The CT Softball Blog

DARIEN—Vivian Knott, a five-star pitching recruit from Darien High School, was wooed by some of the best college softball programs in the country.

In the end, however, one of the best academic institutions in the country, with a strong softball pedigree, as well, won Knott’s heart.

Last week, Knott, a junior, verbally committed to take her softball and academic talents to Stanford University starting in the fall of 2027.

“I’m just super excited,” Knott said. “I’m super grateful because Stanford is just an amazing school, and as soon as I went on my visit there, I just kind of knew that that’s where I wanted to go.”

Knott is the No. 7-ranked softball player in the country from the Class of 2027, according to Softball America. She’s also the top-ranked left-handed pitcher in her class.

Such lofty rankings put her on the radar of some of the best schools in the country, including the University of Oklahoma, Georgia and UCLA, all of which offered scholarships to the 6-foot-2 tall hard-thrower.

Stanford felt different, though, the moment Knott stepped foot on the pristine Palo Alto campus.

“I’d say probably it was a mix of things,” she said. “When I was looking at schools, I was looking for a good balance between academics and athletics. As soon as I went to Stanford, I just kind of knew that that’s where I wanted to go. I just really wanted the opportunity to get a world-class education and play softball at the highest level.

“Everything’s just unbelievable and I’m just super excited that I get the opportunity to continue my academic and athletic journey in such an amazing place because I just kind of knew that that’s where I wanted to go,” she added.

Knott had visited Stanford twice for camps and also made her official visit to the school before making her decision official.

The decision to pick Stanford also ended a recruiting process that was both exhilarating and pressure-filled for the 16-year-old.

“I’d say it was pretty exciting, but it could also be overwhelming at times just because I only started in the travel ball scene,” Knott said. “I feel like it all just happened so fast. It’s just kind of unbelievable that I’m where I am today.”

Growing up in a lacrosse-mad town like Darien, what’s shocking is how that sport let such a special athlete get away.

Knott, however, was never drawn to the sport of lacrosse as much as she was softball.

“I was actually never interested in lacrosse,” she admitted. “I’ve never even played lacrosse before, which is pretty surprising being from Darien.”

She played softball because her friends did and those friendships remain a stabilizing force in Knott’s life even today.

“I just started playing, I think, because a lot of my friends did,” Knott explained. “A lot of the girls who lived around me started playing softball, so I just kind of wanted to do that.”

Knott was 8 years old when she started the sport and, one year later, she stepped into the circle after entering a pitching competition on a whim.

“There was an all-star competition in my town and one of the skills was pitching,” she said. “So that was the first time I’d ever tried pitching, and I actually won the competition, so I was like, maybe I’m good at this, maybe I should continue doing this, see how good I am. I started pitching from that. I think I just loved it because I was good at it and I just thought it was super fun. As soon as I started, I just fell in love with it.”

She played for the Darien Diamonds, a town travel team, and made the jump to the CT Angels organization for two seasons, as well.

The move that truly changed Knott’s softball career, however, was making the jump to the Empire State Huskies as a 14U player.

“I was going into my freshman year of high school and I kind of decided that I wanted to play softball at a higher level,” she said. “I wanted to see how far I could take it.”

The family started looking at some of the bigger regional programs, including the CT Lightning and CT Impact.

She attended a tryout with the Huskies with a Darien teammate, but Knott’s mother expected her to daughter to pass on that opportunity because of the travel distance involved.

“It was super far away compared to all the other ones, like an hour and a half from my house,” Knott said. “My mom was actually like ‘You’ll never play here. It’s so far away. Just go have fun.’ I just went and I knew I wanted to play for them. I just loved the environment. I came out of the tryout and I knew I wanted to play for them.”

From there, Knott’s career truly took off and colleges started noticing.

“There was a transition,” Darien High coach Nick Demaio said. “I saw her that summer, and Vivian was always one of the top players, but in about a period of two or three months, I think she grew about a foot and softball had become something different to her. It wasn’t just a sport she played. She just made up her mind that she was going to conquer this sport and she had the physical abilities to do it.”

While college coaches started noticing, so too did the FCIAC as Darien High became an instant FCIAC contender again after not winning a title since 2017.

“She’s devastating, especially as a lefty,” said Fairfield Ludlowe coach Adam Laliberte. “I think the most impressive thing about her is how she gets stronger as the game goes on. She’s better in the 7th inning, or beyond, than in the first, which is almost unbelievable.”

The season before Knott put on a Blue Wave uniform, Darien was 5-15.

The Blue Wave won 16 games her first season and won 17 games last season, advancing all the way to the FCIAC championship game where Darien fell in a legendary 14-inning title tilt, 2-1, to St. Joseph.

“Vivian is a tough competitor, and as we battled her last year in the championship , she can keep you off the scoreboard for many innings,” St. Joe’s coach Jeff Babineau said. “She will continue to get better and should do very well at the next level for sure. Her upside potential is definitely there, Stanford is getting a real good one.”

In that contest, Knott pitched all 14 innings, striking out 23 while throwing 198 pitches.

“I was just super proud of our team because I think we came so far from the beginning of the year to the end of the year,” Knott said. “Our hitting got better, our team culture got better. We just got a lot closer.”

Coming out of the game, with Knott missing the state tournament due to tendonitis, a lot of rumors were circulating about Knott’s future in Darien, including talk that she would not be returning to the Blue Wave.

That rumor was simply false, Knott confirmed.

Plus, even more importantly, her friends are still playing.

“Absolutely. It’s amazing,” Knott said. “I mean I’ve played softball with these girls since I started playing and it’s all been just so amazing.”

With every passing year, Knott has gotten better in the circle and Demaio feels her best days still lay ahead of her.

“The difference, why she was so sought after by the college coaches, is they take a look at her physically and think about what she’s going to be capable of,” Demaio said. “She generates a lot of power of the rubber. That’s what sets her apart from other pitchers. As good as she is, I think she’s going to get considerably better. I don’t think Viv is near her peak yet.”

That’s scary news for Darien opponents in the FCIAC and, possibly, for future opponents at the collegiate level, as well.