Proving her worth: Doral’s softball star ready for Big Ten action
DORAL, Fla. (BVM) — Kaylee Rodriguez has never been easily accepted anywhere on the softball diamond, despite the fact that she was undoubtedly always the best player.
As an 11-year-old girl on an all-boys hardball team, some parents were uncertain when a girl showed up to practice. Sometimes they took their kids and left. As a sixth grader on Doral Academy’s varsity softball team, upperclassmen sometimes treated her as inferior. But these experiences just made her even better.
“At a young age I understood that if I wanted to play at a higher level, I had to accept the backlash,” Rodriguez said. “I just used it as fuel to better myself … it kept me working hard to earn my respect as a player.”
This gracious mindset served her well as she went on to have an illustrious high school career. So much so that her future now awaits her in Ann Arbor, where she will be going to the University of Michigan.
It’s not how anybody would have pictured her life to go if they saw 5-year-old Rodriguez get dragged by her dad, Haniel, out to her first softball tryout with tears streaming down her face. She wasn’t a fan of the game at first, but all it took was one practice for her to fall in love.
“I’ve been inseparable with the game ever since.” Rodriguez said.
After playing hardball for years with Team Panama out of Miami, the shortstop transitioned to high school softball. She finished her high school days as a four-time first team all-county selection, and was en route to her biggest season yet before COVID-19 shut it down. Through the Firebirds’ 10 played games, Rodriguez had seven home runs and 19 RBIs, all while batting at a .639 average.
“The transition from baseball to softball was amazing,” Rodriguez said. “Guys are much better than girls at a young age, so it made me a lot better. Softball is much faster-paced, shorter baselines … but it was easy to adjust.”
Now the only other thing left for Rodriguez to adjust to will be the cold temperatures of Michigan. Having lived in Miami her entire life, she says that she’s excited to be moving across the country, and that her biggest concern is just the weather difference. In fact, she says it’ll help her develop as a person.
“Being on my own, leaving my family and all, plus seeing new places will help me grow,” Rodriguez said.
But making that cross-country move much easier for her is probably the fact that she’s going to be living out her dream. For as long as Rodriguez can remember, she has wanted to play college softball at the highest level, and on national TV. Joining a program that has made the NCAA Tournament 25 years in a row, it seems as though that aspiration will be achieved.
Plus, Rodriguez probably hasn’t had much time to think about moving, as that dream came to fruition within a matter of weeks. Entering her senior season, Michigan wasn’t even on her radar until Dec. 26, her birthday. She got her first call from the staff and just a couple weeks later, found herself on an official visit.
“They saw me take a couple of ground balls and a few swings, and they offered me right there,” Rodriguez said. “Being in the Big Ten will be a dream come true. They have a great staff and an amazing fanbase.”
Until then, Rodriguez will be taking every measure to make sure she is prepared for her first collegiate season. On top of doing throwing and batting drills every day, she will also spend some time with her travel club, the Gold Coast Hurricanes, this summer.
“I haven’t played in an actual game since March now,” Rodriguez said. “I want to make sure I get a couple games before college.”
The soon-to-be Wolverine has her naysayers to thank for that work ethic. They created this beast that Rodriguez has become.
