Elizabeth Kay is the MVC Player of the Year, while Laura Canopy, Jhavon Hamilton, Taylor Baxter, Nichelle Harrison and Lauren Kellar are All-Valley selections
The Redbirds and Bears split a doubleheader, April 6. ISU won game one, 1-0, before dropping game two, 7-4.
2012: All-Missouri Valley Conference Second Team honoree...State Farm MVC Softball Championship All-Tournament Team selection...MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention...started all 60 games in the outfield...ranked fourth on the team with a .298 batting average...led the squad with three triples, eight sacrifice bunts and 12 stolen bases...tallied seven doubles, three home runs, 34 runs and 10 RBI...posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and led all ISU outfielders with seven assists...led all Redbirds with an 18-game on-base streak...hit a home run in the first at bat of the season vs. Maine (Feb. 10)...finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and a double at Missouri State (Mar. 16)...hit a game-winning, two-run homer vs. Wichita State (Mar. 24)...drew a career-high three walks vs. Evansville (Apr. 7)...went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored in the State Farm MVC Softball Championship title game at Southern Illinois (May 12).
2011: One of just three Redbirds to start all 55 games...hit .296 with six doubles, six triples and four homers...ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference and led the team with her six triples and led ISU with 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts...ranked third on the team with 50 hits and 37 runs scored...delivered a game-winning grand slam vs. Longwood at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. (Mar. 6)...finished 2-for-5 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and a pair of RBI at Creighton (May 8)...committed just one error in the outfield and finished the season with a .969 fielding percentage.
2010: Played in 41 games and started 34 during her freshman season ... held a batting average of .239 ... with 22 hits and 18 runs ... hit four doubles and two home runs ... drove in 15 Redbird runs ... recorded 19 putouts and two assists.
Ridgeview HS: Played summer softball for the BNGSA Avanti's Angels, along with teammate Nichelle Harrison... a three-sport athlete in high school who currently competed in softball, basketball and volleyball ... a four-time first-team All-Heart of Illinois Conference selection ... selected second-team all-state as a sophomore in 2007, second-team all-area as a junior in 2008 and first team all-area as a senior in 2009 ... her high school team was the regular-season Heart of Illinois Conference champion in 2008 and won the conference tournament in 2007 ... won three ASA Northern National Championships (2004, 2006, 2008) with the Avanti's Angels.
Personal: Born June 14, 1991 ... Parents: Rodney and Teri Kellar ... Siblings: Michael ... her father, Rodney, played tight end on the Illinois State football team from 1978-80, while her grandfather, Leon, also played football at Illinois State (1957-58)...her brother, Michael, played baseball at Nigara ... AFNI Honor Roll ... Major: early childhood education.
