RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Teagan Kavan is one of the elite pitchers in the current Junior class and earlier this year was ranked in the Top 10 of the 2023 Extra Elite 100 rankings… here’s what we had to say about her then:
Teagan is an imposing figure in the circle at 6-foot tall and she commands the strike zone with precision including the elite ability to go both up and down with velocity and late break. Last Fall she led her Iowa Premier team to titles at the 2020 Fall Alliance Cup and the HFL Fall 16U Championship. The highlight thus far in 2021 was at the Top Club National Spring Invite in Oklahoma City where she threw a no-hitter and struck out striking 15 and was only one pitch away from a perfect game against a top national program. Teagan receives her instruction from one of the most renowned pitching coaches in the sport in Bill Hillhouse, known for producing some of the top hurlers now in college. Teagan also has the athleticism to play shortstop when not in the circle. Every major Power 5 school in the country has invited her to their Elite Camps and according to one Iowa Premier coach, “She has every major Power 5 school on her.”
Teagan had over 50 schools contact her on Sept. 1, the first day that coaches could directly reach out to prospects in that class and had her pick of just about any program in the nation where she could have committed. Last Monday, however, the Iowa high schooler pulled the trigger and committed to Coach Mike White and his staff at the University of Texas:
HUGE VERBAL COMMIT ALERT!! Everyones been waiting for this one! Iowa Premier GOLDs @teagan_kavan verbals to @TexasCoachWhite & @TexasSoftball!! Long process,but worth every minute. SO VERY PROUD OF TEAGAN! #HornsUp gets one of the BEST n the Country! @ExtraInningSB pic.twitter.com/loCD4FY2qk
— Iowa Premier Fastpitch (@IowaPremierFP) November 24, 2021
In the Summer of 2020, we had the opportunity to watch the tall pitcher in action at the Top Gun National tourney and came away very impressed—you can see Teagan in action and also watch our interview with her by clicking on this link:
Video: Pitching Clips & Interview with Fast-Rising 2023 Teagan Kavan of Iowa Premier
Video: Pitching Clips & Interview with Fast-Rising 2023 Teagan Kavan of Iowa Premier
In 2021, she continued to dominate as she had 438 strikeouts in 250 innings over the Summer while batting .368 and in the Fall had 137 strikeouts in 70 innings with a 0.49 ERA.
Could Teagan be one of the latest in a long line of Longhorn pitching standouts? She has the physical tools and Coach White was himself a standout pitcher on U.S. National Teams before retiring in 2007. He has developed some All-Americans in his time including Megan Kleist and Miranda Elish when he was at Oregon.
One coach who has had more time watching Teagan pitch than any other is Greg Dickel, the head of the Iowa Premier National program and feels his star young pitcher has a very bright future.
We caught up with both the coach and player to learn more about the junior’s recruiting process… here’s what both had to say…
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First, Iowa Premier Head Coach Greg Dickel’s insights:
RECRUITING PROCESS
The recruiting process for Teagan was a big one. Once Keagan Rothrock committed, many turned their attention towards Teagan as the top 2023 pitching prospect in the country. Her stock really began to rise in the Fall of 2019 at the Surf City Showcase in Irvine California.
Pitching for our 14U team that Fall, she was garnering a large amount of top-level programs’ attention and they were all at our games that last weekend in the Fall recruiting period in 2019. Then COVID hit in January and everything changed …for her and all of us.
On September 1st this year, she received over 50 phone calls, which included most of the top Power 5 schools in the country. Everyone you could think of reached out to her. She always wanted to go to an established, championship-level program where she felt she had a shot to win a collegiate National Title, but be the one that could be a difference maker for her team in doing that.
For most kids, the journey in this is ultimately to get a quality education paid for in some form or fashion, but Teagan falls within that top two-to-three percent of athletes who play this game at its top level in the United States.
There’s no more proof of that than her being the youngest athlete invited to the USA Softball U19 National Team tryout… as a 16-year-old! Softball has a different meaning for her in the sense that she is among the best of the best our sport has to offer.
She narrowed her choices to five schools in August: Texas, Alabama, LSU, UCLA and Washington. She took all of those visits with the exception of Alabama, who chose to go a different route with another pitcher in her class and canceled her visit.
