Softball’s Katie Geydoshek: ‘The full picture between personality and pitching’

When first-year pitcher Katie Geydoshek tallied a 0.86 earned run average (ERA) in high school, it was clear she would play Division I softball, but when she started preseason tournaments in her first season with Loyola, she tallied six losses in 11 games. Although Geydoshek hit a learning curve in her first season of college ball, she’s building back her confidence and proving she’s a fiery competitor who’s found success.

Now standing with a 4.74 ERA, Geydoshek has had to learn how to adjust to the intensity of Division I play. Most notably against South Alabama, Geydoshek allowed seven runs in the first inning, and the Jaguars took the 8-0 win with the mercy rule invoked.

After the major loss, Geydoshek faced the challenge of learning to go into a game confident and having to break down her motions in order to continue developing.

“When I played in South Alabama and NC State — that was my biggest learning moment,” Geydoshek said. “I did well when we were at San Diego State and Florida, but I think I needed those two weekends that I obviously didn’t do very well to really make me break down my motions and make me go back to the basics.”

Following the losses in tournament play, Loyola started the regular season with a sweep of the University of Dayton, with Geydoshek pitching in game one. She said the team went into the game ready to show the Flyers who the Ramblers really are, and she’s learned that for her to remain confident on the mound, she needs total peace of mind.  

“The best is when nothing is going through my head,” Geydoshek said. “Otherwise, I just overthink, but I did well with Dayton, and I think I was just like, ‘Alright these girls have never seen me, they don’t know what’s coming.’ I just had to stay confident through it, breathe and stay in the moment instead of making it too big.”

Through the adjustment period, Geydoshek has also tallied wins in her collegiate career. During the Spring Games tournament, she pitched in three of the five winning games in Florida, even notching a 7-0 shutout against Long Island University.

As Geydoshek has experienced the highs and lows of winning and losing, head coach Alicia Abbot said every first-year goes through a learning curve, and failure is simply part of the game.

“Most pitchers, when they get to our level, aren’t going to be able to strike out everybody the same way they did in high school or travel ball,” Abbott said. “It doesn’t mean they’re any less of a pitcher, it just means we have to learn and adjust. That was her learning curve, understanding umpire strike zones, how to throw pitches that worked for her and not try to do too much but still be herself.”

Softball has been a long road for the Green Bay, Wis. native who started playing T-ball at four years old. Geydoshek credits her mom for signing her up because she has a history of playing the game. Growing up, Geydoshek also tried out soccer, track and basketball until the sixth grade, but she said playing Division I softball was always the goal.

During high school, Geydoshek played for Green Bay Preble and was named Fox River Classic Conference player of the year in 2023, 2024 and 2025. In her final year at Preble, Geydoshek played club for Velocity 18U National Scheibe, where Geydoshek said she met some of her best friends and had a lot of fun just playing the game and winning.

Prior to playing for Velocity, in Geydoshek’s junior year she attended a camp Loyola was hosting, which is how she got on the team’s radar. Once she got a call back from the coaches and visited the campus, Geydoshek promptly committed to Loyola two weeks later.

“I came on the visit, and I knew on the visit this is where I wanted to go,” Geydoshek said. “It just felt like home, and I could really see myself here.”

During the initial meeting, Abbott said the first thing that stood out to her was the passion Geydoshek had for the game. She said she noticed how Geydoshek wants to be the best version of herself.

Abbott also pointed out how Geydoshek has worked and practiced with solid pitchers, which motivates her to be better. During summer practices, the coaches saw just how good she is.

“Just between the amount of swings and misses she was able to get, the amount of strikeouts she had, and I think when we were talking, she was just the full picture between personality and pitching,” Abbott said.

Aside from her ongoing pitching journey, Geydoshek has settled in with the Ramblers. She said she has found a support system in her teammates and coaches. More specifically, Geydoshek credits the Loyola pitching coach, Ali Brems — who she works with the most — to be someone she can talk to about anything, and her coach’s positivity is what helps her after a loss.

As an observer, Abbott said one of her favorite parts about Geydoshek is the fact she’s fully herself around her team and said her teammates rely on her for making them laugh.

“She is so loud and so goofy and such an absolute pleasure to be around,” Abbott said. “She wants to have fun, she’s not afraid to ask hard questions, and I think her boldness is such a quality trait out of her. She brings laughter into every room she walks into.”

Outside of softball, Geydoshek is balancing academics with athletics as an undecided business major, but she said she’s leaning towards an entrepreneurship degree. Studying business means she spends a lot of time in downtown Chicago, and Geydoshek said she enjoys being in the city and having everything relatively nearby.

As Geydoshek’s collegiate career is just beginning, Abbott said she hopes to continue to see her just be herself and grow as a pitcher. Her career is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, according to Abbott.

“Just making sure she never settles in anything but being herself,” Abbott said. “She’s a fiery competitor, and I think that’s the biggest thing that she’s gonna have to learn to lean into and continue to be, and again, it doesn’t come down to perfection and how do we make sure we’re helping her grow and develop as a pitcher.”

For Geydoshek, her goals are to develop strong relationships with her teammates and to make it to the Atlantic 10 (A10) tournament and receive a ring.

“I hope to get best friends out of this, and I hope to win as many A10 championships as we possibly can,” Geydoshek said.