Extra Inning Softball 2021 National High School Player of the Year – Keagan Rothrock

At Roncalli High in Indianapolis, Indiana this high school softball season, the Royals went on roll.

Despite being the smallest school in Indiana’s biggest division, Class 4A, the team that would finish 31-2 won all seven playoff games including rematches against the only pair of opponents that had beaten them early in the season.

The royals also had to knock off six of the Top 20-ranked teams in the state during their post-season run.

Daunting task? Sure.

But entirely doable when you have a special sophomore pitcher leading the charge named Keagan Rothrock, the Indiana State Player of the Year and Gatorade Softball Indiana Player of the Year as well as an Extra Inning Softball and MaxPreps All-American.

Keagan is an articulate, serious-minded student-athlete whose personality is such that she’s happy enough just sitting in the cafeteria alone reading a school book—she has close to a 4.0 GPA and is taking all honors classes and one AP class.

However, when the athlete steps on the field, even the most extroverted seniors follow her lead.

All in the Hoosier State acknowledge that Rothrock was the eye of the Roncalli High hurricane that swept over the state and ended up capturing the school’s fourth softball state title and first in 10 years.

sHaving won multiple club championships across the country and playing on talented teams with players going to major DI schools, Keagan has played on many highly success squads and says this Royals team was special in many ways.

“Every time we got together,” she begins, “our girls had great team chemistry. Everyone picked each other up and everyone had great attitudes.”

She knew from the beginning of the 2021 season that this year was going to be a special one.

“Everyone knew,” Keagan admits now, “but no one wanted to say it.”

David Lauck is the Athletic Director and Head Softball Coach of the school that has about 1,100 students, many if not most of whom are also athletes. He’s seen a lot of success at the Catholic school himself, going back to when he was a 1^st Team All-State baseball player at Roncalli and member of the undefeated 1993 state championship football team, but even he admits he’s rarely seen anything like what happened this Spring.

“As the season went on and, especially in the seven-game tournament,” he begins, “the momentum began to build and the school community and student body began to rally around the softball team.”

“There was tailgating before games, students were meeting two hours before first pitch to meet and greet the team once they arrived… it was great! And this was an easy team to get behind and Keagan was one of the leaders they cheered on.”

In each of the seven playoff games—three in Sectionals, one in Regionals, two in semis and the final state game—the crowds were estimated to be over 1,000 people with a max capacity 1,200 at the state championship game which the Royals won 4-1 over Lake Central.

The Regional—the last game played on the Roncalli campus—had so many showing up to support the team that Lauck had to bring in stands to accommodate 500 extra fans.

At a school known for its football prowess—the team won a state title just last Fall—many of the football players began to be cheerleaders in the stands and lead the student section, working hard in getting the crowds fired up.

“They were like, ‘Let’s go!’ and our team fed off that,” adds Coach Lauck.

Like you would see at a college or pro baseball or softball game, the students would post up a “K” for every strikeout Keagan recorded.

In the Class 4A state championship, that tally hit 16.

Keagan was phenomenal during the season and, in a year when many seniors across the nation had big statistical campaigns and also won state titles, the Indiana underclassman gets the nod for Extra Inning Softball National High School Player of the Year because she helped generate a community happening, a coming-together in ways more typical of a passionate college town.

Her stats… well… they didn’t hurt her cause, either.

As a pitcher, she went 24-2 with a miniscule 0.13 ERA and had 364 strikeouts in 160.1 innings while giving up just six walks all year. So dominant was Rothrock that she had 13 shutouts, seven no-hitters and five… count them… five perfect games.

But she wasn’t just solid in the circle—Keagan batted .442 with 38 hits and had 11 doubles, three homers and 20 RBIs to help her team’s cause.

The sophomore was hot from start to finish. Keagan was named the National Player of the Week honors for April 13, 2021 when she pitched 28.1 innings and had two perfect games in her first three starts with an impressive 74 strikeouts versus no walks, just three hits allowed and a 0.00 ERA.

The Royals finished the season on a 13-game winning streak and Keagan set new program records for single-season strikeouts, wins, shutouts and career no-hitters (7)… and she still has two years to go.

The Florida commit, who choose the Gators when she was in the 7^th grade, was named the team’s MVP and she and senior infielder Chloe Parks were named to the Class 3A/4A All-State team–Rothrock to the 1st team and Parks to the 3rd team.

It would be unfair to say that the pitcher did it all—she had a stellar team behind her which included players of all classes.

For example, sophomore outfielder Lyla Blackwell led the team in hitting with a .467 average and along with Rothrock and Parks made the All-Marion County team.

That trio, along with junior outfielder Cate Lehner, were named to the All-Circle City Conference team.

Additionally, Roncalli had eight players—more than any other program in the state—on the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association’s (ICGSA) Academic All-State team in Parks as well as seniors Abbie Carr, Sofie Carr, Kaelin Cash, Kate Curtis, Abby Tillar, Dani Gebhart and Caroline Leister.

Then there was junior catcher Ally Walesky, who hit two home runs in the championship game win. She became the batterymate last winter to Keagan and the pair’s chemistry became a key reason for the team’s success.

Coach Lauck laughs:

“Ally is like Keagan, she’s smart and quiet and at the two positions you want the biggest extroverts, we had strong introverts! But they worked great together and I’m excited to have them back again together next year.”

