Ashley Rogers leaves legacy after brilliant career at home-state Tennessee

For Ashley Rogers' family, Tennessee means everything.

Rogers claims Athens, Tennessee as her hometown. While playing for Meigs County High School, she grew up just an hour away from campus.

Due to this proximity, the Rogers family found a love for Tennessee athletics. In the family, nobody was a bigger fan than her father, though.

However, while Rogers was in the midst of her prolific high school career, her father, Loring, passed away. He was laid to rest in an orange Tennessee shirt under a headstone displaying a Power T when she was 16.

To Rogers, this exemplifies what this college means to her. It isn't just where she filled her trophy case and won games, it's her home.

Inviting her to play for the prestigious Lady Vols program was head coach Karen Weekly.

Weekly offered Rogers when she was a sophomore at Meigs County and the pitcher jumped at the opportunity.

"I'm just so thankful that she believed in me and took a chance on me when I was a sophomore in high school," said Rogers on Weekly. "I was just a little girl from Athens, Tennessee and she took a chance on me. I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I've had to wear this orange and white and represent my home state. Just the way she's pushed me to be a better player and everything that she's done for me. I can't thank her enough. I'm just grateful that I got to play for her for the last five years and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Half a decade later, the pair have created a special player-coach bond.

Weekly has displayed a trust in her ace pitcher that extends beyond the field. It is a rare relationship that has grown as Rogers' time at Tennessee passed.

This cumulated in a hug as the Lady Vols were eliminated in the Women's College World Series on Monday. As the incredible season ended, the two embraced each other for a final time on the diamond.

"Just thanking Ashley (Rogers) for believing in Tennessee and believing that we can do this," said Weekly on what she told Rogers in the moment. "It was a tough decision for her to come back this year because she's had so many injuries. In the last two years, she's had so much pain and had to be shutdown a lot. It's been very frustrating for her because she's such a competitor.

"The thing that to me that is most powerful about Ashley (Rogers), Ashley (Rogers) spent the first four years of her career being a perfectionist and really not finding the joy because she was trying so hard to be perfect... This year, they both (Rogers and Kiki Milloy) learned to be vulnerable. They were vulnerable with their teammates with each other. Because of that, they were really able to just let their light shine."

Rogers' impact has reached her teammates as well as her coaches.

Despite arriving in Knoxville a year prior, Rogers and outfielder Kiki Milloy have built a strong connection as teammates.

Milloy also notes Rogers' off the field presence as a big reason she respects and admires the pitcher. The statistics in her five-year career speak for itself, but her impact goes well beyond that.

"It's been a long four years but it's been such a joy playing with her and getting to know her not just as an athlete," said Milloy. "I know all of you guys have seen her on the field, but just getting to know her as a person and how she cares and loves life and loves the people around her. She just carries herself with so much poise and so much confidence that it just rubs off on all of us. It's going to be a big hole when she leaves this team. I'm so grateful, Covid sucked, but it gave us another year together and I'm just so grateful to have that."

The intensity, focus and care Rogers brings to her life doesn't stop at sports, though.

While she excelled to unbelievable heights on the diamond, she also dominated in the classroom.

In high school, Rogers was named valedictorian after earning a 4.0 GPA.

Then, once arriving to college, she earned two degrees while repeatedly winning academic honors.

"Ashley (Rogers) is brilliant. Ashley (Rogers) is going to be a doctor," said Weekly. "You're talking 4.0 through undergrad in kinesiology. 4.0 through masters in biomechanics. Number one, at Tennessee we let them study whatever they want. There's no major that's off limits because I'm a big believer this isn't about four years, this is about 40 years...

"That's what makes me most proud. You see somebody that has a passion for her studies like Ashley (Rogers) does. Did all that research on pitching, and the motion, and the stress on your body. You just want to do whatever you can to give opportunities to them. To pursue so many things beyond softball."

Now, after five years and countless awards, Rogers will hang up her cleats.

She dazzled with a 0.92 ERA in her final year to go along with her 20-1 record. She was seemingly untouchable down the stretch as she catapulted Tennessee to the Women's College World Series where they fell just a pair of games short from a National Championship appearance.

Despite the emotions of her final pitch being thrown landing upon her, Rogers' mind still became clear after the game. She was happy to represent her home state and turn her childhood dreams into a reality.

"As I stepped off the field for the last time, I'm feeling a lot of emotions obviously," said Rogers. "The ones that I feel the most are a lot of gratitude and a lot of love and a lot of pride for being able to wear Tennessee across my chest... Being able to represent my home state and the team that I grew up cheering for has been a dream come true."

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