Miami-Commit Kendall Brown Is Fueled By Failure

The thing Kendall Brown Kendall Brown C Lancaster | 2026 #60 Nation OH loves most about softball is the thing many players absolutely hate.

“Ironically, I like that it's a game of failure. I think that failing is how you improve, and making mistakes is how you learn,” she said. “I think knowing that you're going to fail more times than you're going to succeed in the sport is very big for me. I liked the learning part of it and improving each week and after every game.”

Brown, a 2026 catching recruit from Lancaster, Ohio, has signed with Miami (Ohio) University. She tore her ACL during a game entering the summer of her junior year when she was gearing up to begin talking with college programs.

“Miami was the first school that called me at midnight on September 1, and I am just so grateful that they stuck it out with me,” said Brown, who plays for Louisville Lady Sluggers Huecker-Norwood 18U. “They knew that I would come out of this injury better than I was before.”

Brown made a visit to campus in Oxford, which is located about 2.5 hours from her home, and it confirmed her feelings.

“I just immediately knew it was the place for me,” Brown said. “People always say, when you know, you know, and I had a weird feeling the whole time I was on that trip. Not a bad weird feeling, but a good weird feeling. And I couldn't explain it. But I think looking back now, I realized that was the feeling of when you know.”

Brown's introduction to softball came through her older sister. 

“I think I always looked up to her, and she was a big role model for me,” Brown said. “Just watching her play and fall in love with it kind of made me want to play, and then I ended up falling in love with it.”

Brown started at shortstop and third base, but always wanted to be a catcher. She got behind the plate for the first time after 8U.

“I immediately fell in love with it. I always liked being very involved in every play, and in catching, you're involved in every play,” said the 5-foot-8 right-hander. “You're also a leader on the field, which I think I've kind of grown into. I wasn't a leader when I was younger, but you have to be a leader on the field as a catcher because you see everything on the field and you know what's going on.”

Along with softball, Brown plays field hockey for Lancaster High School.

“Honestly, I didn't really know it was a sport,” she said with a laugh. “I played it because my sister played field hockey in high school, and it looked like a lot of fun, so I picked that up. It's kind of like how I got started in softball.”

Although she tore her ACL before her junior year, Brown was able to make it back in time for her junior season in softball thanks to help from the athletic trainer at her high school and her physical therapist. She hit .553 with 48 RBIs.

“That was huge for me, because we made it to states for the first time in school history that season,” Brown said. “We didn't end up winning, but being a part of that was huge for me. I'm still trying to rehab the knee every day. It doesn't feel the same, and I've heard that it never feels the same again, but I'm trying to get it to feel as good as possible every day.”