University of Connecticut Athletics
2025 Softball Roster
Payton Kinney
- Position:
- Pitcher
- Height:
- 5-7
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- High School:
- Lakewood Ranch
- Hometown:
- Bradenton, Fla.
Three-time All-BIG EAST Selection
2025 NFCA Second Team All-Region
2025 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding PlayerÂ
Three-time BIG EAST All-Tournament Team Selection
118 Career Appearances (4th in Program History)
49 Career wins (6th in Program History)
455 Career Strikeouts (3rd in Program History)
467.2 Career Innings Pitched (8th in Program History)
2025: All-BIG EAST First Team selection...NFCA Second Team All-Region...Made 36 appearances with 28 starts in the circle...Career high 15 wins...Led the Huskies pitching staff in era (2.61), innings pitched (137.0), strikeouts (93), complete games (6), and saves (2)...Held opponents to a .210 batting average...Three complete game shutouts...Made 11 straight starts in the Huskies final 11 games of the season...Did not give up an earned run through her first 7 appearances of the season (21.1 innings)...Named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player as she pitched in 16 out of 18 innings, posting a 2.19 era with 8 strikeouts...Three-time BIG EAST Honor Roll selection.
2024: Made 24 appearances with 18 starts in the circle...Career high 12 wins...Led the pitching staff with a 2.33 era...113 strikeouts in 99.0 innings pitched...Held opponents to a .193 batting average...Named All-BIG EAST Second Team...Set a new career high 15 strikeouts and retired 18 straight batters against Creighton on April 13...Surpassed 300 career strikeouts at St. John's on April 7...Ten games with six strikeouts or more...Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week once...Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll three times.
2023: Made 28 appearances for the Huskies with 19 starts...Held a team high 2.99 era...11 wins...In 105.1 innings pitched, tallied 114 strikeouts...Held opponents to a .166 batting average...Tossed a complete game shutout with a career high 14 strikeouts at UNCG on February 25th...Named All-BIG EAST First Team...Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week once...Named to the 2023 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team...Selected to BIG EAST Honor Roll once.
2022:Â Sat out the 2022 season due to injury.
2021: Played in 30 games with 20 starts in the circle… Posted ERA of 2.99… 11 wins… Seven complete games… Led BIG EAST in opponent batting average (.204), finished second in strikeouts (135), third in wins and innings pitched (126.1) … One shutout, one save … Career and season high 10 strikeouts at North Carolina (March 5)… Named to 2021 BIG EAST All-Tournament team… Two-time BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week... BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (Feb. 22)… Weekly honor roll selection on March 1.
Before UConn: Four-year letter winner… Varsity captain… Five-time Player of the Week… Earned an honorable mention selection as a freshman… 2018 First Team All-State, All-Area, and Defensive Player of the Year... 2019 All-State Second Team and All-Area honoree… Five-year member of the nationally ranked Tampa Mustangs-TJ… Assisted the Mustangs to a first place finish at Scenic City, second-place in the 2017 Colorado Sparkler, and two third-place placements in the 2014 and 2019 PGF… From 2016-19 she aided the Mustangs in becoming the highest finishing F1 team at PGF Nationals… Ranked 86th (2017) and 95th (2019), respectively, on the FloSoftball's Top 100 Players in the Nation list… Collected 2019 PGIF All-Tournament Team honors… Selected for the Select 30 All-American Camp… On Deck Colorado Jamboree and Triple Crown Power Poll All-Star game invitee… Featured in the Bradenton Herald… Four-year honor roll and National Honor Society member.
