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To borrow a line from the great Alicia Keys and apply it to Texas senior third baseman Shannon Rhodes this past weekend: “She’s just a girl and she’s on FIRE!”
Bit of advice: Maybe *don’t* pitch to Shannon Rhodes.
She homered in ALL of her at-bats against UTSA. pic.twitter.com/Itr15zwLwd
— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) March 27, 2021
Shannon tied a school record set 11 years ago by Tallie Thrasher when she hit three home runs on Saturday in an 8-0, five-inning win over Texas-San Antonio.
She had three at-bats and three round-trippers to give her 12 on the year, which, as explained by the UT Sports Information Department, puts her “still well ahead of school single-season record holder Taylor Hoagland’s 18 home runs in 2012 (home run every 9.9 AB’s) pace by hitting a home run every 6.2 at-bats.”
Shan had a DAY 🔥@ShannonRhodes2 | #HookEm pic.twitter.com/qZSICiI5eY
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) March 27, 2021
Shannon has started 26 of the Longhorns’ 27 games in 2021—Head Coach Mike White’s team is 24-3 and ranked in the Top 10—and she is batting .385 while leading the Big 12 school with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, 33 runs scored, a .923 slugging percentage and 1.379 OPS.
THAT'S A TEXAS WINNER!!! @ShannonRhodes2 ties a school single-game record by blasting three HR's to help power No. 8/10 Texas (23-3) past UTSA at the Bevo Classic, 8-0 (5 inn.).
Rhodes now leads the Longhorns squad with 1⃣2⃣ HR's this season! 🤘 #NCAASoftball | #Big12 pic.twitter.com/xaMCqK1i8Z
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) March 27, 2021
I’ve known Shannon since way back in December of 2013 when she sent me a profile on herself when she played for Team Mizuno Impulse Gold out of Texas.
Already playing in high-level national 16U tournaments in the 7th and 8th grade, she was committed to Oregon, although the 2016 grad had numerous other offers from Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and SEC schools.
By 2014, Shannon was playing for the Texas Glory organization and would have great success at the club level and for her Fort Worth Brewer High School Team .
Glory head coach Kevin Shelton raved about her that year (’14) saying:
“Shannon is a leader on the infield, is extremely versatile and able to handle all the infield positions. Her drive to be great helps her hold herself accountable for her preparation and performance. Her teammates see her dedication and effort and follow. Shannon has great bat control while hitting for power. She’s a fantastic addition to our club who brings welcome enthusiasm and thirst for playing against the best.”
As a sophomore in high school, Shannon made my All-American team when I was running the Full Count Softball website.
Here’s what we wrote about her then:
“Shannon was a 1st Team Full Count Softball High School All-American this past year when she batted .462 with 60 hits, 53 runs, 33 RBI and went 28-for-29 in steals. A 1st Team Dallas-Ft. Worth All-Metroplex honoree as well, she… was recruited by every major conference because of her physical tools and her 3.8 GPA, which has helped her earn All-Academic honors two years in a row.”
By the time the Texas native finished high school, she was one of the best players in her class, and was chosen to participate in the 2016 Louisville Slugger Hit Club, was ranked No. 6 among her fellow senors and was admired by fellow coaches and players nationwide. As one coach described the standout infielder: “You can’t say enough about this kid.”
I got to know her well during the 2016 summer season when she and her Glory team played at PGF Nationals and Shannon played in the PGF All-American Game which I attended.
Shannon told me after the ESPN-televised game:
“The All-American game was amazing! The competition was pristine! Aside from all of the great equipment and amazing coaching staff, the people I got to meet and interact with were the best.”
The Texan attended the Louisville Slugger Hit Club held the weekend following the PGF All-American game and was well liked by the rest of the standouts there too.
One of my favorite memories of Shannon will always be her freshman year in February of 2017 when I was calling some of the games at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, California. I got a nice email from Shannon during the event as she wrote:
Happy birthday!
It’s great to hear you play by play during the Ducks game this weekend.
Shannon Rhodes
She would go on to have a strong freshman season at Oregon, earning All-Pac-12 honors, before transferring with several other players who followed Coach White when he took the Texas job in 2018.
As a junior (2019) and senior last year in Austin (2020), the college standout started every game before returning for her extra year this spring, getting to “repeat” because of the COVID-shortened season of 2020.
Funny, magnetic and smart off the field, Shannon is closing her collegiate athletic career on the field with a bang and she’ll be a success at whatever she does in and out of the game moving forward.
Time will tell if she breaks the single season home run record for the Longhorns this year, but there’s no doubt that wherever she’s played she’s left an impressive legacy.
On fire, indeed.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
*****
Scroll down to see an interview I did with Shannon from the Summer of 2017…