University of Wisconsin softball star Katie Keller brings in success and accolades as a new member of UW’s squad. 

The Wisconsin Badgers softball team began their season with a new leadoff hitter in 2023. Keller, a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois, has taken over the role and found success early on the offensive side of the ball. 

Despite Wisconsin’s offensive struggles, Keller was a bright spot for the squad over the team’s opening weekend in Mexico. Her biggest game of the weekend came against the No. 24 ranked Oregon Ducks. Keller went 3-for-4 with three singles, including one to begin the game. 

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She hit .333 on the weekend as a whole, earning her a Puerto Vallarta All-Tournament Team award. Keller was the lone Badger on offense who earned recognition for her efforts in the first weekend, joining freshman pitcher Paytn Monticelli who also was named to the All-Tournament Team. 

This success at the plate wasn’t an anomaly that only occurred one weekend though.

As mentioned previously, Keller is a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois. At NIU, she was able to build up her resume for four seasons as a Huskie. 

The Illinois native came out firing in her freshman season. She hit .427 and was top 10 in seven offensive categories within the Mid-American Conference. She also started 46 out of 47 games for the Huskies. With that effort, she was named to the first-team All-MAC squad. 

Keller was still able to find success in 2020 despite the season being cancelled due to COVID-19. Limited to 22 games, the lefty finished with a .394 batting average and a .491 OBP, reaching base in almost half of her plate appearances. 

In getting back to a normal routine post-COVID, the 2021 and 2022 seasons allowed Keller to get back to her dominant performances. Her offensive numbers were nearly identical between the two seasons for Northern Illinois — she hit .422 and .433 in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Her OBP was the same over the two seasons, sitting at an impressive .521. 

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Those gaudy numbers garnered national recognition outside of the MAC, where she earned her second and third First Team All-MAC nominations. In addition to that, Keller got herself the 2021 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team and Second Team in 2022. 

To add to the trophy case, Keller earned the 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-American first team, recognizing her for her academic efforts as well as her play.

While her offense has done most of the talking in her career, her defensive play has turned her into a complete player. For Northern Illinois, she played a mix of catcher, infield and outfield. Mostly, she worked behind the dish for the Huskies. For the Badgers, she has taken over the first base position in the early portion of her season.

Keller looks to continue to be an offensive spark plug for head coach Yvette Healy and the Badgers in the leadoff spot and at first base. She takes the field with Wisconsin this weekend, and the Badgers travel down to Boca Raton, Florida to take on Florida Atlantic University, Boston College, University of North Carolina and Villanova University.