Teagan then visited Minnesota in its place. She was diligent in her process as she took all her visits seriously and with an open mind. It was hard for her as she truly came away from each visit with a positive that she told me could be the difference in her choosing that particular school. It was impressive to see her maturity throughout the process being 17 and handling it the way she did.
GOALS
Teagan is a tremendous competitor. A common trait with the best players in the country.
Her goals in softball I believe are to help lead Texas to an NCAA National Championship. She also has a goal to revisit efforts to make the USA Softball Women’s National Team and play Internationally. A dream of hers since she was an 11 year old walking through our doors at our facility in Des Moines. She has certainly prospered to the level where that’s more of an expected reality than a dream. A true testament to her work ethic outside the white lines and her drive to compete, not just on the field…but in the bullpen training. She just doesn’t practice…she competes in training sessions against herself….seeking to be perfect. Its obviously resulted in where she is at today.
She still has work to do here before she goes off to College. Teagan is a tremendous teammate. She has grown close to Josey Marron, her teammate on our 18U Gold National Team, and one of the other best pitchers in the entire country headed to Mississippi State. She told me a few months ago how much she looks up to Josey, and wants to help her get a travel ball National Title before she graduates. Speaks volumes of the person she is. Selfless in her approach. Always putting team first and doing what’s asked of her.
SCOUTING REPORT
Scouting Report? She’s really, really good! Teagan has an up and down skill set with a devastating change up and high velocity. Her best attribute is superior command of all three pitches in her arsenal with swing and miss results at a high percentage. The scary thing is, she really has yet to reach her full potential. Teagan’s still growing and getting bigger and stronger. She looks to fill out her 6-foot athletic frame with one of the best speed and agility programs in Iowa this Winter.
Her Pitching Coach, Bill Hillhouse, has been instrumental in her development and success the past two years. Bill has really leveled her up when she started to go to him. The Men’s Fastpitch Hall of Famer is known as one of the best pitching coaches in the country–he is the pitching consultant for Iowa Premier–and is in our facility every week working with our kids. Teagan has very much prospered from his instruction. Bill has worked with many of the top pitchers in the game game today, most notably of recent news would be Allison Royalty who led the Athletics Mercado team to the PGF National title a few years ago.
FAVORITE MOMENTS
One of my favorite memories is of Teagan leading her 14U Team to the WFC National Championship in 2019. It was brutally hot that week, over 100 degrees each day. She pitched nearly every significant game and hit in the middle of the lineup as well. She was tired, but still took the ball every time, knowing her team needed her.
Same in the Summer, in June of 2019, when she pitched 21 straight innings in the Triple Crown OKC Challenge to lead our team to the Championship, beating three of the top-ranked teams in the country in doing so. All guts and, again, Teagan wanted the ball and showed she has what champions are made of.
The best memory I have of her, though, is a new one every weekend she pitches. When I see the confidence in the eyes and play of her teammates when she is in the circle—that’s my best memory, a new one each weekend. She makes her teammates better.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m just extremely proud of Teagan. She not only is a tremendous softball player, but an exceptional, exceptional young lady who is mature beyond her years. She reminds me a lot of Kendyl Lindaman in that regard. Teagan is very humble—she knows she is very good, but she never lets it go to her head and she respects the game a great deal. Kendyl was the same way when she played here.
I’m really going to enjoy her final two seasons with us. Coach White is getting a tremendous young lady in all facets.
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Here, the athlete talks about the recruiting process and how she ended up committing to UT…
NAME: TEAGAN KAVAN
Position(s): P/UT
High School (City/ST): Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa)
Club Team: Iowa Premier Gold 18U – Dickel
Committed To: Texas
Date Committed: Nov. 22, 2021
What an exciting thing, to have committed into the holidays so now that’s off your back! More relieved or are there other emotions you’re feeling?
I’ve more relieved to have made the decision, it was a lot to balance with school and tournaments
When did you commit to Texas and how did you do it?
I committed last Monday night, November 22nd. I called Coach (Mike) White and told him that I had some news—I told him I wanted to be a part of Texas softball and the Longhorn family. He immediately said, “Yes! Finally!” I then called Coach Sing (Steve Singleton) and Coach B (Megan Bartlett) and told them as well.
*** Scroll down to learn more about the future Texas pitcher and what the Longhorns liked about her game… and she about them!