former Dewey softball coach keck leads junior college team to world series
Former Dewey High School softball coach and player Niki Keck lead Crowder College to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series during her first coaching year.
Courtesy photo
By Mike Tupa
May 30, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Seldom does a coach have everything in place in ideal order.
The test is how to coax and inspire all he or she can out of the team’s strengths.
That description certainly fits Niki Keck — the former Dewey High School head softball skipper who resigned within the past year in order to move up to the junior college level with Crowder College softball.
Despite starting out with only 13 players, Keck and her staff guided the program to 54 wins and a deep run in the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
Crowder surged to a 5-2 record in the NJCAA World Series until Gaston College eliminated it, 8-6, last week.
Keck said what pleased her most in her first year as a college head coach is “the fact we made it to the national tourney. … The fact we made it to the top five was actually more than I could have imagined.”
Jasmine Myers (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) set the tone for the Crowder offense — .415 average, 95 RBI and 20 HRs.
Miya Curry (Pawhuska) also made some huge contributions — a .341 average and 81 SBs, the second most in the nation.
Brooke Beyer (Springdale, Ark.) contributed a .387 average and 13 HRs, while Katie Simpson (Columbus,. Kan) added 59 RBI and 54 SBs.
Former Dewey High star Kirsten Kay joined Keck at Crowder and provided some solid numbers — 48 games, 21 runs, three doubles.
Providing Crowder’s pitching power were Jessica Smith (55 appearances, 26-2 record, 233 IP, 303 K’s, 65 BB, 1.77 earned average) and Aubree Saporito.(Columbus, Kan., 51 appearances, 17-9, 174 IP, 131 K’s, 101 BB). The best news is Smith (Sydney, Australia) was just a freshman.
Keck’s final roster included 5 freshmen and eight sophomores.
Even though the depth was thin, the distribution of talents was just right.
“We had a lot of speed with some power,” Keck said. “In the middle of the lineup we had power. At the top and bottom, we had a lot of speedy kids.”
She’s pleased the players bought into her system and also that many of them are attracting attention from four-year college programs.
During Keck’s Dewey tenure, she navigated the Lady Doggers to three-straight state tournament seasons, including a spot in the semifinals.
Coming off the momentum of Crowder’s prodigious success this spring, no doubt Keck will be able to bring on board several key freshmen to help round out her outstanding group of returning sophomores.