University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Kylie Bass
April 03, 2019 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Kylie Bass, Georgia softball's 5-foot left-hander, is not built to be a power pitcher. As she's demonstrated throughout her career, there many ways to get outs besides throwing heat.
A senior from Gray, Ga., a small town of around 3,500 people located 15 miles north of Macon, Bass has a 6-1 record this season and 53 strikeouts in 47.1 innings. During a wide-ranging conversation she talked about pitching, life in Gray, riding dirt bikes, her only C at Georgia, plans after softball and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: The obvious question, given your last name, is what's your favorite type of fish?
Bass: Probably salmon or tilapia, and bass, of course. I like to fish for catfish and bass.
Frierson: Do you remember the first time you got in the circle and threw a pitch at Georgia?
Bass: Oh yeah. It was freshman year and I was nervous; we had a bunch of big names on that team — Alex Hugo and Chelsea Wilkinson — and I was just excited to get out there and have Alex, Tina (Iosefa) and those guys playing behind me. I was ecstatic.
Frierson: What about back when you first started playing softball?
Bass: I was always super competitive, an only child, so I would play whiffle ball in the yard with my dad and I always wanted to beat him. He's super competitive so I think I got it from him.
Frierson: When did you know that pitching was what you wanted to do versus playing shortstop or right field or whatever?
Bass: Since I was little I always wanted to pitch, and obviously I'm only 5-foot tall and a lot of people told me I would never make it as a pitcher. I had to have those discussions growing up, but I always knew that this is what I wanted to do.
Frierson: What are the advantages or disadvantages to being a 5-foot pitcher, if there are any?
Bass: I don't look at it as a disadvantage at all; it drives me and puts a chip on my shoulder. ... Obviously, I'm not a big power pitcher, I don't throw a lot of drop balls; I'm very much spin and curveball and changeup — spin to win.
Frierson: Has there been one pitch that you've spent many, many hours trying to master but it just doesn't work for you?
Bass: Probably the drop ball — it's a fastball and it is what it is.
Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up and how would you rate your abilities in those sports?
Bass: I tried basketball, hated it. Obviously, I'm small, so (laughs) that did not work out. I never really tried anything else; I never tried soccer or anything. I liked motocross and I had some dirt bikes growing up. I loved that kind of stuff.
Frierson: Do you still ride or is that something you've got to put aside until your career is over?
Bass: My dad (laughs) made me sell my bikes, so I definitely got out of that. I'm sure once I graduate I'll be riding dirt bikes again.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Bass: Wings, chicken wings.
Frierson: Between the spice, the sauce, the dips and everything else, do you have a specific wings routine?
Bass: I like honey barbecue and hot mixed together, it's like the perfect sweet/spicy combination. No ranch, just the wings.
Frierson: When did you know that you were a good pitcher and that you had a future in the game beyond high school?
Bass: I would say around the 12-and-under age, maybe 14, when you kind of start getting older and you realize that some people want to go hang out with their friends and do other stuff. I never got sick of (softball), I always wanted to stick with it, I loved it and I still love it.
I realized that was what was driving me and could be a vehicle that could get me a college education and could get me here.
Frierson: If you could go anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go? And who would you take with you?
Bass: I would go to Croatia. I would take my family because we've never been out of the country, and that would be cool to experience with them. And I'd take my dogs, my dogs have to come.
Frierson: Do you have a class at Georgia that you've enjoyed the most or that you wish you could take again?
Bass: Yes, it's the only C I've ever gotten in college, it was in a psychology class, but I absolutely loved it. It was so interesting and the professor was really challenging, and I absolutely loved the class and would take it again.
It was an intro to psych class and you had a bunch of research labs that you did. It was just really interesting to learn about and I love that kind of stuff.
Frierson: What can you tell me about growing up in Gray?
Bass: Small town, for sure; everybody knows everybody, we've got two or three red lights, a Dairy Queen, Waffle House — just a small-town feel, that home feeling.
Frierson: When you first got to Athens, was that a big adjustment? Athens it's a metropolis but it's a lot bigger than Gray.
Bass: I remember the first week wanting to call my mom and dad and tell them I couldn't do it, I was getting lost everywhere. It's a small-town feel here but it's a lot bigger than what I'm used to. I got turned around quite a few times.
Where we live is right between Macon and Milledgeville, so we have to drive 30 minutes to go shopping or out to dinner and the movies. Here I can get in the car and be there in two minutes.
Frierson: Has living here changed your perspective on where you want to live after college or later on in life?
Bass: I want to live out like that, close enough to a city so that I can get to it, but I want to live on some land.
Frierson: And do what with the land?
Bass: I want to have some animals, a garden, a pond to fish in and some land to ride my four-wheelers and dirt bikes.
Frierson: In a perfect world, 10 or 15 years from now you're doing what?
Bass: Working with kids and sports. My major is Human Development and Family Science and I want to get my master's in Sport Management. I want to take target lower-income individuals who don't have the money to go to lessons or have the resources they need to get to a university like this. I want to help those kids develop along.
There's a lot of good talent out there in all sports that just doesn't get seen because they don't have the money.
Frierson: Do you see softball being a part of your life once you're done playing?
Bass: We'll see. I don't think softball will ever disappear. I like it, so we'll see.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
