International Play Makes an Impact On and Off the Field for Krupit

South Carolina softball’s Kassidy Krupit can wear a lot of different hats in terms of playing various positions around the infield. Before she wears the Garnet and Black of the Gamecocks for the first time, the sophomore transfer had the opportunity to don a different jersey as she played with the United States Junior Women’s National Team this summer.

“Learning different cultures and playing softball at the highest level possible was the best part,” Krupit said. “I started tearing up a little bit when I made the team. It hit me that it was the USA. I was excited at the trials, but when I made the team, there were a ton of emotions for me and my family. I was really happy.

“Putting on the jersey was cool. I just put it on and thought, this fits well. It was a feeling I had never felt before. It was such a great honor playing on that team, wearing those colors.”

Mixed in with all that excitement was trying to decide where she would continue her college softball career after electing to transfer from Baylor where she hit .235 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in a successful rookie campaign last spring. After accepting invitations to visit a few different schools, she decided South Carolina was the right choice for her career as a student-athlete and life after that.

“As soon as I visited, I knew this was where I had to be,” Krupit said. “Coach Bev (Smith) is great. I trust her process, and I trust (Associate Head Coach Lisa Navas) Nav’s process and (assistant) coach (Kaela) Jackson’s process. I’m studying sports management, and I want to get into coaching, so this this was the right fit for me.”

“The first week made me realize how much more I could grow.”
– Kassidy  Krupit

With the decision made Krupit could focus on training camp with Team USA in Houston, Texas.

“The first week made me realize how much more I could grow,” Krupit said. “Overall, this experience has made me a better player and a better teammate. It’s a different group of people, and all the people on my team were the top players in the nation. Just being around them, you’re going to learn a lot. I learned a lot of infield skills from our coaches, which helped me tremendously. They helped me a lot with my approach to hitting.”

From there, the team went to Paris to take on the French, as well Japan’s U-23 team. Then it was off to Ireland to play the Irish National Team.

“That was the first international game that was ever played in Ireland, so that was cool,” Krupit said. “We played on a rugby field. I had never been to Europe, so the whole experience was great.”

In addition to the unique opportunities to play softball, Krupit and her teammates did have some time to take in the sites on their trip.

“We went to the (FIFA) Women’s World Cup in France, and that was really cool,” Krupit said. “We went to the Eiffel Tower, and we had a day or two to just go into the city and do whatever we wanted. In Ireland, we didn’t have as much time, but it was in Dublin, so we drove there and that was pretty neat. Breakfast was really good there!”

The Suwanee, Ga., native returned stateside with a chance to play close to home in July at the USA Softball International Cup in Columbus, Ga., where she not only faced more international competition, but also had a chance to play against the U.S. National Team.

“It wasn’t intimidating because we had been practicing with them,” Krupit said. “We were throwing the ball around with Cat Osterman, and Aubrey Monroe is my all-time favorite catcher. Monica Abbott came in to pitch against us, and that was a bit eye-opening for us. Developing relationships with players like that was really great.”

While traveling the globe to play the game she loves was an incredible opportunity, Krupit was also thrilled to interact with athletes from other countries on a different level.

“We followed each other on social media. We met the Irish team, the Japanese teams, and our Olympic team, and interacted with all of them,” Krupit said. “We met with the players from Puerto Rico and Mexico; everybody. I couldn’t really speak with the Japanese players because of the language, but we ran clinics together and would teach other cool things through motions. I think that’s the better experience, just to interact with all those people. We had the chance to learn a little bit about different cultures, and those are things you need in this world.”