Norfolk State University Athletics

2019 (Senior Year): A First-Team All-MEAC honoree … The only catcher in program history to earn All-MEAC status twice, and just the second to earn a first-team nod … Was also a Preseason All-MEAC First Team honoree … Voted to the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State 1^st Team … Named MEAC Player of the Week on Feb. 19 … Garnered a spot on the MEAC All-Tournament Team … Member of the AD’s Honor Roll in the spring … Competed in and started all 45 games on the year, starting every one behind the plate … Hit .340 on the year with 29 runs, 48 hits, four doubles, eight stolen bases, a .406 on-base percentage and team-leading totals of eight home runs, 38 RBI, 76 total bases and a .539 slugging percentage … Tied for the league lead in home runs and RBI while also ranking fourth in total bases and 12^th in batting average … Stood 56^th in the nation in toughest to strikeout (once every 20.1 at bats) and No. 117 in RBI per game (0.84) … Hit the sixth-most home runs in a season in NSU history, third in Division I history … Also ranked sixth in NSU D-I annals in RBI and eighth in total bases … Ended her career as the all-time leader in home runs at NSU with 29 … Also finished sixth in school history in total bases (254), eighth in doubles (27), 10^th in walks (60), 12^th in RBI (109), games played (170) and at bats (485), and 13^th in starts (169) … Batted .386 (32-of-83) with runners on base, including .355 (22-of-62) with runners in scoring position … Had 15 multi-hit games on the year as well as 12 games with at least two RBI … Had a solid series in a three-game sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore on March 30-31, hitting a combined 5-for-8 with four runs, five RBI and two walks to complete a seven-game hit streak … Batted 4-for-8 the weekend before against Morgan State on March 23-24 with four runs, four RBI and three walks … Drove in the only run with a fielder’s choice in the fifth in a 1-0 victory over North Carolina A&T on March 15 … In a game 1 win against the Aggies, hit a home run and went 1-for-3 with two runs and three RBI … The previous game, batted 2-for-3 with a run and three RBI in a win over Iona on March 10 … Hit 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI in a game 2 win over Coppin State on April 12, and followed that up with a home run as part of a 1-for-3 performance with a run and two RBI against the Eagles on April 14 … The next series, at Delaware State, batted 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI and a home run in game 1, followed by a 2-for-4 performance with a run scored in game 2 in a doubleheader sweep … Smacked a pair of home runs and hit 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI in game 2 against Howard on April 27 … Drove in three runs and went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double in a win over North Carolina Central on March 5 … Hit 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI in the next game on March 8 against Drexel … In back-to-back wins over Buffalo on March 1 and Delaware on March 2, batting 3-for-3 with a run and two RBI, followed by a 2-for-4 game with two runs and an RBI … Went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI against Robert Morris on Feb. 15 … Also had three hits in game 1 at Hampton on April 10 (3-for-5) and against Florida A&M on May 9 (3-for-3).
 
