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Softball phenom Keagan Rothrock lifts Roncalli to unprecedented heights

Roncalli’s Keagan Rothrock competes during the Carmel Softball Invitational on April 23 in Carmel, Ind. (The Indianapolis Star via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Keagan Rothrock was 6 years old when she started pitching. And she admittedly wasn’t very good.

“I could not throw strikes,” Rothrock said. “I went to lessons a lot.”

But a lot has changed in 11 years.

Rothrock now boasts an impressive resume as a dual threat both in the circle and in the batter’s box. During her 2022 high school season at Roncalli (Ind.), she recorded a 0.70 ERA and a .529 batting average, earning Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year honors along the way.

It was one for the history books as the Royals shattered records in extra-base hits, total bases, slugging percentage and errorless games. They’ve won 46 consecutive games, one shy of tying the state’s record, and with Rothrock in the pitcher’s circle, the Royals became back-to-back Class 4A state champions.

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The Roncalli softball team hoists the trophy after winning a Class 4A sectional final on May 25. (The Indianapolis Star via USA TODAY NETWORK)

“It was a really good feeling knowing all of our hard work paid off in the end. It was really rewarding,” Rothrock said.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Rothrock secured the victory. She faced her last batter in what she calls a longer at-bat — five pitches. Rothrock’s first two pitches were strikes. Her third pitch — a rise ball — was a little too out of the zone. The batter fouled off the next pitch. With the count at 1-2, Rothrock delivered a fifth and final pitch. The batter swung and missed, and the Royals were once again state champs.

Roncalli fans were jubilant, as Rothrock threw off her mask and glove with a swarm of Royals enveloping her.

“She’s a fierce competitor,” Roncalli coach David Lauck said. “… The effort she puts in to be great is recognized by her teammates. She’s our hardest worker, our best player, our best leader.”

Rothrock has also shined on the international stage as well. As a member of the USA Softball U-18 Women’s National Team, Rothrock competed in the 2021 Junior Pan American Games and World Baseball Softball Confederation Women’s Softball World Cup, where she helped Team USA win a pair of gold medals. She amassed 37 strikeouts and allowed just one hit while recording an impressive 0.00 ERA throughout the two tournaments.

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Keagan Rothrock competes last year for the USA Softball U-18 Women's National Team. (Photo courtesy of USA Softball)

In the offseason, she worked to improve her batting. She led Roncalli with 14 home runs, a 366 percent increase from the year before, and she recorded 55 RBIs.

In the circle, she compiled a 28-0 record with eight no-hitters and five perfect games, but despite her eye-popping numbers on the field, Rothrock was still surprised by the award.

“It still surprises me every time I get something. I know there’s a ton of players who could get it,” she said.

Before the state championship game, Rothrock came to practice dressed for photos. As she walked up to the field, she saw big cameras everywhere and a crowd of familiar faces in the stands. The team practiced as usual, until Lauck stopped practice. Photographers made their way onto the field. Lined up for photos, Lauck delivered the good news, his voice booming over the loudspeaker.

“Keagan is not only an Indiana player of the year, she’s been named the Gatorade Player of the Year,” he said.

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Keagan Rothrock accepts the trophy for Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year. (Photy courtesy of Gatorade)

Roncalli sits 15 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. In a city known for passionate sports fans, the school’s softball team draws a crowd.

Rothrock and her teammates have become local celebrities of sorts. At the end of their games, they go out to meet the young fans. With softballs and phones in hand, the girls approach to get an autograph or picture.

“She’s kind of turned our community upside down,” Lauck said. “She’s available. She’s got open arms and a genuine personality that fans gravitate to.”

It started in 2021. After the 2020 season was canceled, the community began to buzz about the upcoming season.

“There was a lot of talk around Roncalli softball,” she said.

After fans started showing up in masses, it didn’t take long for the team to embrace their hometown fame.

“I love talking to all the little girls,” Rothrock said. “Just to be able to brighten their day, I had role models when I was younger. It’s nice to give back.”

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Roncalli pitcher Keagan Rothrock is greeted by catcher Anne Marie Meek after a strikeout on May 25 in a Class 4A sectional final. (The Indianapolis Star via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Rothrock picked up her first softball as a toddler. At age 3, she started playing tee-ball.

“Me and my mom would joke around in the backyard, she’d have me pitch,” Rothrock said.

Rothrock’s mother Laura pitched at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, and under Laura’s guidance, Keagan has been able to grow and perfect the craft.

At age 7, she joined her first travel team, aptly named the Indiana Gators. Soon, Rothrock will be a Florida Gator, a commitment she made in seventh grade.

“I’ve wanted to be a Gator forever. That was the initial reason. Once we got into the recruiting process, all of it was just awesome,” she said. “They’re one of the top schools in the country for education as well.”

School is also important to Rothrock. With a 4.06 GPA, Rothrock plans to pursue pre-med at Florida, with her sights set on becoming a pediatrician.

On and off the field, Rothrock is committed to succeeding. When she steps into the Gainesville locker room, she’ll be surrounded by familiar faces, having played with all but one of the girls in the 2023 class.

“She’ll have a lot of eyes when she steps onto campus,” Lauck said. “But I do feel like she’s excited, and I hope she’s a little nervous, too. That leads to her preparation. She just continues to prepare mentally, physically and spiritually.”

Lucky for Lauck, Rothrock has one final year with the Royals, and she plans to cherish every moment.

“[Memories] are going to last forever,” Rothrock said. “Not everybody gets to experience that.”

Nika Anschuetz is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @nlanschuetz.

USWNT to face Costa Rica in final Olympic send-off

uswnt sophia smith and tierna davidson celebrate at shebeilves cup 2024
The USWNT will play their final pre-Olympic friendly against Costa Rica on July 16th. (Photo by Greg Bartram/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA start to serve as 2024 Olympic tryout

Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christie Sides during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024
The talented Fever rookie is still in the running for a ticket to this summer's Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

WNBA teams make history with 2024 season ticket sell-outs

Arike Ogunbowale on the wnba court for the dallas wings
The Dallas Wings are now the third team to sell out their entire season ticket allotment in WNBA history. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

Nelly Korda ties LPGA record with fifth-straight tournament win

Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning The Chevron Championship
Nelly Korda poses with her trophy after acing her fifth-straight tour title at The Chevron Championship on Sunday. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.

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