RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
You know you’re doing pretty well when you spend as much time after a game signing autographs and speaking to the media as you actually did playing (and winning) the game.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration in describing the amazing year junior pitcher Keagan Rothrock of the Roncalli High Royals out of Indianapolis, Indiana, had but not by much.
Keagan, who became a national name in the sport when she committed to the Florida Gators as a seventh grader, led her powerhouse softball team to a second straight state title and did it in record-breaking fashion.
For this, she also was named as the Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Year for the second straight year.
*** Click HERE to read the write-up on her from last year.
Before a sellout crowd of 1,900 at Purdue’s Bittinger Stadium in West Layfette, Keagan and her teammates blew open the state title game on Saturday, June 11, 2022 as the Royals exploded for eight runs in the third inning on their way to a 16-0 victory and an emphatic exclamation point on their 33-0 season.
The team set Indiana championship game records with most runs (16) and hits (18) and Keagan was her typical self in the circle and at the plate as she threw a two-hit shutout, recorded 15 strikeouts and added to the offensive onslaught by stroking an RBI triple.
Not only that, Keagan and crew now have won 46 straight games—just one off the state record which you’d think they’d have a great chance to shatter in the spring of 2023—and completed a season for the record books, school and state, in so many ways.
The Royals set 18 school records and five for the state as well as seven in the title game alone. Keagan, herself, wasn’t just dominant, she was dramatic.
Take, for instance, the nail-biter the team experienced 24 games into its season. Heading into the top of the 7th against a good Center Grove team, Roncalli was trailing 1-0 and three outs from seeing the unblemished season… well… blemished.
Keagan stepped into the box and with one swing changed the scoreboard to a 2-1 Royals lead thanks to a huge two-run homer. It would open the floodgates as the future state champion team would go on to win 6-1.
Her father, Greg, had a funny observation about that big blast.
“That home run,” the athlete’s father recalls, was the first time she did ‘Big Gator Chomps’ (referring to the hand motion made to simulate a gator bite, made famous by Florida Gator fans). It was her 11th home run of the season breaking the Roncalli season record of 10 [editor’s note: she would go on the set the record at 14] and, before that home run, she’d do ‘Small Gator Chomps’… from then on for the rest of the season Keagan would do the ‘Big Chomps!’”
But about that domination thing: the junior’s goal was to break the school record of 666 strikeouts set back in 1999 and she accomplished that, plus some.
Keagan ended the season with 384 strikeouts in 170 innings (she now has 746 total strikeouts in her storied prep career; not surprisingly, a Roncalli record) to go with a 0.70 ERA and 28-0 record that was comprised of 19 shutouts, eight no-hitters and five perfect games.
To put it another way, in 68% of the games in which the Midwest teenager pitched this year, she recorded a shutout. In 29%, she tossed a no-no and in 19%—almost one-fifth of her total pitching performances in 2022—Keagan reached perfection.
And she wasn’t only that good with just the ball in her hand; at the plate, Keagan batted .523 with 14 home runs, 55 RBIs and struck out just once in 113 plate appearances proving to be as dangerous on offensive as much as she is in the circle.
Thus, the line of autograph seekers who want to capture a moment in time crossing paths with this amazing talent who was also named as the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year and the MaxPreps National Softball Player of the Year among her many other truckloads of awards.
Here’s a video of Keagan being surprised with the Gatorade National Player of the Year trophy at her Roncalli High School:
In addition to her 746 K’s and growing career strikeout record, Keagan also now holds the school’s career shutout mark (32) and bests in single season wins (28), single season strikeouts (384) and single season shutouts (19)… and she still has her senior year to try to top her own already-legendary self.
Come to think of it, we too may want to stand in line for future Keagan Rothrock softball games… her Benjamin Franklin (that means autograph for you non-history buffs) could be worth something in the not too-distant future.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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MORE ON KEAGAN… INCLUDING OUR EXCLUSIVE EXTRA INNING SOFTBALL Q&A WITH HER THIS WEEK
Back in April of 2018, when Extra Inning Softball was just four months old, we put out the call for young athletes to blog for us so we could get their perspective on the newly-launched site.
One response we got went as follows:
My name is Keagan Rothrock and I am a 2023 commit to the University of Florida. I am a pitcher and I would love to blog for Extra Innings Softball! I am currently taking Advanced English, as it is my favorite subject and I love to write.
I have a few blogging ideas in mind ranging from time management to the game in general. Please let me know if this is something I could possibly take part in!
Ummm, yes! How could you not love a self-starting, vibrant personality like this one?!?
What I remember from those days is she was 12U eligible but played up at 14U and has been playing up her entire career… and excelling.
And you don’t have to look far to see where Keagan gets her impressive athletic but also her impressive academic and social skills.
