Kendall Kates Joins Softball Program for 2020-21

East Lansing, Mich. - Head coach Jacquie Joseph has announced that Kendall Kates (San Diego, Calif.) will enroll at Michigan State University for the 2020-21 academic year and join the softball program.

"We're excited that Kendall wanted to become a Spartan and continue her education here at Michigan State," said Joseph. "She was on course to have a very, very productive sophomore season at Palomar College before the year was cut short. She has the experience of playing for a championship her freshman season at Palomar, and can help bring a championship mentality to our locker room. We're projected to have a robust roster of 22 next year which will create a very competitive environment that we're excited about."

The Spartans will lose just one 2020 graduate from the current team and will return 16 letterwinners for the 2021 season. Kates will join five other newcomers to the program this fall – a recruiting class that came in at No. 33 on the Flo Softball ranking of recruiting classes. MSU will also welcome Alexis Barroso (Monrovia, Calif.), Zaquai Dumas (Atlanta, Ga.), Ashley Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Marissa Trivelpiece (Sugarloaf, Pa.), and Jala Wright (Charlotte, NC).

Kendall Kates
Catcher       5-7     R/R       San Diego, Calif. / Mt. Carmel

SOPHOMORE (2020, at Palomar College):  Team was in first place in the conference standings (16-3 overall, 4-0 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) and was ranked sixth in the state when the season was suspended due to Covid-19 Kendall Kates

… Appeared in 19 games, where she hit .448 overall with 12 RBI, 10 walks, and just two strikeouts in 70 plate appearances … Owned a .707 slugging percentage and .595 OBP in those 19 games, where she had three doubles, three triples and a pair of homers …

FRESHMAN (2019, at Palomar College): Helped the Comets to a 41-7 record and CCCAA State Runner-Up finish, winning the PCAC title … NFCA California Community College All-American … Earned First Team All-PCAC honors and was a second team All-State honoree … Hit .382 on the season (.430 OBP, .551 slugging percentage in 46 games … Smacked 12 doubles, a triple , added three homers and 35 RBI.

CLUB: Played club ball for the SoCal Breakers and coach Brant Beddow … Appeared in the Invite-only IDT All-Star Game in both 2017 and 2018 … Participated in the 2017 OnDeck Softball West Coast Elite Camp in November 2018 and also in the June Jamboree in 2017 … Finished ninth at the 2017 PGF Nationals Premier, and the team also took second place at TCS SoCal's Finest the same summer…

HIGH SCHOOL: Four-year letterwinner and starter at Mount Carmel High School … As a senior in 2018, Earned Palomar League First Team All-Conference honors and was her team's Defensive Player of the Year … Helped lead her team to a fifth-place finish in the San Diego CIF Playoffs as a junior and a senior … Was a 2018 and 2017 San Diego Union-Tribune All-Academic Team Member … Led her team in homers as a junior … Honorable Mention All-Palomar League as a freshman … Honor Roll Student all four years …

PERSONAL: Daughter of Bob and Desiree Kates … Has one sister, Kylie … Planned Kinesiology major at MSU, with plans on obtaining a nursing degree.

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