Kelsey Winters played on some powerful South River girls lacrosse teams loaded with top-tier talent who mostly would up playing at the Division I level.
Winters ended up at Division III Christopher Newport, but ended her career leaving her name in the NCAA record books, becoming Division III’s all-time assist leader.
At South River, Winters was somewhat of a late bloomer, improving dramatically between her sophomore and junior seasons while moving from junior varsity to varsity. She scored two goals to help South River beat Dulaney, 11-9, to capture the Class 4A state championship as a junior in 2018.
However, by the time coaches from Division I school discovered Winters, they had already filled up their recruiting classes.
Christopher Newport coach Lisa Valentine was both surprised and thrilled when she spotted Winters at a Division III showcase event in Baltimore. Valentine immediately put on a full-court press to land the Seahawks standout.
“We quickly developed a really great connection and I think Kelsey realized she could be successful at CNU and help our program get to the next level,” Valentine said.
Meanwhile, Winters visited the Division III school located in Newport News, Virginia, and fell in love with the beautiful campus.
“I wanted to be able to have a good balance between academics and athletics and I also wanted to go to a school where I could make an impact,” she said.
Winters blossomed into a four-time All-American, earning second team honors as a sophomore and junior then garnering first team laurels as a senior and graduate student. The 5-foot-4 attacker was the first player in program history to be named a first team All-American by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.
Along the way, Winters distinguished herself as an elite passer. She finished with 277 assists, bettering the previous Division III record set by Emily Bruner of Rhodes College.
Winters broke the record in her final career game, a 12-10 loss to Washington & Lee in the NCAA regional semifinals. She dished off five assists and moved two ahead of Bruner and now ranks second all-time among all levels of women’s college lacrosse.
“I have to attribute all my success and that record to every single teammate I had the pleasure to play with since freshman year,” said Winters, who played alongside three prolific goal-scorers in Zoe Dyer, Kendall Krause and Julie Iapica. “It truly means a lot and I kind of see it as a team award. I couldn’t have reached that milestone without the help of all my teammates.”
Meanwhile, Winter also set the Christopher Newport record for career points with 411. She established a single-season record with 74 assists on the way to being named Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year this past spring.
Christopher Newport has fielded varsity women’s lacrosse since 2001 and Winters has solidified her status as one of the program’s all-time greats. Valentine, in her ninth season at the helm, pointed out that Winters was a rare three-time captain.
“Kelsey is an incredible person and has grown so much during her time at CNU. She is the absolute best teammate you could ever ask for, always giving others credit and confidence,” Valentine said. “Kelsey came here with an incredible work ethic and tremendous maturity, which I credit a lot to her parents and the way she was raised. She trained really hard during offseasons and was so determined to be the best she can be.”
Immediate impact player
Valentine put Winters in the starting lineup and asked her to take on a playmaking role as a freshman. Christopher Newport only played seven games in 2020 due to COVID, but Winters flashed her feeding skills totaling 23 assists, including a single-game record seven in a victory over Roanoke.
“I handed Kelsey the keys to the offense her freshman year and told her she had to grow up fast. She had so much experience playing with really talented players at South River that she was able to step in and lead the offense right away,” Valentine said.
Winters totaled 77 points on the strength of 47 assists as a sophomore despite missing the final five games after suffering a torn ACL.
Winters was determined to “come back faster and stronger” following the season-ending knee injury and pushed the limits during rehabilitation. She was indeed better than ever as a junior, setting a single-season school record with 66 assists and leading the C2C Conference with 95 points.
Winters broke her own mark by dishing off 67 assists and once again led the league with 106 points as a senior. Returning for a fifth year as a graduate student, she capped an incredible career by repeating as a first team selection and becoming the first four-time All-American in Christopher Newport history.
“This season I pushed Kelsey to shoot more, but she prefers to have her head up looking to find open teammates. That’s just her natural instinct,” Valentine said. “You don’t need to be a great cutter to play with Kelsey because she will put the ball right in your stick and make your job easy.”
Winters normally operated behind the goal and just to the right side, but it did not take long for opponents to try to prevent her from feeding from that spot. Teams initially chose to slide quickly to Winters, but for the last three seasons had resorted to face-guarding her.
“Teams could face-guard me and do whatever, but they couldn’t take away my voice. No one can stop me from calling plays and communicating with my teammates,” said Winters, who adapted by playing up top more often and learning how to work the two-woman game with options and picks. She also improved as a dodger and became adept at dishing while on the run.
“Feeding has always been my go-to and I found my niche right away [at Christopher Newport] as someone who set up my teammates,” she said. “From the outset, my teammates had trust in me as the quarterback and lead of the offense.”
Winters was constantly studying defenses and analyzing what opponents wee trying to accomplish on that end of the field. She became a master of counter tactics and believes two unique traits were key to the tremendous success as a playmaker.
“First off, I like to feed across my body, which prevents passes from getting picked off or knocked down. I also like to feed based on where the girl is going, so a lot of times I throw the pass before my teammates start cutting.”
Christopher Newport broke a decade-long drought by advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and reached the round of 16 for the first time in program history in 2024.
“Kelsey played an integral role in getting Christopher Newport women’s lacrosse over the hump, not only within the conference but on a national level as well. We’ve definitely grown a lot as a program during her career,” Valentine said. “Personally as a coach, it’s going to be very difficult to replace Kelsey. We had such a strong connection as far as the way we saw the game and from a leadership standpoint. It’s always great as a coach to have someone who is on the same page all the time.”
Winters grew up on a farm in Harwood and was heavily involved in 4-H, raising sheep, pigs and cattle for competition at the Anne Arundel County Fair. She graduated from Christopher Newport with a degree in business marketing then earned a master’s in financial analysis and will be working for Hemington Wealth Management beginning in August.