Keagan Rothrock — 'possibly the best pitcher ever in Indiana' — wins Gatorade National Player of Year

INDIANAPOLIS — Keagan Rothrock can check another item off her high school softball to-do list: Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year.

The nationally-ranked Roncalli junior pitcher was honored during a special ceremony before practice Wednesday morning with friends, family and fellow Royals athletes packed into the stands and along the fences on the third-base side.

Rothrock and the Royals will play Harrison in the Class 4A state championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette.

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"I didn't think that many people would show up if I'm being honest," the Florida commit said. "I knew (a few of our other teams) would be there for practice, but I didn't think our community would show up like they did. That was really awesome to have the entire community behind us."

Rothrock, who was unaware she was receiving the prestigious award — "I hate surprises," she deadpanned — said she's long dreamt of being named Gatorade Player of the Year, which recognizes athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character, and distinguishes her as the nation's best high school softball player.

"I was really excited to be able to do it this year and have my name on the trophy with so many other greats in all sports," Rothrock added.

The "other greats" Rothrock referred to include LeBron James and Peyton Manning, plus a number of softball players, who are currently playing at the Women's College World Series. Rothrock played against last year's recipient, Jordy Bahl (now a freshman at Oklahoma), six times over the summer, including in the PGF National Championship game (Bahl won in extra innings).

Rothrock, who joins 2006 grad Paige Weber (volleyball) as the only Roncalli athletes to win national player of the year plaudits, has certainly earned her place among the elites.

The top-ranked junior in the nation, Rothrock is 27-0 with five perfect games, eight no-hitters, a 0.73 ERA and a whopping 366 strikeouts this season alone. She's logged 10-plus strikeouts in 24 games and of her 2,083 pitches thrown, nearly 78% have been strikes (35% swing-and-miss).

In two varsity seasons, Rothrock — a career .489 hitter — has accumulated 51 wins and 730 strikeouts with a 0.43 ERA. She holds single-season records for home runs, RBIs, wins, strikeouts and shutouts, plus career records for strikeouts, shutouts and perfect games (tied with Eastside's Lauren Ward for the all-time state mark).

"Keagan Rothrock is possibly the best pitcher ever in Indiana," New Palestine coach Ed Marcum said in a press release. "There’s a reason she’s ranked No. 1 nationally. She is the real deal."

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Beyond softball, Rothrock has maintained a 4.06 GPA in the classroom, is a talented artist and serves as editor of her school's yearbook. She has volunteered locally on behalf of Servant’s Heart of Indy, Riley Hospital for Children and Powerhouse Training softball camps.

"(Rothrock) is awesome. She's a bad-butt," Roncalli junior Abbey Hofmann said. "She works so hard and is always doing something to get better — we see it every day in practice. She deserves that award so much. She's just a beast out there and I'm lucky to play with her."

Rothrock's award came as Roncalli (32-0) continued preparations for the 4A championship game.

The junior acknowledged things will probably start sinking in and she'll be better able to appreciate the accolade after Saturday. But the unexpected break from practice — she spent the entire afternoon fulfilling Gatorade obligations (photoshoot, video, media interviews, etc.) — gave her a chance to reset mentally and focus on something other than the game.

"It was a good little break for me … and just a fun experience overall," she said.

Rothrock adds Gatorade Player of the Year to an already glowing resume that includes noteworthy feats on the high school, travel and international circuits (she's a member of the USA Softball U18 National Team). So what's left for her to achieve in 2023? Plenty.

"There's always room for improvement," Rothrock said. "If I can come out next year with the same fire and same drive — which I know will happen, because I'll definitely be even hungrier for another state title given that it's my senior year — there's a lot out there for me to accomplish that I don't even know about now."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana softball: Keagan Rothrock is Gatorade Softball Player of Year