Bri Matthews, a sophomore pitcher at Mater Dei High School who recently committed to the University of Arizona, committed suicide Thursday night, according to a story in the Orange County Register.

Matthews was 16.

“We’re devastated and shocked,” said Arizona coach Mike Candrea, whose team is in Cathedral City, Calif., for a tournament. “Right now, we just want to do whatever we can to comfort the family.

“She was a bright young lady. You search for answers. You don’t know why. It just kind of shocks the softball world.”

According to a coroner’s report on Friday afternoon, the manner of suicide was “by ligature hanging,” according to the Register.

Matthews was one of two star sophomore pitchers from California who had committed to Arizona, the other being Nancy Bowling from Royal High in Simi. They were teammates last summer for the Orange County Batbusters, one of the elite travel ball teams in the country. Even at their young age, Matthews and Bowling pitched in the 18-and-under ASA Gold Championships, the top event of the summer.

Matthews, according to the Register, was 14-4 with a 0.98 ERA for Mater Dei, in Santa Ana. She struck out 138 in 107 innings.

Matthews had attended Candrea’s softball camp last December and had been scouted by the coaching staff, including pitching coach Teresa Wilson.

“We were very excited,” Candrea said. “And we’re very saddened right now.”

(An earlier version of the story withheld Candrea’s comments until UA received NCAA clearance to allow the coach to speak about an unsigned athlete.)

The immediate pitching future of the Arizona softball team looks bright because of the addition of freshman Kenzie Fowler, but coach Mike Candrea already has worked to extend pitching dominance well into the decade, well past Fowler’s four-year span.

The Wildcats have commitments from arguably the two best sophomore pitchers in the state of California – Nancy Bowling of Royal High in Simi, and Bri Matthews from Mater Dei in Santa Ana.

If all goes well, they will arrive at Arizona for the 2013 season, when Fowler will be a senior and signee Shelby Babcock will be a junior.

Just like in men’s basketball, softball players are committing earlier and earlier. Arizona is one of the teams that is leading the trend.

Why? Mostly, because Candrea and his staff can.

Offering scholarships to players who are so young can be dicey and be something that backfires, but the Wildcats are dealing with elite recruits — the kind who are easier to evaluate and are usually highly motivated to continue to improve.

Candrea can’t talk about specific recruits, but I asked him Monday about the pros and cons of early commitments.

“You wonder how a kid who is a sophomore in high school really knows what they want to do and where they want to be,” Candrea said.

“But fortunately there are some kids who do their homework and they know. The fortunate thing about it is that it helps us because of the tradition we have. We feel pretty good about the future and some verbals we have gotten from kids.”

Matthews “is supposed to be the best 14-year-old pitching prospect in the state,” according to a story last summer in the Los Angeles Times.

Bowling was selected the softball freshman of the year by CalHiSports.com after a season in which she posted a 0.43 ERA, striking out 301 and walking just 44, in 180.1 innings.

Even at such a young age, both pitched last summer in the 18-and-under ASA Gold Championships — the top tournament for travel ball teams — for the Orange County Batbusters. The Batbusters are one of the storied teams in club softball and have long been a pipeline of talent for Arizona.

Arizona has two known commitments from high school juniors — outfielder Hallie Wilson from Foothill High in Orange County and power-hitting catcher Chelsea Goodacre of Temecula Valley (Calif.) High School.

“Right now, it’s kind of nice to look at your roster and say that we’re done with 2010 (recruiting) and we’re done with 2011 and almost done with 2012,” Candrea said. “That kind of sets you up for a while.

“On the other hand, you don’t know if that kid is going to continue to grow. A lot of questions on that.”