After crushing his female opponents and even winning a girls’ state softball championship, a transgender athlete’s time at the top may be over.
Charlie Rothenberger, who now goes by “Marissa,” is a 6′ male athlete who dominated females in their sport for the better part of two years.
‘I never thought he was a boy.’
Rothenberger plays for Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota, and is a starting pitcher for the school’s girls’ fast-pitch team.
Earlier this year, Rothenberger dominated the state tournament and pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout in the final to win the state championship. The pitcher won all-tournament honors, but as of last week, those accolades may be coming to an end.
Rothenberger finished the season with a 12-1 record from the mound, with a staggering 0.74 earned runs average and a 0.65 WHIP, which refers to walks and hits given up per inning. This means Rothenberger allowed less than one run per game on average and allowed less than one runner on base per inning, on average.
Despite the impressive numbers, Rothenberger was snubbed by state athletic officials and has been left off the list of the 2025 All-State players, according to Fox News.
After making the prestigious list in 2024, the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association decided to omit the transgender player in 2025, possibly in response to federal lawsuits and backlash the state has received for allowing boys to play in girls’ sports.
The association told Fox News that selections are determined through a vote of member coaches after an athlete is nominated by his or her coach.
“The sports associations of the MSHSCA each conduct their own process for selecting athletes for recognition and awards. The methods vary from one sports association to another. However, most sports associations start with a nomination process. The final selections are usually determined by a vote of association members or made by a selection committee,” a statement to Fox News said.
The Minnesota State High School League, which governs state sports, has been under federal investigation for possible Title IX violations since February. The investigation into the possible violations has since been escalated by the Department of Education.
In June, a group of female athletes filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota, claiming they were forced to play against males.
RELATED: Boy who had birth certificate changed to ‘female’ now dominating girls’ softball
In May, an anonymous female softball player from Minnesota spoke to Reduxx and claimed that she played on the same team as Rothenberger in 2023. The girl said she felt foolish for not realizing Rothenberger’s real gender.
“I never thought he was a boy, but after finding out he was a boy and then looking back on a lot of things I wouldn’t have looked at before, [it] definitely shows he is a boy, and I felt dumb for missing the clues,” the girl recalled.
Rothenberger dominated girls in 2024, as well. With an ERA of just 0.40, he easily landed First Team All-State honors. While 2024 was a better season for the athlete, it is hard to imagine his 2025 numbers were not good enough to be included on this year’s list — especially after winning state — unless politics were involved.
As Blaze News previously reported, Rothenberger’s mother allegedly altered his birth certificate just after he turned 9 years old. Under state law, most changes to birth certificates in Minnesota require labels indicating that information has been changed, but if a person acquires a court order to replace the birth record, “the original record will be sealed,” the state notes on its website
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Fearless, Women’s sports, Transgenderism, Softball, Minnesota, Title ix, Sports
