Kelsey Stewart reacts to one her big hits for Team USA, the kind of moment she grew accustomed to in her star-studded four seasons at Florida.
Gators In Olympic Games: Kelsey Stewart
Thursday, July 15, 2021 | General, Softball, Chris Harry, Olympics
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — From her time as a young child, Kelsey Stewart not only dreamed of being an Olympian, she planned on it. She was an elite youth athlete, a superstar, and had no doubt she would one day compete on the biggest international stage representing the United States.
In gymnastics.
Yeah, that's right.
Stewart played them all as a kid growing up in Wichita, Kan., and excelled in volleyball, basketball and gymnastics. How good was she with flips and tumbles? Stewart was named to the All America United Cheerleaders Association in 2011.
Of course, all these activities were coinciding with her time as the No. 2 overall national prospect on the softball diamond, her eventual arena of choice. Stewart picked Florida over Alabama, arrived in the fall of 2012 and embarked on a fabulous career as a lead-off hitter and elite second baseman — not to mention the 2015 SEC Player of the Year — on her way to helping the Gators win back-to-back Women's College World Series titles in 2014 and '15.
Helping fuel that run to consecutive crowns was Stewart's famous three-run homer in the '14 Super Regional against Washington. The blast came with UF leading 1-0 in the fourth inning of the decisive Game 3 at Pressly Stadium, and came just as a wicked lightening strike lit up the Gainesville sky (with Stewart dancing around the basepaths) and prompted a weather delay of nearly three hours.
Eventually, Florida finished off an 8-0 victory that started a six-run winning streak and ended with a two-game sweep of Alabama in the WCWS title series. The first of two in a row.
Hers, you might say, was a career worth flipping over.
Kelsey Stewart's career average of .391 ranks second in program history.
Kelsey Stewart
AT A GLANCE
SPORT: Softball
HOW SHE QUALIFIED: Stewart was invited to Team USA tryout in January of 2016, her senior year, and was selected to the squad in what was a non-Olympic year. When softball was reintroduced to the Olympics slate, Team USA reconfigured its roster in 2019 and brought in some older, veteran players, but Stewart's place on the team stuck. She's made playing with the squad the last five years.
TOKYO SCHEDULE: July 21 — Tournament play begins. July 27 — Gold medal game at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.
UF CAREER: Two-time first-team All-American and 2015 SEC Player of the Year, Stewart hit .391 for her career (No. 2 in program history), with her .438 average in '14 the second-highest by a Gator. When she left UF after the '16 season, she ranked No. 1 all-time in seven categories, including average, hits, total bases and stolen bases. And, of course, with a couple national championships.
NEED TO KNOW: Stewart's favorite non-softball sport isn't volleyball or basketball or gymnastics. It's snowboarding.
QUOTE OF NOTE: "She puts pressure on the defense when she's at bat and puts even more on when she gets on base. Realistically, as she goes, we go. The energy Kelsey Stewart provides is priceless. She powers us. She drives us." -- UF softball coach Tim Walton, speaking about Stewart in the days leading into the 2014 WCWS.
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