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Kelly Barnhill (softball)

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Kelly Barnhill
Pitcher
Born: (1997-03-31) March 31, 1997 (age 28)
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
NPF debut
June 8, 2019, for the Chicago Bandits
Last Italian Softball League appearance
2024, for the Softball Forlì [it]
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's softball
Representing  United States
WBSC Women's Softball World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2016 Surrey Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Chiba Team
World Cup of Softball
Gold medal – first place 2015 Irvine Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Oklahoma City Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Oklahoma City Team
WBSC Junior Women's Softball World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Oklahoma City Team

Kelly Katlyn Barnhill (born March 31, 1997)[1] is an American attainable housing organization executive and former professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019, earning All-American honors during her tenure with the team. In 2017, she was widely recognized as the top player in collegiate softball, being named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and espnW Player of the Year, as well as winning the Honda Sports Award. Additionally, she won an ESPY Award for Best Female College Athlete. Barnhill ranks as the Gators' career leader in no hitters, strikeouts, strikeout ratio, and WHIP.[2]

Barnhill was selected first overall by the Chicago Bandits in the 2019 NPF Draft. Barnhill has also played softball for Team USA, which qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early life and high school

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Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, Barnhill tried out many sports in her youth, beginning with soccer.[3] She would eventually drop soccer in favor of softball, citing that there was "way too much running" in soccer.[3] She played travel ball with the EC Bullets Gold and attended Pope High School in Marietta, where she recorded 22 no-hitters and was a three-time school-wide MVP.[3][4] She led Pope to the 2014 class 6A state championship.[5] Barnhill considered attending Stanford University,[6] but committed to the University of Florida in October 2014, during her senior year of high school.[1][3]

Barnhill's high school softball play was nationally recognized—in 2015, she was named the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year and the USA Today Softball Player of the Year.[7] She was also named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and Louisville Slugger High School All-American. In 2013 and 2014, she was a candidate for the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year before being named in 2015.[5]

College career

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2016

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A 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) right-handed pitcher,[8] Barnhill played her freshman season for the Florida Gators in 2016. During the year, she was twice named the SEC Freshman of the Week.[7] She was named to the 2016 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll, as well as the 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team.[7] She finished her freshman season with a 15–1 record, as well as 167 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .140 in 108.1 innings pitched.[7]

2017

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In 2017, Barnhill led the NCAA in earned run average (ERA) and strikeouts per seven innings (0.51 and 13.0, respectively).[9] Those statistics were records among University of Florida pitchers; Barnhill set additional school records in lowest opponent batting average (.121), most combined shutouts (10), most strikeouts looking (100) and lowest stolen base percentage (.333).[9] She was named an All-SEC First Team player.[1] Heading into the SEC Tournament, the Gators were ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Barnhill was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year.[3] Florida was a No. 1 seed in the Women's College World Series (WCWS) and during their run, defeated Alabama 2–1 to advance to the final.[10] The Gators matched up against Oklahoma for the best-of-three championship series, losing the first game 5–7 in a 17-inning bout.[11] Florida was then swept by Oklahoma, losing the second game 4–5.[12] Barnhill was named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team.[13]

Her ERA during the season was noted by sports outlets, espnW commented in April that "the company she keeps in ERA at the moment is the context by which it is clear that she is the nation's best pitcher."[14] espnW later named her their Softball Player of the Year, describing her as "NCAA softball's most statistically dominant pitching presence in a decade."[15] She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top softball player.[16][17] She was also named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2017.[18] The NFCA named her a first-team All-American.[19] On July 12, 2017, she was awarded the ESPY Award for Best Female College Athlete, for the 2017 season.[20] She was the first player in Florida's softball program history to win an ESPY award.[9]

