Former Towson U professor to referee
34-year-old Kathryn Nesbitt will be 1 of 6 women there
WASHINGTON — Kathryn Nesbitt had spent a decade balancing parallel careers in analytical chemistry and soccer officiating when, in 2019, she put her scientific brain to work and synthesized a solution for the most pragmatic path forward.
Two weeks before Nesbitt left for France to serve as an assistant referee at the Women’s World Cup, she stepped down from her assistant professor position at Towson University to focus on officiating full time. What data points informed that decision? She reached the pinnacle of women’s soccer refereeing that summer, and had broken into top-flight men’s soccer, as well, with dozens of MLS games under her belt. Knowing the 2026 men’s World Cup would be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Nesbitt mapped out a plan that would culminate in her manning the sidelines of the sport’s premier spectacle.
“I had no idea if they’d ever let women officiate at that World Cup, but I wanted to see if I could do that,” said Nesbitt, 34. “I realized at the time that in order to even attempt that, I would need to dedicate all of my time and effort into one job.”
Once Nesbitt shifted her focus to officiating, her ascent accelerated. In 2020, she claimed MLS assistant referee of the year honors and became the first woman to officiate an MLS Cup final. A few months later, Concacaf — the confederation that oversees North American, Central American and the Caribbean soccer — tasked her with men’s World Cup qualifying assignments. By the time FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, announced its pool of referees for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Philadelphia-based official thought she might have a shot.
On May 19, Nesbitt woke up, scrolled through Twitter and saw FIFA’s unveiling. The tournament, FIFA stated in its announcement, would feature the first
until May 21 because of a right tricep strain suffered just as major league spring training began out of the lockout. After a slow start, both he and the Orioles took off. Rutschman hit .254 with 13 home runs and an .806 OPS, while his 35 doubles broke Cal Ripken Jr.’s franchise rookie record. Despite his late arrival, his 5.3 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, led the Orioles and AL catchers and were tied for the most among rookies with Rodríguez, who was the third rookie to record 25 home runs and 25 steals in a season. Baltimore went 63-50 in games Rutschman played, going 20-29 otherwise, with that margin earning him Most Valuable Oriole honors.
On top of the change to Rutschman’s proximity to free agency — which assumes he is not demoted to the minors in that time — the additional service time also positions him to first reach arbitration after 2024. Those benchmarks, of course, could become moot if the Orioles and Rutschman come to a longterm contract agreement, as the Mariners have done with Rodríguez and the Atlanta Braves did with outfielder Michael Harris II and right-hander Spencer Strider, the top two finishers in National League voting. But
Monday’s announcement of the voting results provides clarity on his career timeline that previously would have been unavailable in any negotiations.
While Rutschman’s injury prevented him from becoming Baltimore’s first Rookie of the Year since Gregg Olson in 1989 and kept the Orioles from securing bonus draft picks by having him on their opening day roster, the club could make up for it in 2023. The Orioles’ second-round pick behind Rutschman in 2019 and his successor as the team’s top prospect, infielder Gunnar Henderson was kept in the minors late enough into the season to retain rookie eligibility entering 2023, meaning he could help net extra selections. Elias also said last month there’s a “very high likelihood” right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, the sport’s top pitching prospect, breaks camp in the Orioles’ rotation, with a right lat muscle strain keeping him from making his debut in 2022. Rodriguez would add to a growing core of youth in Baltimore, joining Rutschman, Henderson, left-hander DL Hall, outfielder Kyle Stowers and others.
But Rutschman is the centerpiece of that group, just as he has been since Elias chose him first overall out of Oregon State in 2019. Although Monday’s results officially decreased the Orioles’ years of team control, they also reinforced how bright the team and Rutschman’s combined future seems to be.