Her mother, Laura, is a successful pitching coach who continues to this day to be highly respected—although, perhaps trying not to be the stage parent type, has had Keagan take most of her lessons elsewhere.
Her father, Greg, as noted above is at every one of her games—be it for high school, club or the Junior National Team—reliably behind the backstop taking professional-looking photos.
Sidenote: there’s a great story to why he stepped off the field as a coach on one of his daughter’s earliest team to be the one who now documents her journey by compiling Shutterfly books each season.
Here’s how it went down in Dad’s own words:
“When Keagan was 7, I was asked to help coach her and I had an athletic background, having played football, basketball, and baseball in high school and then played college football.”
“One day, I yelled at Keagan after an inning—as most of my coaches had with me!—but my wife gently reminded me that this wasn’t a boy’s football team we were coaching. I realized that if I continued on that course, I might drive my daughter away from the game so something had to be done differently.”
“By the following year, I bought a Nikon 5200 so I could take pictures of her and remove me from the game! I ended up wearing that shutter out last year before we went to Oklahoma for a tournament and WCWS, so I bought a Nikon D500 with a big sports lens.”
“Over the years, I have taken a lot of pictures of Keagan but also make sure to capture the special moments of her team and each of her teammates to post on the teams Facebook page. In any tournament, I will take 1,000-to-3,000 pictures—all for those 15-to-20 special memories caught in time—and, needless to say, I have never yelled at Keagan again!”
This week, the Rothrocks are together as a family on the road once more as they left Indiana on Monday to fly to California where Keagan—as a Gatorade National Player of the Year, like each male and female sport national winner—is up for Male Athlete and Female of the Year.
She and her family will also attend the ESPY awards and then Keagan will compete at PGF Nationals in So Cal for her Lady Dukes 18U team.
I caught up with Keagan last weekend after she had just done some volunteer work for her church and had the following fun question & answer session with her… enjoy!
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Brentt Eads: It never slows down for you, does it? Where is your mind right now with all that’s happened over the last two months?
Keagan Rothrock: Honestly, I haven’t had a lot of time to process everything. I’ve gone straight from high school to travel ball and, we once get back from California, I look forward to having the time to truly appreciate everything that’s happened.
How does the rest of the summer lay out for you before you start your senior year?
We are in California this week including PGF and once we get home July 31st, I’ll probably end up spending some time with friends along with getting my school supplies. I have to get in my workouts and hitting in the mornings and then take that first week back to being a teenager again! But we don’t have much time: school starts August 3rd for us, so I’ll have my couple of days to relax. The good news is we get out early too, like the second or third week in May.
You’ve been playing softball for so many years… did you ever think you’d actually be a senior and that this time would come?
Yea, it’s definitely a lot to think about! I’m nervous but very excited, too. I’ve heard fun stories about being a senior and I feel it’s a chance to be a leader in the school as underclass kids look up to seniors… at least, I know I did. Truthfully, though, I’m more nervous that I’m almost done with high school more so than being a senior!
This championship year for Roncalli… what’s the a memory or two that comes to mind when you think back over the season?
There’s a ton of them, but I think at the top would be my memories of the bus rides with the team. It was a ton of fun! Also, tied for first place here would be actually winning state for two years back-to-back. Plus, I can’t forget, all the records we set in this year’s game.
There were some close moments, too, like the game versus Center Grove where Roncalli trailed 1-0 going into the top of the 7th until you hit a two-run homer and eventually won 6-1. Were you all nervous at that point?
None of us were freaking out, because we knew it would just be a matter of time until we started hitting. Props to their pitcher, Riley Henson, as she kept us off guard throughout the game, but we knew if we continued to stay calm and have faith in ourselves we’d be OK and we did come back to win.
How did winning state this year compare to winning it all last year?
It was really different, not just because the team was much different, but because we didn’t get to do a lot last year because of COVID and the restrictions. Last year, the state championship was at Center Grove High, but this year we got to play at Purdue Stadium. Another thing about this year was that the team was super close and that made this special as well.
Your stats were off-the-charts amazing… is there one accomplishment personally for you in 2022 that you’re most proud of?
Breaking the strikeout record has been one of my biggest goals since junior high. Once I started going to Roncalli, I said that’s the one I want to own. The previous record holder actually beat my mom in state, she played at Blackford High in Hartford City, so it meant a lot to me too because of that.
When you look back on this team off the field—including all the fun you had traveling, developing friendships and certainly the winning—what’s the one experience that comes to mind which you’ll always treasure?
The rain delay at the state game. We got there around 5:45 pm, completely warmed up and were in the dugout about to start and they called the rain delay and then a lightening delay. With that, we had to go back to our bus—it was a charter bus as it was one and a half hours to two hours away—and, during the rain delay, we had dance battles! This one was the most memorable one of the year and we had a ton of fun. It helped to take a lot of the pressure off us as we went out, were relaxed and played our game.