2018

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On February 25, 2018, Barnhill pitched her first perfect game in an 8–0 shutout win over Georgia Southern.[21] Barnhill was an academic honoree in 2018.[6] She was also named the NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year in softball.[6] Barnhill also earned her second All-SEC First Team and SEC Pitcher of the Year selections.[1] The Gators enjoyed team success as well, as they won the 2018 SEC softball tournament.[22] She was once again named a first-team All-American by the NFCA.[23]

2019

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Entering her senior year, Barnhill became a founding member of UF's Alpha Phi chapter.[6] Barnhill played her fourth and final season of collegiate softball in 2019.[24] On April 26, playing against Auburn, Barnhill recorded her 1,117th career strikeout, setting the UF record.[25] She was named to the All-SEC Second Team, as well as her third consecutive SEC Academic Honor Roll.[7] The NFCA named her a second-team All-American.[26]

The Gators defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide to win their second consecutive SEC tournament championship.[22] Barnhill was named the MVP of the tournament.[22] Her final collegiate game was also against Alabama, this time in the Women's College World Series.[27] The Gators suffered a 15–3 defeat to Alabama and the game marked one of Barnhill's shortest outings in her career.[28] At the end of her Gators softball career, she held school records in ERA (0.92), opponent batting average (.134), and strikeouts (1,208).[7][29] She finished her Gators career as the Florida program's career strikeouts leader.[30] She also finished her career ranked highly in career strikeouts and strikeout ratio among players in both the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and NCAA Division I.[31][32]

Professional career

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On April 16, 2019, the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league selected Barnhill first overall in the 2019 NPF Draft.[33] Her teammate at Florida, Amanda Lorenz, was selected directly after her by the USSSA Pride.[34] She made her debut on June 8, tossing 4.2 innings against the Cleveland Comets.[35] The Bandits finished with the best regular season record in the 2019 NPF season,[36] but went on to be swept by the Pride in the best-of-five championship series.[37] Barnhill finished her rookie season with a 4–0 record, a 2.43 ERA, and 52 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.[35]

Barnhill signed a one-year extension with the Bandits on February 10, 2020.[38] However, the league's 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the league folding in 2021.[39] In 2020, she participated in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball AUX league.[40] Barnhill made 11 appearances and 5 starts, finishing with a 3–1 win–loss record, 8.04 ERA, and 24 strikeouts.[35]

Barnhill later played professionally overseas. In 2020, she played for the Xinliwang Lions of the Taiwan Professional Women's Softball League (TPWSL), after the league became the first in the world to start their season following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[41] As an import player, Barnhill completed a 14-day quarantine.[42] In her debut with the Lions on May 25, she recorded 18 strikeouts, setting the league's single-game strikeout record.[42] In 2022, she played for the Howick Softball Club in New Zealand.[43] She again played in the TPWSL in 2023. She strongly considered retiring after her season in Taiwan, citing losing a love of softball.[44] However, she ultimately played one final season of professional softball in 2024, for Softball Forlì [it], a club in the Italian Women's Softball League [it].[45][46] She announced her retirement from professional softball on June 3, 2024.[44] She also played professionally in the Netherlands, Colombia, and Australia.[47]

National team career

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Barnhill represented Team USA on multiple occasions, beginning in 2015, when she was a member of the women's junior national softball team. That year she was a gold medalist at the 2015 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Junior Women's Softball World Championship.[1] During that competition, Barnhill led the U.S. pitching staff with a 6–0 record, 51 strikeouts and a 0.54 ERA in 26 innings pitched.[1] At the 2016 WBSC Women's Softball World Championship, Barnhill was a gold medalist, pitching four innings with four strikeouts and two hits allowed.[1] Barnhill again represented the women's national softball team during their second consecutive gold medal run in 2018.[6] During the competition, she pitched seven innings with eight strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA.[1]

Barnhil also represented USA Women's national softball team at World Cup of Softball competitions. She was a member of the team during three of their runs, winning a gold medal in 2015 and two silver medals in 2016 and 2017.[1]

