Who is Kinley Rasmus? Meet the Phenix City girl starring at Little League World Series

Viewers across the world cannot get enough of Phenix City Little League sensation Kinley Rasmus. The 12-year-old has been dominant this summer en route to helping her team clinch a Southeast Regional title and a top-six finish, at minimum, in the United States at the Little League World Series. Her all-around play and general demeanor has made her a viral star that will not soon fade.

It didn't take long for her parents Cory, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and member of the famed Rasmus baseball family that won the U.S. title at the 1999 LLWS, and Jill, a former Division I softball player at Southern Mississippi whose brother, Jeff, was an MLB catcher, to realize that Kinley was talented.

"It's our daughter, so we always probably have looked at her maybe even a little as better than she might have been," Cory said. "But at the same time, we love her, we pull for her, and she's found a way. Even at 5 and 6 years old, she played, and she's always been this even-keeled kid that really isn't afraid of the moment. So for her to continue to keep getting better and keep performing in big moments, it almost seems like nothing bothers her. It's crazy to watch, but obviously we're super proud."

Kinley is one of 25 girls to have played in the 79-year history of the LLWS. The eight strikeouts she threw in Phenix City's opening LLWS game tied the record for most by a girl. Her total of 14 strikeouts thrown so far also ties the tournament record for a girl. She is just the fifth gir l to notch multiple hits in the LLWS — and the first to produce an extra-base hit . And she has made sparkling defensive plays in the field.

But don't get it twisted. Kinley isn't just good at baseball for a girl. Kinley has proven to be one of the very best 12U baseball players in all of America.

After her dramatic, terrific performance on the mound Monday night in the team's come-from-behind win against Pennsylvania, 6-5, Rasmus has thrown 26 ⅔ innings this summer and allowed just three earned runs, good for an ERA of 0.70. She has walked just three batters. Three walks in 26 ⅔ innings would be elite at any level of baseball. It's simply unheard of for a 12-year-old to do it.

After she fired a shutout in the team's Southeast Regional final win over Nolensville, Tennessee, two weeks ago, buzz about Rasmus started to build in the Little League World Series. Then she threw six shutout, one-hit innings against Northwest in an eventual extra-inning loss after she left the game due to pitch count regulations. A two-hit performance, including a double off the left-field wall and some slick defensive plays followed against the West representative, Sweetwater Valley Little League out of Bonita California, on Saturday.

Her stardom reached a higher level with Monday's virtuoso performance. Coming in to pitch with her team down 5-0 with one out in the third inning, she fired 4 ⅔ innings of shutout ball, made two terrific defensive plays and drove in the tying run to help Phenix City stave off elimination against East Side Little League from West Chester. Pennsylvania.

She has been handling that newfound fame with an ease that shows maturity far beyond her age. If Kinley signed every autograph, did every interview and took every picture that people wanted at the Little League World Series Complex, she would be doing nothing else during her LLWS experience. But she has tried to do as much as she can without letting her play suffer on the field.

"I've enjoyed every single second of this whole opportunity," Kinley said. "I'm so grateful that I get to be in this position because I know many are wishing to be here, and I'm just so grateful to be here."

Jill has been handling a lot of the media requests that come in, which are well into the dozens at this point.

"We definitely didn't know what to expect coming in," Jill said. "You know, like she said, definitely grateful to be here. It's a cool opportunity, but also, as her parents, just to try to know when to draw the line or when she's had enough. But at the same time, a lot of little kids are looking up to her, and I try to push her to do things out of her comfort zone.

"I think it's good for her to get out and talk to people and do these interviews, even though she may not want to.I feel like I know when enough is enough. I can tell when she's tired or gets tired of it, and I feel like we can kind of draw the line and do which ones are best or whatever."

Kinley doesn't just excel on the baseball diamond. In fact, this Little League World Series is likely the last baseball tournament she will ever play in. She has been splitting time with softball for years now and projects to be one of, if not the best, recruits in the class of 2032. And she will be the starting quarterback for the top-in-the-nation Central-Phenix City High School flag football team this fall, when she gets back from Williamsport, that is.

She is undecided on which sport she wants to play in college, but she will have no shortage of suitors.

Kinley's trademark hair bow has become a trending topic, with Phenix City fans chanting, "Fear the bow" and plenty of signs featuring the phrase at Lamade Stadium. They even had "fear the bow" pins made, and those have been treated with the scarcity of a Van Gogh painting in Williamsport this week. That bow isn't going anywhere, according to Kinley.

"I've always wore a bow since I was a little girl," Kinley said.. "Me and my sister, we always used to match with our big bows in our head, and it has become something I had to wear every game for good luck. I think I am gonna continue to wear it every single thing that I do, sports-wise."

Cory, whose brother Colby also is a former Major Leaguer and played on that 1999 Phenix City team that won the LLWS U.S. championship (another Rasmus brother, Case, is the manager of this year's Phenix City team) gave Kinley some advice before they made the trip to Williamsport.

"I told her coming up here, because she had a pretty good little regional tournament, 'Look, this is going to be a good opportunity for you to get out and showcase your personality, just you,'" Cory recalled. "I said, 'You're an awesome kid, but a lot of times you get nervous and scared and timid. Don't be timid. Be you.'

"So I'm proud of her for kind of getting out of her shell a little bit. She tends to gravitate toward her comfort zone, and her comfort zone is kind of like in the shadows. But I told her, 'This is something now. You've done well. People want to talk to you. People want to meet you. People want to get pictures with you and autographs and things from you.'

"So I said, 'Get out there, talk to people. And now, at the end of the day, you'll develop a little extra confidence. You'll see that people will really love you for you, not anything fake, for just being yourself. People will love you because you're a great kid."