The Little League Baseball World Series gets underway Wednesday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with young players from around the globe competing to bring glory back to their hometown.
Friends and family will flock to Williamsport to see the tournament, but one player will likely have more baseball and local Little League history among their family ranks to call upon than anyone else: Alabama’s Kinley Rasmus.
In fact, her closest competition for that title may be a teammate, who happens to be her cousin.
Kinley is the niece of former MLB center fielder Colby Rasmus, which is hardly a surprise given her performances in the Southeast Regional. She stood out as a two-way star for Phenix City; in addition to pitching a complete-game shutout in the regional final against Tennessee (she didn’t allow a run in nine total innings thrown across three games), she also went 6-for-8 with two RBIs and four walks during the tournament.
But her connection to Colby only scratches the surface of how deeply the roots of Kinley’s family tree intertwine with Phenix City Little League as well as professional baseball.
While the Rasmus baseball family tree has many branches, Colby is likely the best-known member of the clan. The veteran major league outfielder racked up 891 hits over a 10-season MLB career and was a star on the last Phenix City squad to make it to Williamsport in 1999. One of his teammates on that 1999 team: Kinley’s father, Cory, who went on to pitch in 84 major league games for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels.
It’s easy to guess who Kinley credits with teaching her how to throw her curveball. “My dad,” she said after her squad’s regional final win.
Cory is an assistant coach for the current Phenix City squad, which begs the natural question of who could possibly be outranking a former MLB hurler for the head coaching spot. Well, the answer is pretty simple: a third Rasmus brother, Case, who was too young for the 1999 squad but went on to play four seasons in minor league baseball. Case’s son Ryker, Kinley’s cousin, is also on the Phenix City roster.
“I just always hear my dad talking about [Williamsport] and how much fun he had, and I just want to do the same thing,” Kinley said.
Case and Cory’s success managing Phenix City this year is hardly a surprise, given their father (and Kinley’s grandfather) is Tony Rasmus, a former Angels draft pick who spent a couple of seasons in the minor leagues himself … and was the coach of that 1999 Phenix City team.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Kinley’s lineage is that her diamond-destined genes aren’t just coming from her father’s side of the family. Her mother, Jill, is a Southern Miss softball alum, and Jill’s brother, Jeff Mathis, is the longest-tenured major leaguer in Kinley’s family tree, playing for six organizations over his 17-year career as a catcher.
The 1999 Phenix City squad had two Rasmuses (or Rasmusi?), was coached by a Rasmus, and made it to the world championship series after winning the U.S. portion of the bracket.
The 2026 Phenix City team already ticks the first two boxes. Kinley and Ryker hope they can match (or surpass) their predecessor when their campaign begins Wednesday.
“It feels great [to advance to Williamsport],” she said. “I’m so excited!”