Important follow-up… who won the dance battle?
Probably (junior outfielder) Lyla Blackwell or maybe (senior outfielder) Cate Lehner!
Where do you think you still have room for improvement in your game?
There’s always room for improvement. For me, whatever record I haven’t broken, that is my goal. I want to leave my mark at Roncalli and there’s still a lot to accomplish for me still.
Looking back on how you committed to Florida in the 7th grade, what are your thoughts on that now more than four years later?
I am still to this day extremely happy and super excited about committing to Florida! I love the coaches and the staff members, plus you get a great education there as well. I’m very happy with my decision and don’t regret it all.
You obviously committed when early recruiting was allowed… do you think it’s good that it was changed to the junior year or do you think it should have stayed the way it was?
I think the recruiting process is different for everyone and it just varies person to person. Some early commitments may have been good for the athletes and some not as much, but now it gives rising juniors and sophomores something to look forward. However, at the same time, it crams a lot into those two years and puts more pressure on some girls.
What’s next for you involving Florida and recruiting?
I’ll take my official to Florida in September and I’m excited to be with my future classmates including Mia Williams (infielder/athlete from Florida), Ariele “AK” Kowalewski (catcher/utility from Texas), Ava Brown (pitcher/utility from Texas), Alyssa Hovermale (infielder from California), Cassidy McClellan (outfielder from Florida). I’ve actually played with everybody in the 2023 class except Allyssa and I’ve heard great things about her, too.
In life in general, what do you value or treasure most?
My friends and my family… those are the people who are always there, they push me and are my support system. They are always there to give me encouragement and, when we come home, we relax and have fun together.
Last weekend you were doing volunteer work helping at your church… explain what you were doing and what your faith means to you…
My church has a program called “Indy School Leadership” for kids who want to get into the ministry. They bought a property adjacent to our church and we tore out the back deck of the house, took down the fencing so they can put in concrete and did landscaping for four or five hours. Overall, my faith is really important to me as there are so many things God has done in my life to help me through my hardships.
Your mom is a renowned pitching coach… how much has she been involved in your pitching over the years and been important to your success?
She has actually never been my pitching coach, that’s been Jonathan Hon since I was nine-years old. For eight years, he’s been a huge part of my success, but Mom knows a lot about pitching and at tournaments she helps me… probably more than she knows! She’s been a huge part of my success and is always there for encouragement, no matter the situation.
Your dad is known as the “camera man” and he shoots great pics every game… what are your thoughts on seeing him back behind the backstop?
He at one time was a coach of mine, when I first started playing. He was super intense but told himself: “I don’t want to be that dad that gets in my daughter’s face and have her not love the game.” Taking photos is a way for him to support me and for him to be into what I’m doing, too.
If you could time travel and go back to the little you just starting out playing softball, what would you tell yourself?
I would tell myself to never give up, that there’s great things ahead of you and, though it will seem hard, don’t give up. I’d also tell myself to always dream big, have a good work ethic and go for it!
What scares you in life?
The unknown probably scares me the most. I’m someone for whom things must be planned and I need to know the details about it. That’s scary to me because I can’t plan for it.
What are your goals in softball from here on out?
One of my biggest goals is to do well at the University of Florida but also it’s a goal and has been my dream ever since I was super little to play in the Olympics. I watched when I was a little kid and remember thinking, “I want to do that someday!”
Softball dreams and aspirations aside, what do you want to do for a career?
I want to go into pre-med, into medicine and be a pediatrician. I don’t want to be a surgeon but to work with kids so being a pediatrician sounds like something I’d love.
Do you like the direction softball is headed?
Yea, actually, it’s becoming bigger and people are starting to realize how great it is. I think it’s really cool that softball is starting to be more recognized and women’s sports overall are growing.
What’s something unusual or different about you that most people don’t know?
Probably I’d have to say my right pinkie finger. At 10U, when I played third, it was injured, and I messed up a ligament or tendon in my pitching hand. I can’t straighten out and we always joke that it helps with my riseball as it’s already curled!
Let’s say you in time you become very successful in the sport on the collegiate and international levels… what would be the main message or take-away you’d want to give the little girls who look up to you?
I think one of the things I’d tell them is that no matter how big your dreams are, chase them. It gives you something to look forward, to always have an aspiration. And I’d also tell them to be a kid—you only live once, so have fun! If you’re not having fun in the sport, then it’s probably not worth it. It’s a game, so have fun doing it!
Last question but with two parts: describe yourself in one word on the field and off the field:
On the field: calm. Off the field: spunky.