How Oklahoma's Kinzie Hansen Hopes to Grow From Her Role With USA Softball National Team

On a team full of stars, it's Hansen who calls games from behind the plate, but this summer she can expand her knowledge by playing internationally.

When Oklahoma’s Kinzie Hansen landed a spot on USA Softball’s Women’s National Team, it was almost a surreal moment for the Sooners’ all-star catcher.

“Um, truthfully,” she said, “it's a dream come true.”

Hansen sorted through her feelings Wednesday on a video press conference. Being one of 15 players (plus three alternates) to represent the U.S. in international competition coming off last year’s silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just hit different.

“I feel like that's something everybody dreams of since they were little,” Hansen said, “but I feel like I've — I mean, all of the work and sacrifice and all the normal stuff that people talk about, I feel like that was when I was like, 'OK.' ”

On a college squad filled with blindingly bright stars and high-impact talent throughout the lineup — arguably the greatest hitter in the game in Jocelyn Alo, the nation’s two best freshmen last year in Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, probably the best defensive shortstop in the country in Grace Lyons, and a player who was maybe the hottest of anyone in the postseason on offense and defense in Mackenzie Donihoo — it’s Hansen who settles the pitching staff and organizes the defense and communicates constantly, while also carrying a big stick.

Kinzie Hansen / OU Athletics

Helping fuel the Sooners to their fifth national championship last year, the junior from Norco, CA, hit .438 with 24 home runs and 66 RBIs.

Hansen also displayed versatility last season as one of Patty Gasso’s first basemen when she wasn’t behind the plate.

When Team USA gathers in Birmingham, AL, in July, she’ll be decked out in catcher’s gear. Last season, only three baserunners (out of eight) were able to steal a base against Hansen. In 303 total defensive chances (including first base), she made just three errors — a .990 fielding percentage that ranked second on the team behind first baseman Taylon Snow, who committed just one error in 185 chances.

Hansen earned second-team All-American accolades, ranked fifth nationally in home runs, was on the College World Series All-Tournament Team, slugged three home runs in the WCWS and enjoyed a 15-game hitting streak.

As for the sacrifice and the work that goes into such elite performance, it’s just a part of Hansen’s makeup.

“Of course it's worth it when we win the natty and stuff,” she said, “but (being on the National Team roster) is something that's individualized that I feel like I've earned throughout the past 12 years or so.”

Kinzie Hansen (9) and Jana Johns :: John E. Hoover / SI Sooners

Hansen said she recognized as a freshman — it was 2020, and after just 24 games, the season would be shut down due to COVID-19 — that she needed to elevate her game.

“I was like ‘OK, I got to put my big girl pants on now.’ Like, ‘I’m not just playing travel ball with these young girls anymore.’ Like if I want to reach my goals, if I want to play USA, if I want to do all these things, then I need to shift into a different gear and get to work.”

Hansen explained how she didn’t mind working for anything because her history was always from a blue-collar mentality.

“If you want it, then work for it. Nothing's handed to you,” she said. “That's always kind of been my mindset. So it wasn't really that difficult transitioning. It was just kind of like, ‘You better pony up because you're playing with 25-year-olds.”

Playing a lot of first base that first year, Hansen said she started college at the tender age of 17. Physically, she always looked the part. But she knew her mental approach to the game had to continue to evolve.

That’s the same attitude she hopes to take to Alabama after this season ends. The No. 1-ranked Sooners are 5-0 and head to Houston this weekend for five games, and they’ve looked like the prohibitive favorite to repeat as college softball’s best team in 2022.

That’s when Hansen will turn her attention to Team USA, and from there she'll quickly be back in Norman to impart her new knowledge to a pitching staff that includes freshman phenomenon Jordy Bahl. 

Kinzie Hansen :: Ty Russell / OU Athletics

“I’ve always been more of a physical player,” Hansen said. “I'm sure like people who watch are like, ‘Oh, she's pretty big. She's pretty strong’. Like, that's always been a thing for my game. But going there, what I learned most was that I have a lot more mental growth to do than physical.

“As I said earlier, going in at 17 to play with 25-year-olds, that was a big jump. But I'm kind of in the same period right now where this summer I'll be playing with 26-year-old women, almost 30, you know, at like, kind of the height of their game. Their softball IQ is extremely high. Things like that.

“So I'm just excited to learn about the game from them and things that I can bring back here. Or just little like tricks in mental approaches to the game. That’s something that you don't really get from other players until that age level. So the international game is something that I'm really, really excited to approach and see how my mentality works in that environment.”