Today we spotlight a member of the 2017 Hot 100 who is SEC-bound and has a touching superstition she does every game in honor of a fallen friend…

Name: KEARA NAPOLI
Grad Year: 2017
Pos: P/IF
High School: Cambridge (Milton, Ga.)
GPA: 3.75
Club: Atlanta Vipers – Vallery 16U                                       
High School Stats: had 286 K’s for the season and a 1.19 ERA and led her team to the state championship game; batted .456
Club Stats: this fall allowed only two earned runs with 43 K’s in 23 2/3 innings with a 0.59 ERA. 
College: Georgia

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FullCountSoftball.com: Your high school coach, Chip Flemmer, said you’ve made “a ton of growth on the mental side of pitching” over the last year. How have you improved in this side of your game?
Keara Napoli: When I was about 10 years old, I had very bad mound composure. Over the years, I’ve learned to keep my control and confidence in tough situations. When I went on my visit to UGA, the coaches told me they didn’t only love my speed and spin, but my confidence in myself, my teammates as well as my composure. They noticed how, if there was two outs and the batter hit a dinky pop up or grounder to one of my teammates, I would start running off the field before the play was made. They said it was one of the first things that caught their eye. High school, however, could be very stressful and nerve-racking at times. When my teammates told me they had my back, I remembered I could always trust them and my pitching. That really improved my mental game.

FCS.com: You’re the perfect example of great things coming in small (5-foot-5) packages… obviously, you can’t control your size, but you have excelled even though you’re not 6-foot-2! What are your thoughts on size and being as successful as you have been?
KN: I am beyond thankful that I am not very tall. I think it makes me different and unique by showing people not all pitchers have to be six-foot or bigger. My best friend is a catcher and she is only five-foot tall and she was the starting catcher as a freshman this year at my high school. Coach Lu (Harris-Champer, head coach at Georgia) didn’t care about my height when she recruited me and when I play in college, I think it will be very exciting if people say, “This girl is only 5-foot-5!” I hope I can inspire young pitchers in the world that don’t have a height advantage and tell them that it doesn’t matter because you can still be great and successful.

FCS.com: Everyone we talk to brings up your “competitive spirit.” Where does that fire to win come from? Were you always a competitor? What do you remember about being young and playing to excel?
KN: My competitive spirit definitely comes from my family. My aunt was a gymnast at Auburn, my cousin was a gymnast at North Carolina State, three of my older cousins all got lacrosse scholarships, my sister is a dancer and both my parents are Crossfitters in the Masters Division. You can probably guess that board games at my house end in yelling and fighting! I guess I was just born with my competitiveness and it was passed down from generation to generation. I still remember the game my travel team lost at nationals in 10u that got us kicked out of the tournament. I remember the score to all the games I lost at state or the past five Nationals with my travel team. I can remember the games we lost much better than the games we won because of a question I was once asked… “Do you love to win or hate to lose more?” I said “I hate to lose more” because when you win, all you think is I was good enough to finish pitching the game and we won it. However, when you lose, you always remember the one thing you could have changed or did to win the game and it makes you want to continue working on it until the same mistake doesn’t happen again. That is what has made me a better pitcher.

FCS.com: Turning to recruiting, tell us how you were first seen by the Georgia coaches and how the process went up to your offer?
KN: I was first seen by them in the Champions Fall Showcase in 2013. Coach (Gerry) Glasco, while he was still at UGA, watched me first because my travel ball coach told him he should come out and watch me. After one game, he really liked me and told Coach Lu to come out. She watched one game then thanked Coach Gerry for making her come. The next day, she watched one more time and after our last game of the day, my pitching coach told me she offered me a scholarship. That was my first offer I had ever gotten and I was 14 at the time.

FCS.com: What about your game, do you think, was what convinced them you were the right player for the Dawgs?
KN: I’m very athletic, I have good speed and spin for my age, but I definitely think it was my competitive edge that caught their eye. They could just tell how much I wanted to win, and how much of a hard worker I am. I don’t show emotion on the mound and stand tall and confident, even in really tough or stressful situations.