The Royals coach explains that Keagan is unique in not just her talents, but her personality.

“She is more of a quiet leader but has such a strong leadership draw due to her mental and physical toughness and abilities that people gravitate towards her. Keagan’s energy and confidence grew over the course of the high school season and it was noticed.”

“Whatever the graduating class the players were or are in, even the seniors, they all gravitated towards that energy and the focus of what needed to be done. Be it catcher, pitcher, centerfielder, it was very unique to watch a kid like Keagan have the kids who are extroverts gravitate towards her.”

Keagan says she was particularly excited for this high school year after missing her freshman season because of COVID.

“I was really ready,” she says. “I didn’t have a season last year and really wanted to prove to the local Indiana people who I am and what I can do, so I went out played hard for the team but also the community and the people around me.”

The All-American pitcher is known for her ability to manage pressure and tight situations. One interesting note about that title game: she had an interested spectator who flew in to watch her go for the crown.

“(Florida Gator) Coach (Tim) Walton came,” Keagan recalls, “and I knew he was there, but it didn’t bother me or make me nervous. He ended up sitting behind home plate but I didn’t know where he was and didn’t see him so there wasn’t any pressure.”

Not only did Keagan shut down Lake Central’s strong offense, she also went 2-for-3 in hitting. She says she wasn’t worried about losing that game or at any time during the playoffs.

“As long as we played with confidence,” Keagan explains, “and we played hard and loose, we knew we were going to be fine. Our coaching staff is laid back and supportive and that helped a lot; if we made an error or mistake they wouldn’t punish us but simply told us how to fix it… they kept it fun and simple.”

The pitcher goes out of her way to point out that her pitching coach, Dawn Burkhardt, who was a catcher at Ball State, helped immensely.

“Coach Burkhardt called pitches all season and she did an amazing job. She’d call what I would throw in travel season and we also had a lot of talks about keeping batters off balance.”

As if she isn’t dangerous enough with her power pitches, spins and ability to change speeds, Keagan says she also worked on adding a drop ball this year (Indiana high school opponents will now have something else to keep them up at nights next Spring).

Keagan says she will always treasure this season because of the fun she had with her teammates and in a decade or two will look back fondly on two aspects of Roncalli’s championship season.

“Two of the biggest things I will always remember about this year will be the atmosphere we played in and the team chemistry we had,” she says. “The bonds I made with the girls will always be something I’m grateful for and appreciate.”

When asked what he will remember from the title season of 2021, Lauck has an interesting response.

“I will remember our conversations—Keagan and me— over the course of the season, including those during a game. I’d ask her, ‘How you feel?”’ and she’d respond: ‘I feel fine, give me the ball, I’ll get it done.’”

“Be it the third inning or the tenth inning, there was no wavering for her; Keagan’s mental toughness was consistently building and I knew that when I give her the ball, she would put us in the best position to win.”

He said he only once went to the circle all year and that was an interesting conversation in and of itself.

“Keagan hit two batters in a row, and this was in a tournament game,” the head coach remembers. “I walked out to talk to her and everyone was staring at me (the infielders) and I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ She said, ‘Everything’s fine,’ and she went on to strike out the side.”

“That’s Keagan’s uncanny ability,” Lauck continues. “If she walks or hits a batter, she dials in and says to herself: ‘This inning is over, I’m taking over’ and she gets it done. In a stressful situation, she buckles down and focuses more. I always knew that if we got a lead, we’d feel pretty good about our prospects.”

In the short term, Keagan will watch the Olympics this week and dream of the day she may get to play in Red, White and Blue colors. She’s already doing that at one national level.

“Going to the Olympics is one of my biggest dreams,” the Indiana native admits, “and I was so excited when I made the USA Junior Olympic team this Summer.”

After playing the the next few weeks with her Lady Dukes – Lamar club team, Keagan and her Jr. Olympic teammates are scheduled to travel to Peru from August 28 through September 5, COVID impact pending.

Eventually, she’ll return to Roncalli High and begin her junior season, which Keagan says she’s excited to do.

The quiet and solitude she’s enjoyed over the past few years there, however, might be impacted by her great success this Spring and the enthusiasm of her fellow Royal students.

Coach Lauck makes an interesting prediction of what will happen when school starts again at Roncalli this Fall involving his prized pitching pupil.

“When Keagan gets back at Roncalli,” he laughs. “She won’t be able to hide in the cafeteria and eat by herself unnoticed at lunch anymore!”

*****

Other Finalists for 2021 High School National Player of the Year

• Jordyn Bahl, Sr. P/UT (Papillion-La Vista (Papilion, Nebraska)
• Shannon Becker, Sr. P (Mahopac NY)
• Maci Bergeron, Jr. C/P (Notre Dame, Crowley, Louisiana)
• Sydney Berzon, Jr. P/UT (Baylor, Chattanooga, Tennessee)
• Sam Landry, Sr. P (Barbers Hill, Mont Belvieu, Texas)
• Taylor Pannell Jr. SS (Rock Island, Illinois)
• Sophia Simpson Sr. P (Barbers Hill, Mont Belvieu, Texas)
• Kaitlyn Terry, So. P/IF (Greenway, Phoenix, Arizona)
• Annabelle Widra, Sr. P/SS (Spain Park, Hoover, Alabama)