MIAMI -- For years, Kamryn Potts was used to being the only girl on the field.
That changed when she attended the Trailblazer Series in Vero Beach, Fla., in 2022.
Four years later, the Melbourne (Fla.) High School rising senior and University of Tennessee commit found herself back at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, serving as a preseason camp bullpen catcher for the Athletes Unilimted Softball League, thanks to relationships formed through MLB Develops events.
Through the program, Potts met AUSL senior director of public affairs Sarah Padove, who worked for MLB before transitioning to the AUSL in November 2025. When Padove needed a preseason camp bullpen catcher, she knew exactly whom to call.
“I was so excited,” said Potts, who lives less than an hour from Vero Beach. “My parents told me that Sarah had reached out and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes, please,’ because that's an insane opportunity. I was really hoping I could do it, and it fell on the perfect dates. I'm so excited, because it has been great.”
Potts spent most of her time with the Chicago Bandits, whose general manager, Jenny Dalton-Hill, was also one of her MLB Develops coaches.
For Potts, the opportunity was a moment years in the making, one that began with her first appearance at the event.
Having played baseball alongside boys on her travel team, the VR Hawks, whom she played with from ages 9 to 15, Potts was excited to be part of her first Trailblazer Series and compete alongside other girls.
During that first year, Potts remembers watching another player earn MVP honors, an accomplishment she didn't know existed.
“I was like, ‘Next year, I want to win that,’” Potts said. “I set a goal for myself, for sure. And I [worked] with the boys year-round, and then when I came [back], around the girls, I wanted to be able to just do as much as I can, play my best, really. ... I really did love it a lot.”
When she returned the next year, Potts arrived with that plan in mind.
With her two light brown braids hanging from her hat when she pitched and her helmet when she batted, Potts struck out six batters in two innings and hit two home runs on her way to winning the 2023 Trailblazer Series Develops MVP Award.
She also participated in the MLB Grit: Girls ID Tour, EDI and the Breakthrough Series, experiences that ultimately helped create the connection that led to her AUSL opportunity.
After growing up playing baseball, Potts made the switch to softball during her freshman year of high school and now primarily plays catcher. The transition wasn't easy, but it was necessary to pursue her goal of playing Division I softball and competing on the biggest stage possible.
One of the positives from the change was finding a family of girls who shared her love for the game.
“It was always cool for everyone to come together [at the MLB events] from everywhere and just bond over one common thing that they all do. ... I never really had like another girl who I played with,” Potts said. “I stuck with the same core group of guys throughout everything, I was at elementary school, middle school with them, and then I was playing with them, so it's a really good group of guys.”
Now, Potts’ time around the AUSL has given her a glimpse of what the future could look like by working around professional athletes and watching other catchers go about their daily routines.
“It's super cool, because it's something I could definitely see myself wanting to do in the future,” Potts said. “Just kind of scoping everything out, being able to set goals for myself, wanting to work [on the game like] they work, like it's cool to be around, for sure.”
The experience has also reinforced her excitement about the growth of professional softball.
“It's great, because obviously growing up with baseball, it was always MLB -- you have this cool show to look up to. But softball, it's always kind of been college and that's really it,” Potts said. “But then, [the] AUSL kind of popped up, and now it's to the point where I feel like once I'm out of college, it's going to be huge -- so it's definitely super exciting knowing that there's something after college now.”
Now, from setting goals at the Trailblazer Series to reaching them, Potts said there's one message she'd share with her younger self: keep going.
“See where [softball] takes you, because that's kind of always what I would do,” Potts said. “I had no clue what it's going to look like when I switch over to softball, but I'm just going to keep going as far as I can, keep working as hard as I can, just see where it gets you.”