in shortstop Angelina Mercado (no relation to Brittany) and INF/P Mya Fortune. 

POLA is still the Coliseum League favorite, but Harbor Teacher Prep of Wilmington is their biggest threat until proven otherwise.

SAN PEDRO (16-11-2 in 2016) - Now in his third season, there is some promise for coach Robert Whitney after last year's schizophrenic season. On one day, the Pirates finally ended a five-year losing streak to Carson with a rousing home victory over the Colts. Then a week later, another first-round loss in CIF-LACS Division 1 to Kennedy takes the program down a notch, making it three straight first round exits for a program so accustomed to deeper runs. 

That alone fuels a senior & junior-heavy Pirates team that will be more than capable of challenging both Carson and defending Marine League champion Banning, making them a darkhorse in the CIF-LACS Division 1 title chase.

The All-City trio of Robles at pitcher, Cline at catcher and third baseman Justiniano, who increased her level of play over the summer, are all hungry to make their final high school season a memorable one. All three are also returning All-Marine League first team selections, with Cline, a dangerous contact hitter, making it all of her previous three seasons. Robles is due for a breakout season in the circle.

Other players you can't ignore when San Pedro is in action includes senior INF/P Deanna Gonzalez, senior outfielder Andrea Trejo, senior second baseman Mackenzie Winkle, junior 1B/P Quincy Greenwood, junior left fielder Taiya Reyna and junior C/OF Anessa Quiroz.

Depth at pitcher and catcher is evident at San Pedro, and it only got enhanced with incoming freshmen catcher Briana Talamantes and INF/P Briana Velasquez.

MARY STAR (5-18 in 2016) - It was not the best of seasons for the Stars in 2016, and first-year coach Hector Rivera will try to restore life back into a program who not long ago won the Camino Real League championship in 2015.

Having Samperio, who led Holy Trinity to back-to-back CYO championships in 2015 & 2016, certainly helps. In her first two starts she has already pitched a no-hitter against Firebaugh, and a one-hitter against Environmental Charter in striking out 29 of the first 34 batters she has faced thus far.

Offensively, the Stars return the best hitter in town in senior shortstop Amanda Vitalich, who pumped out six home runs last season. Senior catcher Gianna Fletcher, senior first baseman Gigi Gentile and junior outfielder Miranda Marquez also has some pop in their bats, and like Vitalich, are returning All-Camino Real League selections. Junior left fielder Jillian Duran is another key returner.

Speed and athleticism were added to Mary Star with the addition of freshmen infielders Ashley Rico and Sara Leyba, and got another boost with the arrival of soccer standout and sophomore center fielder Rose Amalfitano.

Pomona Catholic and Bishop Montgomery both shared the Camino Real League title last year with the now departed St. Monica, but the addition of perennial power St. Anthony of Long Beach and the renewed rivalry with Cantwell Sacred Heart of Montebello provides a whole new outlook for the Stars.