Spotlight: Athlete of the Week

Daily Vanguard: Why did you decide to transfer to Portland State from New Mexico?
Tori Rogers: I chose Portland State because they recruited me in high school and so I had a really good relationship with former head coach Amy Hayes. I had already seen the school and the facilities, and felt that it was a place where I could fit in.

DV: What’s your most memorable softball moment?
TR: I think last year when we beat DePaul, when they were No. 16 in the nation. That was pretty memorable.

DV: What’s your first softball memory?
TR: The first thing I remember about softball is playing catch in the yard with my dad—when I was four.

DV: What’s your greatest strength?
TR: I think over the years I really wanted to be confident in my ability, so the girls and the coaches call it my swagger when I’m on the mound. So I guess it’s the confidence I have in my ability and my team behind me.

DV: What’s a talent that you have outside of the softball diamond?
TR: I’m a real big people person, so I think that getting along with people is a thing I have. I really like little kids—little kids are my passion.

DV: What are your plans after softball?
TR: I’d like to be a coach somewhere. Whether that’s Little League or I would even be a college pitching coach, I think that’d be great. I also am probably going to be an elementary education teacher.

DV: What do you like about Portland or Portland State?
TR: I really like how outdoorsy everybody is and how everybody’s always running and that the city is really healthy.

DV: What’s your favorite class at Portland State?
TR: I think that my favorite class was BA 205 with Jennifer Loney. She was a teacher I felt that I really learned a lot from, she did a really good job of connecting with her students and making the topic relevant to us.

DV: If you could talk to a couple people from history, alive or dead, who would they be?
TR: I would like to talk to Albert Pujols because he’s had a lot of success in the game of baseball and seems like a really genuine person. I think I would like to be able to have another conversation with my grandpa. He died when I was a sophomore in high school, and so I think he’d be really proud of me and the fact that I’m playing college athletics, having made it four years. I just wish that maybe he could watch me pitch once while I was in college.

DV: What have you been listening to on your iPod?
TR: Some kind of country music!

DV: Anything else you would like to add?
TR: I’m really looking forward to the rest of this year. We’ve got a bright group of girls that we should win a lot of ballgames with!
*This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.