Kate Mann '25 Recruiting Profile

I want to tell you why I would make a good candidate for your team, college, and student along with what has made me the player and character I am today.  I first must give you a little back story to what has got me to this point. 

I have been playing softball for over a decade and started at the age of 5. I earned a spot on my first travel team, 10u Diamond Explosion at the age of 9 years old. That first season our team won the NSA Tri State Championship held in Evansville, IN  Since then I have nearly played 6-7 months of the year playing the game of softball. It was at the age of 10 I started learning to pitch with pitching instructor Brent Hawkins, owner of Next Level Fastpitch Academy in Evansville, IN. By my second year of 10u, I started to find success in pitching. I continued to work hard throughout the season but most importantly in the off season. Once starting my 12u season I really started to develop good speed and accuracy along with a good change up. This led to my first nearly perfect game and "no hitter" during the first round of our summer SEIBA tournaments. Our team went on to win that years 12u tournament. As a 6th grader, I was the starting pitching for my middle school at Grayville Junior High School. That year I was awarded and named Rookie of the Year with not only my pitching but having the second highest batting average on the team only to follow an 8th grader. I continued that fall and spring/summer playing with my travel team the Fireball Foxes. That year we won 2 tournaments and finished runner up twice including a championship win in the  USSSA Fall State  Tournament in Evansville, IN. 

After that season came to a close, my family moved to Jackson, Wy in 2019. This was a big change for us especially with no softball teams in Jackson, Wy nor was the sport of softball a sanctioned high school sport. I was heartbroken! My dad who has coached me throughout a lot of my past seasons was an experienced high school, middle school and travel ball coach. He decided to build the first fastpitch softball team out of Jackson Wy named the Jackson Grizzlies. This team was formed in 2021 which I was the starting pitcher for. Also in 2021 the WSHAA sanctioned softball as a varsity high school sport. Even though Jackson hadn't committed to add the sport we knew their was hope. I have now played for the Jackson Grizzlies every season and held the highest batting average, on base percentage and best pitching stats for the team. This year we also competed in the USA Wyoming State Tournament held in Casper for the first time, finishing 3rd. 

After competing in that tournament  I knew I wanted more and to further my game. My dad found Ron Thompson, president and founder to USA Explosion softball teams. He was currently the pitching coach at Idaho Athlete Project in Idaho Falls, ID. I went to my first lesson and immediately made a impression on Ron. He also taught me little things that immediately helped my pitching. It was shortly after that he advised my dad and I should be playing over there for their team. I was offered a spot of their 16u travelling team and currently playing for them.

 As you can see, softball has been a huge part of my life and I have so much love and passion for the game! I have worked very hard to improve my game not only for me but to better each and every team I have played for. I have a very strong motivation  to work hard to fulfil my dream of playing college softball. I think this can be seen in what I have accomplished over the years. I could have easily walked away from softball when we moved but it meant so much to me I worked even harder to keep playing. I even helped lead my Jackson team to present in front of our Teton County School Board to add softball as a varsity sport. I think this has also shown my dedication and leadership not only as a person but a teammate. 

I also have a dream of being a elementary school teacher cause of my passion to work with young kids. My plan is to go into this field and get my degree in elementary teaching. School work hasn't always come easy for me but with hard work I have kept a good GPA and accomplished good things in school. During my freshman year I wrote an Essay in regards to Wyoming history and was selected to compete at the state level in Laramie. There I was selected State Champion for the essay i wrote. 

I hope all this shows my dedication to be successful not only in softball but as a young lady in society. I have been  proved to be a good leader but also just as important a good teammate. I give a lot of this credit to my parents who have always pushed me to be the best I can be. But more importantly I give thanks to God for all the blessing he has giving me throughout my life and guiding me throughout this process. Without him, I would be nothing!