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Do a search on our site and you’ll see that in the last year we’ve had no less than 21 articles that included Keagan Rothrock, the flame-throwing pitcher from the Midwest who was one of the first 7th graders to commit when she verballed to the University of Florida in December of 2017.
Simple rule of journalism: when a subject is good, you cover it a lot!
Keagan in the softball news for many reasons besides her being a Top 10-caliber player in the 2023 Extra Elite 100 rankings: she’s blogged for us several times including articles like Keagan Rothrock Reveals the 3 Most Likely Places You’ll Find Her and What Coaches Tell Me I Can & Can’t Do regarding the new Early Recruiting legislation.
She also made news on January 1, 2019 when Extra Inning Softball announced a club change for her and several other elite undeclassmen in our article Breaking News: Josh Fisher’s New Tennessee Mojo 14U Team Gets Stronger With 3 New Additions.
And recently Keagan was mentioned in the feature Breaking News: Tincher Pitching Partnering with Andrews Institute on First-Ever Study About the Impact of Throwing a Fastpitch Softball as a pitcher who has the potential to throw 80 mph someday!
Two weeks from today—on March 11th—we’ll began honoring those who will be named to the 2023 Extra Elite 100 and (spoiler alert) this Hoosier State standout will be later in the second week when the very elite players are listed.
Here’s more of Keagan off the field…
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NAME: KEAGAN ROTHROCK
Hometown/state: Whiteland, Indiana
Grad year: 2023
Position(s): Pitcher
Club team: Tennessee Mojo 04 – Fischer
Current school/ Future High School: Clark Pleasant Middle School (Whiteland, Indiana) / Roncalli (Indiana) High School
Recruiting: Verbally committed to University of Florida
Height: 5-foot-8
Top Honors/ Accomplishments: 3rd place PGF 12U National Championship; PGF 10U National Champions, USSSA Elite Select Champions 10U, MVP playing with the 2022 Class;
Play other sports? Not right now, I used to play basketball and I did a volleyball league for one year.
Preferred College Major: Dentistry (Orthodontics, specifically) or Journalism (writing).
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Let’s start off with your recruiting process: what was it about the Gators’ program that made you pick Florida? Was there an “ah ha” moment when you knew it was “THE one?”
The Gators’ program is very well run and all of the coaches are driven to help the players succeed, not only athletically, but academically as well. The program is also one of the best in the nation and they are always playing against the best competition there is.
There was an “ah ha” moment when I was around 10 years old. We were playing in Orlando for the USSSA World Series and after the tournament was over, I remember asking my parents to go and look at the stadium on our drive home. At that point I remember saying, “I’m going to play here one day.”
Three years later, I was offered the opportunity to be a future Florida Gator. I remember Coach (Tim) Walton telling me to look at my Top 5 schools before making any decisions. He said that there was no rush and that I had to be sure that I wanted to go to Florida. I was very thankful for that.
How did you tell the Florida coaches and staff you wanted to play there?
Coach Walton, both of my parents, my catcher, and I were all sitting in their team media room. When he had asked me if I had any questions before we left, I told him that I would love to be a Florida Gator. After that, we sorted out my number and told the rest of the staff and took pictures as well.
Have you had the chance to get to know many of your future Florida teammates as you’ve played in events, visited Gainesville and gone to UF camps?
I have been on multiple unofficial visits and I have also gone to multiple camps. I have met multiple of my future teammates and I am super excited to begin our college careers together!
What does it mean for you to be considered as one of the top 100 players in your grad class?
It would be an honor to be considered as one of the top 100 players. It would also drive me to continue to work hard to stay on top of my game and continue to be the best athlete I can be. I also wouldn’t have gotten to this point without my very supportive parents and coaches.
Were you happy or bummed when the Early Recruiting Rules came out and meant you couldn’t be recruited and/or commit until shortly before the start of your Junior year of high school?
I was pretty bummed because it took away communication with the coaches. Before the rule change, I called the Florida coaches weekly to update them on what was going on in my life at the time and to tell them a few accomplishments from school or softball from the particular week. I was also able to go on unofficial visits before the rule change and I always found that part of my weekend in Gainesville one of the best parts.
What would you say has been the biggest key to your becoming the successful softball player you are today?
