The 2024 Times Softball Player of the Year: Newark’s Kodi Rizzo

Dominance, the kind Newark’s Kodi Rizzo put together in her senior season doesn’t happen by accident.

“I think it’s hard work,” the right-handed ace pitcher and leadoff hitter for the for the 25-win, co-conference and regional champion Norsemen said of her success. “Even my offseason, it’s not an offseason. I’m always working out, trying to get stronger, working on my pitching.

“I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t work as hard as I have.”

The numbers bear that out.

Rizzo took over as the undisputed ace for the Norsemen. She rose to the challenge, posting a 16-4 record, an area-best 0.51 ERA and the third most strikeouts (238) with just 16 walks over 109 innings pitched.

For all of her accomplishments and dedication, Rizzo is named the 2024 Times Softball Player of the Year.

Those numbers alone would have earned her all-area and all-state consideration, but Rizzo added the greater Ottawa-Streator area’s best offensive output as well. She hit .479 with area bests in runs scored (56), runs batted in (43) and home runs (13).

In addition to being The Times Softball Player of the Year and a first-team all-area selection, Rizzo also was a first-team Illinois Coaches Association Class 1A All-State and All-Little Ten Conference selection.

“I was driving to the gym after my internship [when she was told she’d won our Player of the Year award] and my jaw just dropped,” Rizzo said. “I was like, ‘What?’ I didn’t know what else to say except, ‘Are you joking?’ I was shocked.

“The articles [for games] are one thing, but to be recognized like this is huge. I didn’t think it’d be me, so I was shocked.”

First-year Norsemen coach Jon Wood agrees with his star player and said it all began with Rizzo putting in the work.

“What separates Kodi from a lot of the other athletes I’ve coached starts with her work ethic,” Wood said. “I mean she is a tireless worker.

“She is in the gym five or six days a week, and she pounds the stone, man. She is a master of her craft. She pitches on off days, she asks for more reps in practice. She asks questions, she asks for input from her catcher, she is a great team leader, she studies the game, and I think she has a great support system at home.”

Wood said that as impressive as Rizzo’s pitching statistics are, they’d likely be even better if she stayed in games that were well in hand. Instead, she shared pitching time – accounting for her relatively low number of innings pitched when compared to the area’s other small-school aces – which not only gave her younger teammates opportunities, but kept Rizzo fresh for when it mattered most.

“I love to win,” Rizzo said, “and I know my teammates love to win, so I’m willing to put myself in any I can to help us win. Whatever my coaches want – bunting, hitting, I need to pitch on a day I wouldn’t – whatever decision my coaches make, I know I have to do my part for the team.”

Her sophomore and junior seasons, Rizzo served on the Norsemen staff behind fellow all-stater Kaitlyn Schofield. With Schofield’s graduation, Rizzo stepped into the role of ace.

It was a position she was more than ready for, in part because of her talent and work ethic; in part because of her close bond and years of experience with catcher Danica Peshia; but also, according to Wood, because of Rizzo’s having spent time behind and alongside other top-notch pitchers, both at Newark and on the travel circuit.

“The past couple years being in those tougher games – like state sophomore year – really helped me to understand how to deal with the pressure,” Rizzo said. “This year there was a lot more because I needed to do well at all times ... lay it all out there and do what I could.”

The Norsemen’s success this season after losing cornerstone players to graduation also was a driving factor.

“We wanted to prove everybody wrong,” Rizzo said. “That was our whole thing this year: to prove everybody wrong. You see the players we lost [to graduation] from last year, and it was kind of a newer-ish team, and we got farther that anyone thought we would, did more than anyone thought we would.

“Sure, we didn’t get runs across [in a 1-0, 11-inning sectional championship game loss to rival Serena], and we had so many opportunities to score, but then you look at the fact that we went 11 innings? We never gave up.

“We did the best we could, proved a lot of people wrong about us, and I think that’s what meant the most to us.”

Rizzo will continue her education and softball career at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, an NCAA Division III program.

“I love the campus. It felt like home to me, and I love the coaches,” she said. “I have some friends who go up there, and they have a great program for my major, prevet[erinary]. This year they went to the NCAA Tournament for D-3, and the majority of the team is staying, so I’m hoping we can go back.”

And no surprise for a player with a team-first mentality, Rizzo credits those around her – particularly coaches, teammates and family – for her success.

“My family, mainly my mom,” Rizzo said. “She played, and she brought me the love of the sport and always pushed me to be better, and my teammates because they’ve always supported me and made me better.”