Depth and versatility are two qualities essential to any championship team.
Utility players with the skills to play multiple positions provide a manager flexibility, allowing the best lineup to be put forward every night. Here are three all-around assets to watch for the Gators in 2016.
Taylore Fuller, senior
Though she primarily played left field and catcher during her first two seasons, Fuller made the transition to third base as a junior, committing only eight errors in 66 games while compiling a respectable .963 fielding percentage.
At the plate, she had a knack for producing big hits with runners on base.
After recording 19 RBIs as a freshman and 34 as a sophomore, Fuller had a breakout season in 2015, hitting .324 with runners in scoring position and driving in a career-best 56 runs.
She also notched eight multi-RBI and 11 multi-hit contests, including a game against LSU on March 14 in which she hit three home runs and drove in eight.
Fuller’s four grand slams in 2015 — tied for the second-highest total ever in a single season — gave her a total of eight for her career, good enough for third-most in NCAA history.
After logging a .413 on-base and .558 slugging percentage last season, look for Fuller to continue to contribute significantly in 2016.
Kayli Kvistad, sophomore
The Lake City, Florida, native mostly split time at first base with Taylor Schwarz in 2015, starting 37 times and seeing action in 60 games.
Along with her .454 slugging percentage, Kvistad’s 36 RBIs led the freshman class.
Three times last season, she racked up four RBIs in a game — against Jacksonville, Mercer and Mississippi State.
But while Kvistad was solid offensively, she was flawless on defense.
With an unblemished 1.000 fielding percentage, she became the ninth player in program history to finish a season perfect in the field, not committing an error in 105 opportunities.
Kvistad’s signature moment came in the first game of the 2015 Women’s College World Series.
Up 1-0 in the bottom of the third against Tennessee, she hit a two-run homer that extended Florida’s lead in a game it would go on to win, 7-2.
As Kvistad enters her sophomore season, look for her to build off the success of her rookie campaign with an increase in playing time and productivity.
Nicole DeWitt, sophomore
Although she was recruited as an infielder, DeWitt mostly played in left field last season, occasionally making starts at third base.
The Garden Grove, California, native finished the season with a .331 batting average, the third-highest average ever recorded by a freshman at Florida.
DeWitt made 53 starts and appeared in 60 games in her first year while racking up several awards, including twice being named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week.
She was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and the WCWS All-Tournament Team, where she sent UF to the championship series with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning against Auburn.
Contact Brian Lee blee@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @brianlee_17.
Taylore Fuller bats during Florida's 8-0 win against Indiana on Feb. 22, 2014 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
