Stanford junior outfielder Kyra Chan is having a strong season for the Cardinal, batting .422 for seven home runs and 35 RBIs to go along with a .655 slugging percentage and a .485 on base percentage. Each season she keeps improving her game and getting better, something that has been a major plus for the program.
Chan has been focusing on all areas of her game. She doesn’t just focus on one area. She puts the work in all aspects, allowing her to become the best player that she can be. That more than anything is what has been the key to her growth.
“I mean, I’ve been focusing on a little bit of everything,” Chan said. “You know, just hitting, fielding, all that jazz. Base running. We’ve just been doing it all.”
“That’s the goal, right? And I think you’ve seen that with, you know, that junior class in general just getting better and better and better and better,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said of Chan. “But yeah, she’s working hard in the weight room, working hard on her swing, getting more and more comfortable in the box, taking assertive swings and doing a great job.”
As a result of her improvement and growth, Chan is taking on a much bigger role than she did as a freshman. Now that she’s a junior, she knows more is expected of her and she’s done a great job embracing that.
“Just keep working at it. No matter what. I think you just gotta keep a very steady mindset,” Chan said. “Just always putting in the effort, putting in the work, being there for your teammates. That’s just kind of been what I’m trying to do is help the team win.”
“She’s just super clutch,” Stanford slugger Taryn Kern said of Chan. “I mean, I look up to her, like I think in the big moments you want the freaking bat in Kyra Chan’s hands. She just knows how to get it done in there and just pick us up and she’s just an awesome addition to our team.”
A major benefit of being an upperclassman is having a routine and being comfortable with what you are doing. Chan is certainly enjoying this time of her softball career for this very reason. She’s eager to help the younger players on the team and help them adjust to life on The Farm.
“It’s definitely nice because I feel like I know what’s going on and now that I’ve done this before, it makes it a lot easier to handle,” Chan said. “I know what I’m getting into and I know what’s gonna happen. So it’s just nice to have the experience and take in the upperclassmen under our belt. It’s nice to have new faces and meet new people. It’s been great.”
Something that Chan is really grateful for is her teammates and the way they have come together. She feels like they all play for each other and prioritize team success over individual accolades.
“I think we’ve got really good lineup chemistry this year and our bats look great,” Chan said. “We all have really good team chemistry also so we just kind of play for each other and it’s really fun.”
Jessica Allister has done a good job of instilling this type of mentality in her players. She really emphasizes that her players be tough and compete to the best of their ability. After that, it’s just a matter of accepting however the cookie crumbles.
“Kind of what she says every year, you know, like, just go out there and be tough as nails, right?” Chan said of what Allister’s message is. “Like, sometimes things aren’t gonna go your way and it’s not gonna be perfect, but as long as you can be tough and dirt in and compete, you know, that’s all you can ask for.”
Something that Chan has enjoyed about this season is playing in the football stadium. While she’s very excited to play in the new softball stadium next season, she’s loving the unique opportunity to build memories at Stanford Stadium.
“It’s definitely new. It’s something different, but it’s pretty awesome,” Chan said. “The fact that they were able to put this gig on for us while we get a brand new, nice stadium is pretty cool. I think most teams go on the road all the time. Like they don’t have a home stadium when they get their field renovated. So I think this is a really unique experience and you know, I’m having fun.”
On the academic front, Chan is enjoying her studies. She hopes to go into finance once her playing days are over and feels like Stanford is preparing her for that path.
“Yeah, so I’m studying Management Science & Engineering,” Chan explained. “I’m also minoring in data science. I kinda want to go into finance in my career and so I’ve just been, yeah, grinding.”
While some people don’t know what path that they want to do when they start college, Chan has known she wanted to go the finance route since she was a kid. Her mom is in finance and she is eager to follow in her footsteps.
“Since I was little, probably,” Chan said. “I just always kind wanted to go into, my mom does finance, so I just wanted to go into that, too. With numbers. Yeah.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, it’ll be fun to see how things go for Kyra Chan and what kind of impact she makes at Stanford Stadium. She’s working hard, putting her teammates first, and comfortable leading out. With that formula, more success is certain to come her way.
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