FCS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
KN: I was always told I would get a feeling and as soon as my visit was over, I experienced that feeling. The campus, the offer, the coaches, the majors, the fact that it’s an SEC school, and the distance from home were all exactly what I wanted in my future college. I committed in the beginning of February, about a week after my visit.

FCS.com: What do you remember most about committing (where were you also)?
KN: Rather than telling them on the phone, I decided to tell them at their next home game, which happened to be the weekend following my visit. At the end of the game, I told them through the net that I needed to tell them something, so they had me meet them in their office. I said,” I just wanted to tell you that I’m ready to win and I want to be a Georgia Bulldog.” Coach Lu’s reaction is what I remember the most because she literally jumped up and down and said that made her day!

FCS.com: Describe your emotions around telling them, were you more nervous or more excited?
KN: Believe it or not, I was more nervous because I was about to make it official. I was shaking, but as soon as I told them, the nerves all went away. On the car ride home, I immediately texted all my friends and family and said I had committed to UGA because they all wanted me to tell them as soon as it was official.

FCS.com: What, in your opinion, makes you an SEC caliber player
KN: Most people I know want to play in an SEC school because of how competitive the conference has become over the years. I want to play against the best and most challenging schools so I think it’s the best conference for me. I love to compete and be challenged because that’s the only way I can get better.

FCS.com: What’s been a top memory or two for you in your athletic career?
KN: Winning the Hall of Fame tournament in 12U, and making it to the state tournament this year with my high school team. Both had me in tears with uncontrollable joy.

Quick Hitters

 

What do you want to major in?
Sports or Law.

Fill in the blank… what makes softball unique in my mind is: ___________
… diversity of teams and players.

What do you think you’d change if you were made President of the United States for one day?
I would make school four days a week for only four hours each day!

Favorite song/music to get you fired up on game day:
The songs: Centuries and Remember the Name plus any Beyonce song as well.

Least favorite personality trait in a person:
Dishonesty.

What’s your favorite food?
Anything. I really like steak and cannolis the most though.

What’s the thing that makes you most proud to be from Georgia?
My high school and travel teams and all my coaches here.

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I love Broadway and was a complete girly girl when I was little. I carried five purses at a time and only wore dresses and skirts.

What’s the best advice you’re been given?
It’s just you, the catcher and the batter on that field. Have confidence and have fun!

Do you have any softball superstitions or rituals?
I write the initials “KD” on the base on our team’s side of the dugout before each game in honor of my friend Kelsey Dickson, who died when she was 10 years old from an extremely rare cancer.

Do you see yourself as a role model? Why or why not?
Yes, but not only in the softball world, but in real life as well. I’ve been inspired by so many people in my life, and they have made me the person I am today. I want other children to get the same opportunities as I got, and I want to be that role model for them.

What’s your “guilty pleasure,” something you hate to admit you love?
Horror movies.

If you could have a super power, what would you want it to be?
The ability to fly.

What’s your favorite thing to do on a weekend?
See movies with friends, play softball or go to the crossfit gym.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Shemar Moore (actor on CBS’s “Criminal Minds”)

What did you want to be when you were little?
Marine Biologist.

Favorite athlete:
Tim Tebow.

Nickname(s):
“Fire and Ice” in middle school because I was good at sports, specifically flag football, now it’s “Keisha” but my high school team calls me “Keish,” I don’t know where it came from, and Coach Flemmer calls me Shakira because my pitch don’t lie.

Something on your “must do” list:
Win a state championship before I graduate and win a college world series!

Funniest thing you’ve ever seen on a softball field:
Coach Dickey got really mad when we lost to a team the Viper organization always beat when I was 12 and he took his shirt and ripped it in half. It was hilarious!

What’s the No. 1 request on your Santa gift list?
A car.