Little League Star Kinley Rasmus Has Deep Baseball Pedigree
Kinley Rasmus has tied the Little League World Series record for strikeouts by a girl with 14. Her father Cory pitched in MLB, her uncle Colby played over 1,000 games, and her grandfather coached a LLWS team. Her mother also played softball at Southern Mississippi.
Kinley Rasmus has matched a notable Little League World Series milestone, recording 14 strikeouts to equal the mark previously set by Mo'ne Davis for a female pitcher. Her performance has helped Alabama's Phenix City squad advance through the tournament.
Her baseball lineage runs deep. Her father Cory pitched in the majors for Atlanta and Los Angeles from 2013 to 2016, and earlier led Phenix City to the LLWS title game in 1999. Her uncle Colby appeared in over a thousand big-league contests. Her grandfather coached that 1999 team and was once drafted by the Angels, while her mother played college softball at Southern Mississippi. A cousin also shares the roster.
This milestone could resonate well beyond the tournament, offering young female pitchers a visible role model in a sport where girls remain underrepresented. It may encourage more families to support daughters pursuing baseball rather than steering them toward softball, and could prompt youth leagues to rethink assumptions about pitching limits or participation. The story also reinforces that athletic achievement often builds on family experience, which may inspire broader conversations about access, mentorship, and opportunity in youth sports.