She’s only a freshman but Courtney Wyche from Silver Spring, Maryland is a batter’s nightmare.

The pitcher takes the circle at 6-foot-1 and throws as high as 67 mph with a four and two-seam fastball that helped her earn 2019 Hot 100 honors.

It’s not a surprise with all that talent that the East Coast standout had major schools like Missouri, Virginia and North Carolina after her before she committed this last week to Maryland.

FloSoftball caught up with Courtney recently to learn more about her and her background… here’s what she had to say.

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When did you start playing softball?
I started playing softball when I was 9 years old in fourth grade for the Takoma Park Recreation Department. The first positions I played were, outfield and third base. I decided to learn how to pitch when I was 12 years old in sixth grade. At the beginning of my pitching career, I was teaching myself how to pitch based off of watching college pitchers and little background knowledge.

Do you—or did you—play other sports where your height is an advantage (like basketball, volleyball)?
I attempted to play basketball when I was 8 years old in third grade, but I quickly realized that was not the sport for me. I have never attempted to play any other sport. (After playing softball for the Takoma Park Recreation Department, I quickly learned that SOFTBALL was my sport!!)

Is being 6-foot-1 more of an advantage or disadvantage in life sports helps but buying clothes tough?
Being 6’1 is a huge advantage in life and softball. When I am pitching, my height allows me to have a longer stride which in effect, shortens the time the batter has to react to the speed of my pitches. My height also provides a sense of intimidation to batters when they step in the batter's box and have to face me. I love accenting my height by sometimes wearing wedge heels. Unfortunately, my height can definitely be a disadvantage when it comes to shopping because it's hard for me to find long pants that fit and shoes that I like in my size. In addition, it’s hard for people to really believe that I am only 14 years old and just in the 9th grade!

When did you first realize you had the talent and ability to play in college?  Was there an “a ha” moment?
There wasn’t really an “aha” moment when I felt that I had the talent and ability to play softball in college. However, I knew when my grandfather took me to see the University of Maryland Women’s Softball Team play, my goal was to work hard enough so I could earn an athletic scholarship to compete at the highest level at a major Division 1 University and win a National Championship!

What pitches do you throw, what’s your go-to “out” pitch?
The pitches that I currently throw are: a 4-seam and 2-seam fastball, change-up, drop-ball, and a rise-ball. I find that my go-to “out” pitch always depends on the situation. However, most of the times, when I go for the “out” pitch, it is a rise ball.

What pitches do you want to work on or add this year?
For my upcoming season, I am not looking to add any new pitches to my roster. However, I am constantly honing my mechanics to develop my changeup to effectively make it a “go-to pitch” at any time!  

Are you a hitter/positional player too meaning you hit or are you focusing solely on pitching?
I am a pitcher as well as a powerful hitter. As I continue to focus mainly on my pitching, I am still improving my hitting so that I can be a double threat of being known as a powerful pitcher and hitter.

What’s been your best or favorite softball experience so far?
So far, my best softball experience was last summer when I played in the 14U ASA Nationals in Roanoke, Virginia with my current team, Wagners Gold 16U.  I had to help my team by pitching in the hot heat against a very good team from Louisiana that had a lot of size and power behind their bats. My teammates and I were very competitive and battled to victory. This experience helped me develop a relentless mindset and unconquerable attitude that I could compete and battle against a nationally ranked team.

Are you superstitious or have any rituals on the field?
I am a very consistent pitcher when I am in the circle regardless of the competition. I am a strong believer in Jesus, and the one thing that I always do before every pitch is to face center field, look into the sky and calmly say to myself, “Jesus help me, 1...2...3…” Doing this helps calm me down, center, and focus on one pitch at a time!

What was the best gift you got for Christmas?
The best gift that I received for Christmas 2015 was, my hot pink Beats Headphones! That was the number one thing on my wish list. I was very excited when I opened the box and saw them because my mom surprised me and I had no idea that I was going to get them! It was an awesome surprise!!!!

What’s your top goal for 2016?
My academic goal for 2016 is to maintain a 3.9 GPA in my honors and advanced classes. I also want to hone my baking skills so that I can compete on a cooking show for teenagers.  My specialty is Courtney’s Sweet Potato Pie! :) In addition I want to create a non-profit organization in which I will mentor and develop minority girls and teenagers to develop their softball skills on the field, academic skills in the classroom and personal life skills. I believe that everyone is born with a special gift and talent. My mission is to bring out the best in each girl, and to help her believe that she is somebody special!!! My athletic goal is to help my high school team win a Maryland State Championship, pitch a no hitter game, and compete for Nationals with my travel team.

Walk us through the recruiting process and how you came to choose Maryland?
My recruiting process began when Coach Pete D'Armour from University of Missouri saw me pitch at Jared Hardin Camp in Sterling, Virginia back in June of last year.  The camp director clocked my fastball at 67 mph and that's when it all began! At the end of the camp, Coach Pete pulled me aside and said he would like to offer me a scholarship to the University of Missouri. I could not believe that my first college offer was from a Big SEC Top 25 school program!

Later that evening I spoke to Head Coach Earleywhine and he restated the offer. In July and August, I went on unofficial visits to the University of Missouri, University of Virginia, University of Alabama-Birmingham and University of South Carolina who all showed interest after seeing me play at a showcase tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, and ASA Nationals in Salem, Virginia.

In addition, North Carolina State showed interest at ASA Nationals and I went on an unofficial visit last November. My travel team Coach Greg Allender, Wagner's Gold Softball informed my parents that he had contacted Coach Wright, University of Maryland about me, and invited her to one of our team practices in December.  She saw me pitch and was immediately impressed with the power, speed and movement of my pitches. 

At that point she coordinated with Coach Greg for me to go on an unofficial visit to University of Maryland which I did in December.  I was extremely impressed with the beauty of the campus, academic programs that were offered, the current players that I met, but, most importantly, Coach Wright who is amazing!

I could see myself not only playing for her, but making a significant contribution to lead University of Maryland to winning a National World Series! In addition, I'm a "hometown" kid, and my family is very important to me. I live 20 minutes from Maryland and being close to home where my family, coaches and friends could see me play had a major impact on my decision. I verbally committed last Tuesday, January 26 to attend the University of Maryland and I'm extremely excited about my decision to play at Maryland in the Big Ten Conference!

BONUS COVERAGE... here's Courtney last summer at the ASA Nationals: