Kristen Kelley is a gifted two-sports athlete, but basketball was a passion that stood above the rest.
Sept. 4, the Amherst forward made her commitment to play Division I college basketball at Merrimack.
The 6-foot-1 two-sport All-Ohioan made her announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
— kristen (@kristen51917634) September 5, 2023
“(Committing to Merrimack College) is super exciting. It is a long and tedious process, but it was definitely worth it. I found a place that I really love. I always wanted to go (Division I),” she said.
Merrimack is located in North Andover, Mass. It is a D-I school in the Northeast Conference. Last year, the Warriors went 15-16 (10-6 in NEC).
Even though Merrimack is far away, the coaching staff has ties to Lorain County and Northeast Ohio. Head coach Kelly Marron was a former coach at John Carroll. Assistant Emily Taylor also coached at John Carroll and played at Elyria Catholic. Taylor was familiar with the Kelley family before her recruitment.
“Being so far away from home, they are going to be like my second parents, when I need them,” she said. “That is something that I am looking forward to, which is a coaching staff that really cares about me, not only for basketball, but personally. That is exactly what I saw in them.”
Sports run deep in the Kelley family. She is the youngest, with three older athletic brothers. Her father is former three-sport All-Ohioan Chris Kelley, who played at Lorain Catholic.
Chris Kelley and his wife Jill were very supportive of her athletics that would often overlap between AAU at MAC Basketball and travel softball, along with high school play. She was very grateful of their support to her dreams.
“(Our household) was definitely a competitive place,” Kelley said. “They definitely pushed me to my limits, even though I was a little girl, but it was a ton of fun all the time. My parents were super supportive. Whatever decision I made, they are completely OK with that. They let me pick the college that I fell in love with. They let me pick the sports that I wanted to play. I feel like that was really helpful that I got to pick what I love and go down my own path.”
Amherst will have Kelley for one more year in basketball and softball. She’s been hard at work to better herself in the offseason and is excited to make the most of her senior year in both sports.
Amherst basketball under John Rositano went 11-12 last year (5-9 in Southwestern Conference). Kelley averaged 14 points per game and will return alongside several seniors in the lineup.
