Kelsey Cutchins Beard (2019) - JMU Athletics Hall of Fame

Kelsey Cutchins Beard

Induction:
2019
Class:
2010

A triple Duke with bachelor's, master's and educational specialist degrees from JMU in psychology and school psychology, Kelsey Cutchins is the only three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American in any sport in JMU Athletics history.

On the field, she was a two-time First Team All-American, and when combined with her academic accomplishments, she became the first student-athlete in the history of the Colonial Athletic Association to repeat as the league's overall female Scholar-Athlete of the Year among all sports.

Her other accolades include twice being named the CAA Player of the Year while being the first goalkeeper to earn the honor, two-time Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) State Player of the Year, three-time CAA All-Tournament, three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Squad, four-time All-State, three-time First Team All-CAA, two-time JMU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and recognition on the CAA Silver Anniversary Team (best 25 players in the league's first 25 seasons).

She capped all that by being selected one of 30 finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year among all NCAA sports in all divisions. Cutchins' stalwart play guarding the net earned her a spot on the U.S. Under-21 National Team and helped guide JMU to consecutive CAA Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The 2008 title campaign featured Cutchins leading the nation in both goals against average (0.72/game) and save percentage (.824).

As of 2019, she holds the JMU career records for goals against average (1.10) and minutes in goal (5,336:51) while also ranking seventh in saves (297) and ninth in save percentage (.772).