Barnhill's national team experience also includes the Pan American Women's Softball Championship; in the competition's 2017 final, Barnhill pitched a no-hitter as the U.S. defeated Mexico 9–0.[48] Barnhill later pitched for the Mexican national team in a 2020 exhibition game against Ole Miss.[49]

Outside of softball

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Barnhill studied public relations while at Florida,[50] and later attended the University of Oklahoma for graduate school studies.[51] After retiring from softball, Barnhill became the executive director for Housing and Workforce Collective Solutions (HAWCS), an attainable housing organization based in Athens, Georgia.[47]

Career statistics

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Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  GP  Games pitched  GS  Games started  CG  Complete games
 SHO  Shutouts  SV  Saves  IP  Innings pitched  H  Hits allowed  R  Runs allowed
 ER  Earned run  BB  Base on balls  SO  Strikeouts  ERA  Earned run average  WHIP  Walks plus hits per innings pitched

AUX

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Bold Denotes career high or best
Year W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
2020 3 1 11 5 – – – 27.0 34 33 31 20 24 8.04 –
Career 3 1 11 5 – – – 27.0 34 33 31 20 24 8.04 –
Statistics gathered from AUSL.[35]

College

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Bold Denotes career high or best
 *  Led Division I
Year Team W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
2016 Florida 15 1 27 24 7 6 1 108.1 52 24 21 55 167 1.36 0.99
2017 Florida 26 4 37 30 17 13 3 193.2 79 22 14 39 359 0.51* 0.61
2018 Florida 29 3 41 38 23 11 0 214.1 85 46 33 76 324 1.08 0.75
2019 Florida 34 14 52 45 29 14 3 287.0 150 70 66 81 358 1.61 0.80
Career 104 22 157 137 76 44 7 803.1 366 162 134 251 1,208 1.17 0.77
Statistics gathered from D1 Softball.[52]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kelly Barnhill". Team USA. Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "2019 Individual Career Records" (PDF). Florida Gators. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Lopresti, Mike (May 10, 2017). "College softball: Florida's Barnhill dominating on the field and off". NCAA. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  4. ^ McPherson, Jordan (2017). "Florida softball's Kelly Barnhill has Olympic aspirations, but she's after NCAA title now". SEC Country. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Kelly Barnhill - Softball". Florida Gators. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hays, Graham (February 7, 2019). "After thinking long and hard, ace Kelly Barnhill casts herself in underdog role at Florida". espnW. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "2019 Softball Roster: Kelly Barnhill". Florida Gators. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "Softball - Georgia". Gatorade. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "College softball: Florida's Kelly Barnhill receives ESPY Award for Best Female Collegiate Athlete". NCAA. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  10. ^ Hays, Graham (May 27, 2017). "With Kelly Barnhill in control, Gators nibble their way to WCWS with win over Alabama". ESPN. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "Oklahoma beats Florida in 17-inning marathon Game 1 of WCWS finals". Associated Press. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2025 – via ESPN.
  12. ^ Moore, Roger (June 6, 2017). "Oklahoma repeats as national champs with sweep of Florida". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  13. ^ Brooks, Herb (January 31, 2018). "Barnhill, Lorenz Land on "Watch List" for Softball's Most Prestigious Award". Florida Gators. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  14. ^ Hays, Graham (April 19, 2017). "Florida's Kelly Barnhill named espnW player of the week after outdoing even herself". espnW. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Hays, Graham (June 1, 2017). "Going above and beyond, Florida's Kelly Barnhill named espnW softball player of the year". espnW. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Barnhill of Florida Named Honda Sport Award winner for Softball". Collegiate Women Sports Awards. June 12, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Florida's Barnhill captures Honda Sports Award". secsports.com. SEC Network. June 12, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "Barnhill named USA Softball Player of the Year". secsports.com. SEC Network. June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  19. ^ "2017 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  20. ^ Wells, Adam (July 12, 2017). "ESPY 2017 Winners: Awards Results, Recap, Top Moments and Twitter Reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  21. ^ "Barnhill throws perfect game, Gators grab two shutouts". Southeastern Conference. February 25, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Brooks, Herb (May 12, 2019). "Back-to-Back SEC Tournament Champions". Florida Gators. