After The Whistle: Liberty University’s Kaylan Yoder
2023 DIAA & Gatorade Delaware Softball Player of the Year
GEORGETOWN, Del. – Meet 2023 DIAA & Gataroade Softball Player of the Year Kaylan Yoder. Yoder tore it up on the circle for Delmarva Christian for her senior year, striking out 316 batters over 132 innings pitched while surrendering just 38 walks and 29 hits. She also batted .517 with five homers, 19 RBI, and scored 23 runs. She did all of this in her first year playing varsity softball.
“I got to play in middle school, and then when I got to high school, they didn’t have enough for a team, so they decided to do girls soccer. So I just had been working on softball in the off-season until it was time for travel, so I didn’t get to play in the spring. I would go out and watch all my other teammates that went to public schools, and obviously, I was envious of the opportunities they were getting, but I was just working,” Yoder said.
That work paid off, earning a scholarship to Liberty University to play for the Lady Flames in addition to her Gatorade and Diaa Player of the Year awards.
“It’s really an honor. It’s like the highest honor that you can get as a high school athlete. So obviously that was very humbling for me, especially for this being my first season playing, and competing in diaa sports. So I was really in awe of that honor. I have really high expectations for myself. I’ve always had high expectations, especially moving into college, knowing that they have a good pitching staff, and I would like to contribute a good amount to that. So I just have really high expectations for how I’m going to compete at the next level,” she said.
She said her softball career wasn’t all smooth sailing, at one point she took a break from playing because she wasn’t happy with it anymore, she was too hard on herself and not enjoying the game. Then she found a balance mentally where she could still hold herself to a high standard but still be free from the burdens of high expectations.
“I think that can be the deciding factor of whether you do well or if you’re just mediocre. I think you can expand your game when you learn how to talk to yourself and how to have a good mental mindset or good mindset,” she said. That’s what she wants her legacy to be here on Delmarva.
“I have a lot of people that look to me as a role model, and that’s obviously something I don’t really take lightly because I always looked to other people that were older than me that were competing and doing the same things. So I hope that I can be a good role model to the people around me, that you don’t have to have to go to a big school or even be known in the state until whenever. Just work hard and it’ll pay off,” Yoder said.
