BLACKSBURG, VA. — Buford High School alum Kelsey Bennett has a successful softball career both in high school and at Virginia Tech. Bennett has accumulated numerous awards over the course of her career.
Bennett helped the Buford Wolves softball team to win three state championship titles under head coach Tony Wolfe. She was named the 2018 Gwinnett County Player of the Year and the 2018 GHSA AAAAA Player of the Year. Bennett was recruited early in her high school career and she committed to playing for the Virginia Tech Hokies in 2014.
Since playing at Virginia Tech, Bennett has been a starting midfielder in every game in 2019 and 2020. Bennett has been a key player for the Hokies with her fielding skills being utilized at third or shortstop and her batting average has been consistently hot.
Her latest award came at the annual Virginia Tech end of the year awards show called The Gobblers. The sixth annual Gobbler Awards was held virtually this year on Monday, May 4. Bennett was voted the Female Rookie of the Year. Bennett won this award for her outstanding freshman season where she set the Virginia Tech freshman record in home runs with 14, slugging percentage of .725, and 116 total bases. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, and the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Rookie of the Year. Bennett received VaSID First-Team All-State honors, First-Team All-ACC honors, and ACC All-Freshman Team honors.
Her 2020 season was shaping up to be another stellar year with her being named Preseason All-ACC and receiving numerous nods in preseason rankings. About halfway through the season, all college, high school, and other sporting leagues had their seasons canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bennett ended the shortened season with a slugging percentage of .794 and had seven home runs. No doubt more accolades and accomplishments are to come from Bennett in the future.