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  23. ^ "2018 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  24. ^ @kkatlyn111 (June 6, 2019). "It's been one heck of a ride! The last four years have been an absolute dream. #alwaysagator" (Tweet). Retrieved September 29, 2019 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Brooks, Herb (April 26, 2019). "Barnhill Sets Career Strikeout Record in No-Hitter Against No. 19 Auburn". Florida Gators. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  26. ^ "2019 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  27. ^ Brunt, Cliff (June 2, 2019). "Florida's Barnhill gets show of respect from Alabama". Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  28. ^ Barnes, Katie (June 1, 2019). "WCWS 2019: Ignore the score, Kelly Barnhill went out a winner in Oklahoma City". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  29. ^ Barnes, Katie (June 1, 2019). "WCWS 2019: Ignore the score, Kelly Barnhill went out a winner in Oklahoma City". espnW. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  30. ^ "College softball - Vote for the best Women's College World Series team of all time". ESPN. June 3, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  31. ^ "SEC 2020 Softball Record Book" (PDF). espncdn.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  32. ^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  33. ^ Carrington, Adam (April 16, 2019). "Former Pope softball star Barnhill chosen first overall in pro draft". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  34. ^ Barnes, Katie (February 7, 2019). "Chicago Bandits make Florida's Kelly Barnhill top pick in NPF draft". espnW. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  35. ^ a b c d "Kelly Barnhill". Athletes Unlimited Softball League. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  36. ^ "Bandits Clinch Regular Season Title". National Pro Fastpitch. August 7, 2019. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  37. ^ Lombardo, Kayla (August 17, 2019). "USSSA Pride Capture Second Straight Cowles Cup". National Pro Fastpitch. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  38. ^ "Pitcher Kelly Barnhill Signs One-Year Agreement with Bandits". National Pro Fastpitch. February 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  39. ^ "Women's Professional Fastpitch players voice concerns over alleged breach of contract". The Gist. October 9, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  40. ^ "Kelly Barnhill". Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  41. ^ "Taiwan Professional Women's Softball League to open second half on 8 August". World Baseball Softball Confederation. August 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  42. ^ a b "Fans return to Taiwan Professional Women's Softball League as foreign players make their debut". World Baseball Softball Confederation. May 25, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  43. ^ "Pitching with the pros! Pitching instruction with Kelly Barnhill". Howick Softball Club. November 21, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2025 – via Facebook.
  44. ^ a b Barnhill, Katie [@kkatlyn111] (June 3, 2024). "Dear Softball" (Tweet). Retrieved June 5, 2025 – via Twitter.
  45. ^ "Roster 2024". Softball Forlì. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  46. ^ "Italian Softball League to open on 30 March". World Baseball Softball Confederation. March 28, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  47. ^ a b "Kelly Barnhill". Retrieved May 31, 2024 – via LinkedIn.
  48. ^ "USA wins Pan American Women's Softball Championship over Mexico, qualify for Chiba 2018". World Baseball Softball Confederation. August 14, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  49. ^ Johnson, David (February 15, 2020). "Ole Miss Softball tops Mexican National Team". 247Sports. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  50. ^ Clewis, William (July 3, 2018). "STUDENT: Softball Phenom Kelly Barnhill Touching All Bases". University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  51. ^ Barnhill, Kelly [@kkatlyn111] (June 8, 2023). "Congrats to OU Softball on the three-peat! And I'm technically an OU Grad (grad school) so Boomer Sooner😂" (Tweet). Retrieved May 31, 2024 – via Twitter.
  52. ^ "Kelly Barnhill". D1 Softball. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
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