OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – July 25, 2024 – For the second consecutive summer, Central Michigan softball pitcher Mackenzie Langan competed with the Great Britain National Team in The Royal Spark Challenge against the Oklahoma City Spark and in exhibition games against the USA Women’s Elite Team. The four games were held at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, the recent venue for the NCAA Women’s College World Series in June.
Langan’s journey to joining the Great Britain National Team began in the fall of 2022, during her freshman year at Central Michigan, after she discovered the application on social media. A dual citizen, Langan was eligible to play for the national team due to her Scottish heritage.
“My dad was born and raised in Scotland, so I have had dual citizenship since I was young,” Langan explained. “There is a mix of girls on the team that were either born and raised, born and moved overseas at a young age, or are like me and get their nationality from their parent.”
Langan was one of 33 players selected from hundreds of applicants to try out for the team, with the tryouts held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
“The tryouts were six days long, in the intense heat,” she recalled. “At the tryout, I saw Paytn Monticelli and found out she was also trying out for the team. She and I grew up going to the same pitching coach and we were the only two players from Wisconsin. That has been a really cool experience to represent both our home state and our heritage at the national level.”
Monticelli, who pitched for the University of Wisconsin in 2023 before transferring to Oklahoma, helped her team secure the national title in 2024.
After the tryouts, Langan learned she had made the roster and represented Great Britain in the 2023 World Cup in Ireland. She has also been selected to play for the Great Britain National U22 Team in the 2024 European Championship in Kunto, Poland, from August 5-10.
Softball, which was excluded from the International Olympic Committee in the 2012 and 2016 Games but reinstated for the 2020 Games, will not be included in the Paris Olympics in July. However, it will return in 2028, giving Langan the opportunity to represent Great Britain on the world’s largest athletic stage.
“Our coaching staff has started to look at the four-year trajectory of our team,” Langan said. “From this point forward, every win and loss during our international competition will be linked to our international team ranking.”
The international team ranking is crucial, as only the top eight teams are selected to participate in the Olympics.
“This means I have the potential to represent Great Britain and compete in the Olympics,” Langan said. “That is amazing.”
“I am truly so thankful for this opportunity to represent my Scottish heritage by playing for Great Britain. It is such a surreal feeling to put on the jersey with ‘Great Britain’ written across my chest. When I step back and recognize that I am representing a region with thousands of years of deep history and culture, I am so honored. It has been amazing to meet and compete against some of the biggest names in our sport, and athletes I have been admiring for years.”
One of Langan’s Great Britain teammates is Georgina Corrick, one of the nation’s best collegiate pitchers at USF from 2018-22. Corrick was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year, the Softball America Pitcher of the Year, and was a First Team All-American in her senior season. She is a recent inductee into the Great Britain Softball Hall of Fame.
“I have learned so much already in this experience, both from the coaching staff and from Georgina,” Langan said. “I have been lucky to work alongside her and learn from her. Playing with her and other current high-level softball players has taught me so much about the game. I am just overall so thankful for this experience.”
Head Coach McCall Salmon emphasized the significance of this opportunity for Langan. “What an incredible experience for Kenzie to participate with the Great Britain National Team,” said Salmon. “Talking about her experiences this summer, you can tell how much she has grown as a person and a player. These are memories that will last a lifetime, and our program is extremely proud of her. Kenzie has the opportunity to represent her heritage and our program on a national stage, and that is so exciting. We are Fired Up for Great Britain!”
