For most softball players who hope to take their game to the college level, the love of the game starts early. They start playing as little girls and for some reason the diamond feels like home, a place they don’t want to leave.
That was definitely the case for Thomas star Kaytlyn Marsh. Starting with T-ball, Marsh then progressed to 8-and-under coach pitch, then 10-and-under and once she was 10 Marsh began playing fast pitch. Marsh said she always enjoyed the game but it was at 12 when she really fell in love.
Kaytlyn Marsh-Photo by Horton Studios
“Something clicked when I first started catching in 12-and-under. Since then I couldn’t get enough of it. I guess you could say it was my brother who made me interested. He played baseball when I was little, and I always wanted to be like him,” Marsh said. “We would play backyard baseball, sometimes all day. I never know what to say to that question, when people ask what first got me interested in it, except for the fact that I fell in love with it and never looked back.”
During the high school season Marsh will play catcher 99 percent of the time, but don’t let that fool you. Marsh has the athleticism and knowledge to play almost anywhere on the field. For her travel ball team she plays outfield and says she will play wherever she is needed.
“I know the basics of every position, so I feel like I could possibly play anywhere my coaches need me to play. During school ball I had to pitch one time, our backup pitcher was unable to pitch and we didn’t have anyone else that knew how. In travel ball I had the chance to play third once, because we didn’t have our third basemen for that game,” Marsh said.
But all that doesn’t come easy. It’s taken years and years of work for Marsh to get to where she is today. One thing is for certain Marsh isn’t afraid of hard work and sweat.
“It depends on the day, and what I need to work on. Sometimes it is an hour and a half and other times its only thirty minutes. If I am by myself I usually will hit one or two buckets going through drills, and just taking cuts,” Marsh said.
But Marsh isn’t always alone. Her dad is a constant workout partner who helps whenever he can.
“When I am with my dad, we will spend an hour and a half hitting. If I am in a hitting slump we will spend two hours in the batting cage hitting off the tee, machine, and soft toss. Sometimes before home games, I can squeeze in a couple of buckets before I go out to the field for the game,” Marsh said. “If i
t is fielding or catching that I need to work on, it usually takes an hour and occasionally I forget about the time because I am enjoying what I am doing. If I were to estimate the time I have spent working on skills, I would guess close to 1,000 hours since I started travel ball when I was 14.”
All the work and hours though have paid off, she is now being recruited by several colleges in and around Oklahoma, although Marsh said she feels like it was tougher to get noticed coming from a small town like Thomas and not a bigger city more well known for their softball.
“Yes I do think it was tougher for me, it is very hard. When I first went into travel ball I had to learn a lot of things. My parents saw the potential in me and knew in order to advance that potential I would have to get on a travel ball team. There are very few travel ball teams in Western Oklahoma, so my parents decided to look for a team in OKC. What we found was in Western Oklahoma I was advanced, but when we got to the city we found out I was good, but way behind,” Marsh said. There were girls who had grown up in travel ball organizations. That put me at a disadvantage, as they were always going to play before me. But I like challenges, and found a way to improve my game to where I was the best on the team.”
But the recruiting process didn’t stop there for Marsh.
“As I continued to grow and get better, we kept moving to more advanced teams. Small schools don’t get looked at unless it is by hearsay. My coach has helped by giving me information about camps, but those camps haven’t been very effective. Until I found the travel ball team that fit me, I had no idea how to start the recruitment process. Sometimes small schools get over looked because it is a small school. There are good players in small schools, but the bigger schools tend to have better or at least a better team,” Marsh said. “I feel like college coaches sometimes forget about smaller schools unless they make it to state or have an amazing season. I am not that fortunate. I have had to work extremely hard to get noticed, and the recruitment process does not make it any easier. There are so many rules it is too confusing to try and understand alone.”
But schools have taken notice. Currently Marsh is considering Rose State, Mid-America Christian University, and Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri. She’s also talked with schools like Pittsburg state in Kansas, Delta State in Mississippi, Seminole, Southern Nazarene University and Conners State.
As of right now Marsh is keeping her options open but she did say Rose State really stands out to her.
“Rose State started talking to me my junior year, I went and visited and found that I really liked it. I plan on committing pretty soon. I think I may be the first person from Thomas to go play college softball, but I am not 100 percent sure,” Marsh said.
Whichever school she chooses that program will not only get a softball player with a great work ethic they will also get a well rounded student-athlete who has competed in multiple sports throughout high school and is involved in multiple activities at her school.
Marsh has played basketball since 5th grade. She’s been in track since grade school, and last year was on the 4×200 relay and 4×400 relay. Normally she runs the open 400-meter dash, but after suffering a bruised knee in basketball, she was still recovering during track. Marsh said she is also going play slow pitch for the first time this year.
“I’ve never played because it was too slow for me, but this year I am going to give it a shot.”
Outside of athletics Marsh has been on the academic team, competed in S.W.I.M. events at SWOSU and is going to try and be on the student council, this year.
So if you are looking for a game to watch this year or a player to see in action, don’t forget the name Kaytlyn Marsh, not that she will make it easy for you to do that in the first place.