2018 (Junior Year): Named to the All-MEAC Second Team … Also a member of the VaSID All-State Second Team … Started all 50 games on the season, including 48 at catcher … Also started twice at DP … Member of the AD’s Honor Roll in the spring … Batted .355 on the season … Led the team with 33 runs, 55 hits, 15 doubles, 14 home runs, 44 RBI, 112 total bases and a .723 slugging percentage … Also had 16 walks with a .416 on-base percentage … Stood second in the MEAC in home runs and total bases, third in doubles and RBI, fourth in slugging, sixth in hits, eighth in batting average and runs, and 10^th in walks and on-base percentage … Also ranked 40^th in the nation in home runs per game (0.28), 45^th in slugging, 55^th in doubles per game (0.30), 85^th in RBI per game (0.88) and 86^th in total bases … Set the school record for homers in a season with 14, topping the previous school best of 12 set by Lekita Wilson in 1997 … In NSU Division I season records, ranked second in total bases, third in RBI and slugging, fourth in doubles, eighth in hits, 11^th in games played, 12^th in games started, and 14^th in at bats … Also finished third in NSU overall records in total bases, fourth in doubles and 14^th in hits … Needs one more home run to tie the NSU career record of 22 shared by three players … Also ranks 10^th in career doubles after three seasons with 23 … Hit .400 (22-of-55) with runners in scoring position on the year … Had 17 multi-hit games and 13 with two or more RBI, both tops on the team … Had her best game of the season on Feb. 23 in a win over South Carolina State, hitting a pair of home runs as part of a 3-for-3 day with two runs and six RBI … Became the seventh player in the school’s D-I history to have at least six RBI in a game … A week earlier on Feb. 17, hit 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI against S.C. State, and 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI versus Savannah State, hitting a double and home run in each of the wins … Batted 4-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and a pair of doubles in a win at Howard on April 15 … Batted 2-for-4, including a home run, with a run and three RBI the day before in a victory in game 2 of a doubleheader … Smacked a pair of doubles as part of a 3-for-3 game with two RBI on March 2 against Morehead State … A day later, batted 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI against host Winthrop … Had a double and home run while hitting 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI in a game 2 win over Coppin State on March 17 … The following week, hit 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI in a win at Delaware State on March 25 … On March 30, hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh as part of a 1-for-3 day with two runs and three RBI at Maryland Eastern Shore … Her homer down 4-3 helped the Spartans pull out a 6-4 victory … Had back-to-back strong games against Morgan State on March 6 and 8, batting 3-for-3 with a home run, one run scored and two RBI, followed by a 2-for-2 day with two walks, a run scored and an RBI … Also walked twice and hit 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI in a game 1 win at North Carolina A&T on March 7 … Two days later at Charleston, batted 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBI.
 
2017 (Sophomore Year): Started all 36 games at catcher … Hit .221 on the year in 86 at bats … Scored a team-high 17 runs and also tied for the team lead with four home runs … Had 19 hits, three doubles, 13 RBI and ranked second on the team with 17 walks … Stood ninth in the MEAC in walks … Held a .350 on-base percentage … Committed just one error on the season … Did plenty of damage during a four-game stretch from March 4-11, hitting 4-for-14 with nine RBI, six runs scored, a double, three home runs and three walks … Batted 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, a double and a home run at Campbell on March 4 … Went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run against Fairleigh Dickinson on March 10 … The next day, hit a three-run home run and went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI against the Knights … Started the year off with a bang, hitting 4-for-5 with three RBI, a run scored and two walks in a home doubleheader against Marist on Feb. 18 … Reached base in the first 15 games of the season from Feb. 18-March 25, the longest streak on the team during the year … Hit another double and scored a pair of runs in a win over Howard on April 15 … Belted a solo homer in game 1 of a doubleheader at Radford on March 29.
 
2016 (Freshman Year): Competed in 39 games and made 38 starts, all at catcher … Batted .175 with 18 runs, 18 hits, five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and 10 walks … Had three multi-hit games on the year … Batted 1-for-4 and drove in three runs thanks to a three-run homer in game 2 against George Washington on Feb. 27 … Walked twice and drove in three runs again on May 12 in a MEAC tournament victory over Morgan State … Had a double and home run while hitting 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in a game 2 win at UMES on April 21 … Hit a solo homer, her third of the year, in the next game at UMBC on April 27 … Scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth after leading off with a double in a 7-6 win over Hampton on April 30 … Hit two doubles in the game for her third multi-hit game of the year … Also went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI in a game 2 win at Howard on April 16 … Closed the year on a 10-for-33 stretch (.303).
 
High School: Competed on the softball team all four years at Granby … Batted .463 with five home runs her senior year … Earned second-team All-Coastal Conference 1 honors at catcher as a junior in 2014 … Led Granby to the Eastern District title in 2013, driving in two runs in the title game … Earned first-team All-Eastern District and first-team All-Eastern Region honors that year … Also named first-team all-district her freshman year in 2012 … Also played volleyball her first two years … Member of the National Business Honor Society.
 
Club: Competed with current NSU teammates Shelby DesChamps and Seana Moriarty on the AAU 18U Legends Elite Gold team that advanced to the national championship tournament in 2013 … Led that squad to the ASA Region 3 Gold Qualifer championship to advance to nationals … Competed for the Virginia Legacy Elite program for seven years altogether.
 
Personal: Full name is Kylee Nicole Lopez … Born on Nov. 15, 1996 … Daughter of Janet and Apolinar Lopez … Has two older brothers, Cruz and Devin … Majoring in sociology … Wants to become an ESPN analyst … Enjoys going to the beach, shopping and writing.