JUPITER GRAD SAVORS FSU’S CHAMPIONSHIP IN SOFTBALL
It didn’t take long for Kylee Hanson to reach the celebratory pile of Florida State softball players near the mound in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night following the final pitch of the 2018 Women’s College World Series.
The No. 6 Seminoles had just won their first national championship with a sweep of No. 5 Washington, and Hanson — a Jupiter High School graduate — wanted to bask in the moment with her teammates.
“Winning a national title is something everyone dreams of, but only a few accomplish,” Hanson said. “It’s what 250plus teams practice for, but one team gets. It’s just so amazing.”
Even now, a week after clinching the title, Hanson finds it difficult to believe the Seminoles (58-12) are national champions.
“It is truly unreal,” she said. “It still hasn’t sunk in or even seemed real to me yet. I was watching TV and they said FSU softball are the national champions, and I was like, ‘Hey! That’s us!’”
Hanson, the Palm Beach Post’s 2013 All-Area Player of the Year, arrived at FSU this season after spending the previous four years at Florida Atlantic.
She was dominant on the mound for the Owls, recording three no-hitters and leading the nation with a 0.76 ERA in 2016.
But she missed most of the 2017 season because of an ankle injury and decided to finish out her playing career in Tallahassee.
“The education at FSU, they had the program I am in and FAU did not,” said Hanson, who graduated from the Boca Raton school last summer and is pursuing a Master’s degree in public health at FSU.
“But the chance to make a run in the postseason and go to the World Series was a huge factor in my decision. Like I said before, the WCWS is a dream for most college softball players.”
As one of two starters for Florida State this season — junior Meghan King was the other — Hanson was dominant on the mound, compiling a 30-6 record with a 1.33 ERA and 241 strikeouts.
Last month she was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Pitcher of the Year, and she also was one of five Seminoles who earned All-ACC first team honors.
She helped carry Florida State through the postseason and into the final championship series with Washington, but she did not pitch in either of the Seminoles’ two games against the Huskies, as FSU coach Lonni Alameda opted to go with King (26-6, 1.17 ERA).
Hanson was completely supportive of the decision, though she admits she would have loved to have had the ball in her hands.
“I am a competitor, so for me to tell you I didn’t want the ball in the championship series would be a lie,” she said. “But, Meghan was the perfect matchup for Washington and most teams in the WCWS.
“She got hot throughout the postseason and didn’t let up at all. I’m glad she was on my team and that we didn’t have to face her. I lived out my dream.”
Hanson’s college playing days are over, but her softball and academic careers will continue.
She is committed to pursuing her Master’s, and she also has signed with the Scrap Yard Dawgs, a professional women’s fastpitch team near Houston.