INDIANAPOLIS – Pitching for Roncalli High School, 16-year-old Keagan Rothrock is the top-ranked player nationwide for the Class of 2023 by Softball America.

Extra Inning Softball ranked Rothrock the top player in the nation last year.

The sophomore started playing at age four. It was clear back then she was destined to do some damage.

“I broke everything in our backyard from neighbors’ windows, to our fences, to neighbors’ fences two houses down,” Rothrock said.

She threw her quickest pitch yet this past week. It flew 72 miles per hour, which is five miles per hour shy of the world record. The 77 mile per hour record was set by Monica Abbott in 2012, according to Guinness World Records.

“I actually thought I had felt slow during the game. But then they said I was consistent sixty-nine to seventy-one,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I hit seventy-two.’ It did not feel like seventy-two at all.”

Rothrock committed to the University of Florida in seventh grade. Even her mother, who pitched at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), was shocked.

“She was actually surprised. But at the same time, she was really happy for me.”

Through April 11, Roncalli Softball is 6-0 this season. The program’s last state title came in 2011.