By Carson Vercoe | Sports Intern
It was a brisk February night in San Diego.
The Baylor softball team was set to face San Diego State, a team that had previously won three straight Mountain West Championships. For any freshman, the idea of playing a three-time repeating conference champion might hinder their performance, but for freshman third baseman Kaygen Marshall, it was an opportunity to burst onto the scene.
Marshall led the charge for the Bears, delivering two home runs in an 11-2 victory. It was only a preview of what Bears fans would be seeing all season.
Through the early part of her Baylor career, Marshall has become an essential piece to the Bears’ softball team. She has launched a team-high nine home runs along with 23 RBIs, all while still adjusting to the elite level of Big 12 softball.
But before the home runs, the great plays and the up and downs of freshman year, Marshall was just a kid from Robinson, a town located about six miles south of Baylor.
It was here that Marshall’s passion for softball began.
“I started playing when I was six. Of course, T-ball years and then coach pitch,” Marshall said. “Then select started, so we just took our little league from Robinson and made it to a select team and just went from there.”
But it wasn’t until a familiar face talked to Marshall’s select coach that she realized what was ahead for her.
“I went to a Baylor team camp, and I was a catcher at the time,” Marshall said. “Coach Moore was talking to my coach about the potential he sees in me, and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I think that’s the time I really was like, ‘I can do this.’”
Marshall attended Robinson High School, where her skills would continue to be seen by college scouts from all over. She made the varsity team as a freshman, immediately making an impact that impressed coaches.
“I realized Kaygen would be special her freshman year,” Robinson High School softball coach Jimmy Eby said. “When we got her on the softball field, you could just tell she was special.”
Marshall’s high school success earned her two district MVP honors, along with tying the Central Texas home run record with 22. Marshall capped off her senior year in no better fashion than winning a Class 4A state championship.
“My senior year, we really put it together,” Marshall said. “We had one main goal and that was my proudest moment.”
When the time came to decide where Marshall would begin her college career, Marshall chose to stay close to what she knew and the people she cared about.
“Touring a bunch of schools, I always had my eyes on Baylor,” Marshall said. “My parents love to come watch me play, so I always want them to have access to come watch me. This school was meant for me.”
Despite the success and numerous accolades in high school, Marshall quickly learned how different power-conference softball was to anything she had seen before.
“The pitching, it’s high level. I’m 19 right now, but I could be playing a 24-year-old. It’s crazy to me,” Marshall said. “And I think the competitiveness — sometime in high school, you could just go and be like, ‘OK, this a throwaway game,’ but in college you have to play your best every single game no matter what.”
But even with difficulties of playing at this level, Marshall has only succeeded in her role as a freshman. She currently leads the Bears in home runs and slugging percentage while also playing sound defense at third base.
“She’s had a pretty good year for a freshman,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “It’s only going to get better with her ’cause she’s talented.”
As the regular season nears the end and the Bears march into the postseason, Marshall still strives to achieve the goals she has set out for herself. Her time at Baylor is just beginning, but the impact she has made on the softball team already runs deep.
“I want to be more successful at the plate and keep working hard and being a leader on this team,” Marshall said. “I don’t want to be just another name. I want to make a legacy for myself.”
