Kelsie Garrison

Photo by: Roger Carry

Photo by: Lance Wendt

Photo by: Mark Campbell/University of Delaware Athletics

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.

Position:
Midfielder
Height:
5-8
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Westlake Village, Calif.
High School:
Agoura

2016 MPSF All-Academic Team
2016 MPSF All-Tournament
2017 MPSF All-Academic Team
2017 All-MPSF Second Team
2018 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention
2018 All-Pac-12 Second Team

SENIOR (2018): Garrison, one of CU’s top defenders, started in all 20 games and recorded 56 ground balls, 32 draw controls and 30 caused turnovers. Her 56 ground balls was second on the team and ranked second on CU’s single season list, while her 30 caused turnovers were also second on the team and ranked third in CU’s single-season record book. She was also third in the Pac-12 with 1.50 caused turnovers per game; 58^th in the NCAA. Garrison often marked up the opponents’ top attackers, but she helped CU’s defense allow just 9.90 goals per game, which was 17^th in the NCAA. In the second game of the season, Garrison totaled a career-best six ground balls while forcing three caused turnovers against No. 5 Florida (Feb. 11). She had at least one caused turnover in 18 games and at least one ground ball in all but one game. Her speed also helped the Buffs clear at an 86.8 percent (334 of 385). Besides being dominate on defense, she was also a major contributor to CU’s dominance in the draw circle. Garrison was third on the team with her 32 draw wins, but also helped her teammate win 259 other times. The Buffs ranked 24^th in the NCAA with 14.65 draw controls per set. Her performance during the season helped earn her All-Pac-12 Second Team honors as she helped the Buffs win the inaugural regular season Pac-12 Championship with a 9-1 record. A good student, Garrison earned Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention status.

JUNIOR (2017): Garrison started in all 19 games played, recording the most groundballs on the team with 43, and the second most caused turnovers with 22. Her four goals, two assists and 12 draw controls helped Colorado become the third highest scoring defense in the nation. Garrison established herself as a leader on CU’s defense, often matching up with the opponent’s strongest attacker and denying their opportunities to score. The junior had the team’s most groundballs per game with 2.26 and was 109th in the NCAA. Garrison became a more confident player all over the field, using her athleticism to beat people off the draw, down the field on defensive clears and into transition attack. She started the season with a tremendous performance in the overtime win against No. 9 Northwestern on Feb. 12; she helped tied the score twice after assisting and scoring a goal to keep Colorado in the game and come out with its first win over a ranked team. She continued to prove herself as an offensive threat when she scored a goal in two straight victories against Stetson and UC Davis on Feb. 19 and 26, respectively. Garrison picked up three groundballs, one draw control and one caused turnover to best No. 6 Penn State on March 12 to help CU earn its first road win over a ranked team. Her third goal of the season was off a fast break to give the Buffs some much needed momentum against rival USC on April 14. Garrison rallied her team to bounce back from their loss to USC when she put up one assist, four groundballs and two caused turnovers in the win over San Diego State two days later. On April 23, the junior had a season high five groundballs in the 18-6 win against California and added two groundballs and two caused turnovers to wrap up the regular season. Garrison had five groundballs, one draw control and four caused turnovers against USC in the MPSF Tournament Championship game, as well as Massachusetts in the first round game of the NCAA Tournament. Her four caused turnovers in both games put her second for the most caused turnovers in a game. Garrison was vital to the defense that ranked sixth in the nation for a scoring margin of 6.35 and only allowed 162 goals, earning her a spot on the All-MPSF Second Team.

SOPHOMORE (2016): Garrison started all 18 games on defense and had 39 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers, 13 draw controls and one goal. She finished the season sixth in the MPSF and 80th nationally in ground balls per game and was eighth in the MPSF and 102nd nationally in caused turnovers per game. Garrison was second on the team in ground balls, third in caused turnovers and fifth in draw controls. She was also the only defender on the team to score a goal. Garrison was key in CU’s season-opening 11-10 win at Denver on Feb. 12, recording four draw controls and two ground balls. She had four ground balls and three caused turnovers in a 10-8 win at Marquette on Feb. 28. Her most productive game came on April 10 in a 16-3 win over San Diego State when she had four ground balls, three caused turnovers and one draw control. She scored her first career goal and had two ground balls in an 11-3 win over Oregon in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals and recorded a season-high five ground balls in the semifinals at No. 9/8 Stanford. She was a key part of CU’s outstanding defense, which ranked second in the MPSF and seventh nationally by allowing just 7.00 goals per game. Also an excellent student, she was named to the MPSF All-Academic Team.

FRESHMAN (2015): Garrison played in all 18 games her first year with the Buffs and started 16 of those. She helped defend the goal to keep CU’s opponents limited to an average of 9.22 goals scored per game and help CU to an 11-7 overall record. Her efforts helped the Buffs rank third in the MPSF in goals-against average (9.16) and fifth in turnovers caused per game (7.56). Individually, Garrison had 22 ground balls for the season and caused 11 turnovers. She had a season-high three ground balls twice, coming in wins over Michigan and UC Davis. She caused three turnovers twice as well, coming in wins over San Diego State and Oregon.

HIGH SCHOOL: Garrison earned three letters on her lacrosse team at Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, Calif., tallying 88 goals and 34 assists in three seasons. She holds the record for the most goals scored in one game at her high school. In her senior year, she earned a handful of honors including midfield MVP for lacrosse, was the Jackie Pitts award recipient and named 2014 Agoura High School Athlete of the Year. Garrison won two CIF Southern Section Lacrosse Championships between 2013-14 and three championships from 2012-14 with the Marmonte League team. Garrison played on the Trojan Select lacrosse club team for two years, 2013-14. In addition to lacrosse, Garrison was also a member of her high school’s soccer, cross country, and track and field teams for four seasons. She holds the prep track record in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays at AHS. As a junior she was the captain of the track team and named cross country captain during her sophomore year.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Garrison is a broadcast journalism major.

PERSONAL: Kelsie Shea Garrison was born on July 13, 1996 to parents Jeff and Tiffany Garrison. Garrison was a camp counselor during her summer breaks and one of her favorite things to do is spend time at the beach. One of her favorite books is Divergent. She also enjoys watching football with her favorite being the Seattle Seahawks.