Wells dominated on the court, field as three-sport athlete

When college coaches from three different sports are asking about the same high school athlete, it is evident that the player is not only versatile but also highly skilled in those sports.

Such is the case with Kelsi Wells, who is this year’s female Athlete of the Year selected by the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin.

“I’ve had several college coaches ask me if Kelsi can play volleyball and basketball at their school or can she play softball and basketball,” said Grantsville volleyball and softball coach Heidi Heath. “I tell them she can, but she wants to focus on basketball.”

Wells has received a full-ride basketball scholarship to play at Snow College in Ephraim.

The Grantsville athlete was superb for four years in volleyball, basketball and softball.

“She never settles for anything than the best in any sport she plays. Sometimes you have players who just want to be the best in their class, but even as a freshman Kelsi wanted to be the best player on the team in all the sports,” Heath said. “There never was a day in practice when she didn’t work hard; she was a great example for the rest of the players and she understood the game.”

Wells started playing sports at age 5 and never let up.

“I remember my dad put up a hoop for me when I was really little and I would go out and shoot all the time. Then I started playing basketball with all the older boys in my neighborhood. They would say that I would never beat them and they would beat me most of the time, but it really helped me a lot playing with them,” Wells said.

“I also started playing softball when I was young and was on the Strikers team coached by Robin Baird. I’ve always played shortstop,” said the GHS athlete.

Wells could play every position in basketball and led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and was second in three-point shots made. She scored 19 points per game.

“Kelsi was a gym rat. She was pretty much in there every day working on whatever sport that was in season,” said basketball coach Casey Cooke. “She had to play my point guard because she was the best we had bringing the ball up the floor and then we could send her down low and she could go through about any defender and score and pick up a foul in the process.”

In volleyball she led the team in kills, digs, blocks and tied for the number of service aces.

In softball she was a tremendous asset to the team.

“Kelsi was amazing at the shortstop position,” her coach said. Offensively she led the team in steals, swiping 14 bases on 14 attempts and hit third in the lineup, a spot reserved for a player with a high batting average. For the year she smacked two home runs, two triples, and 19 singles with an on-base average of .437.

Kenzie Newton coached Wells in basketball for three years and had high praise for the athlete.

“Athletically she is similar to Marissa Robbins and Sammie Jensen. All three were hard-nosed players and had long bodies, which helps in basketball. Plus, each one was versatile and strong in three sports,” Newton said.

Wells had offers to play basketball at College of Eastern Utah and Utah Valley University.

“I chose Snow because I feel I have a chance to go in and start there the first year,” Wells said.

The top athlete of the year certainly had a stellar career at GHS in three sports. Just ask any of the girls she played against during those four years — or also any of the boys for that matter.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com