The 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior right-handed pitcher and designated hitter was the starting pitcher at the Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago last July, hurling two innings without allowing an earned run while striking out five batters to earn the win. Also a 2019 Perfect Game All-American Classic selection, Kelley posted a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 12 innings this spring before the season was canceled. The nation’s No. 1 prospect as rated by Baseball America, he concluded his prep career with a 32-3 record, a 0.43 ERA and 23 pitching appearances in which he didn’t allow a hit.
Kelley has maintained a 96.2 average in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at the University of Texas, but is projected as an early-round selection in June’s Major League Baseball draft.
After Hurricane Harvey devastated his community in 2017, Kelley devoted many hours to helping the area recover from the destruction. He loaded and unloaded truckloads of supplies delivered to Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church, and he also helped deliver bags of clothes and food to people’s residences if they were in need of such supplies. In addition, he helped cut down and remove trees, tree limbs and other debris from the homes and yards of citizens in need of assistance. A member of the Refugio High School National Honor Society, he has volunteered cleaning up around the school and at the concession stands during various sporting events. As a teacher’s aide in a seventh grade math class, he helped tutor students who were struggling and falling behind in their math work. He has also donated his time as an umpire for the Refugio Little League Baseball Association and, when he was participating in the Long Beach Area Code Games, he spent time playing baseball with the children undergoing treatment at Rady’s Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
