St. Louis, Mo. – Washington University in St. Louis unveiled its newly renovated Kelly Field for the 2023 season. Multiple areas were overhauled in order to enhance the student-athlete experience: the field, safety, player development area and press box.
 
"The completely new field, dugouts and player development area provides a transformative experience to not only compete at the highest level but also teach life lessons that will benefit the student-athletes beyond their four years at WashU," said the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics, Anthony J. Azama. "It continues to be a place where life-long friendships and memories are made while simultaneously receiving a world-class education in preparation for life after their last inning is played."
 
The field features new synthetic turf and the surrounding areas were outfitted with landscape turf. The turf honors St. Louis, with the Arch prominently displayed in the outfield.
 
The structure of the field was addressed to make the playing surface more level, thus making it safer for the Scholar-Champions to compete. Additionally, a new backstop and new spectator safety netting was added.
 
The player development area features new batting cages and a new bullpen area to further develop our student-athletes into Scholar-Champions.
 
"Our team has experienced immense benefits from our new turf field and player development area," said Head Coach Pat Bloom. "First, they have gained extra time back into their days due to the minimal daily maintenance and repair needed from a labor standpoint. Second, our team has been able to conduct EVERY scheduled practice on our field since it was finished – we have not had to go back into the gym a single time due to the added flexibility and playability that the turf provides. Third, having an all-turf field combined with the extra amenities provided in the player development area has allowed our coaches to conduct more efficient and effective practices that have increased both the scope and capacity of each player's development throughout this spring."
 
The Bears have taken full advantage of its new home field, playing 18 of its 29 games so far on Kelly Field with a current 14-4 home record.
 
"We LOVE our new facility – words cannot fully capture the gratitude and appreciation we have for our administration's commitment to the transformative development of our student-athletes," said Bloom. "We are proud to call home one of the very best facilities in all of Division III baseball."
 
WashU will be home on Kelly Field this weekend for a four-game UAA series against Brandeis, starting on Friday at 3 p.m.
 
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What people are saying:
 
"The new field and player developmental area are amazing! They provide me with all the resources that I could have asked for as a pitcher and more. The bullpens in the player development area are a great space for me to get my work in whether it's fielding, throwing plyo balls into the state-of-the-art plyo wall, our many training exercises or just working on mechanics. As a First Year I am extremely grateful I have arrived at WashU when I did. Words cannot describe the excitement I have for the next 3 years!" – Miles Quemuel-Labrador '26
 
"We are beyond grateful for our beautiful field and facilities. In addition to being much easier to maintain, our new turf surface has allowed us to play many games this year that would otherwise have been canceled due to rain. Our player development area has given us the opportunity to perform at the highest level because of how convenient it is to train. Its added size and new netting have made a huge difference to our practice capabilities. We're very excited to call the new Kelly Field our home and can't wait to see future WashU baseball players enjoy it as well." – Hunter Goldberg '24

"The new field and player development areas are incredible! The field is top tier and seeing both the Arch and the WashU logo in the outfield really helps connect it to both the campus and the larger St. Louis community. In the outfield corners, the new bullpens are a perfect match to the gam mound, which means both mid-week bullpens and in-game action can directly mimic the field. Having a spot on the home side dedicated to plyo balls and bands will help keep arms healthy and the new technology that's been brought in between the Rapsodo and Indoor HitTrax will help with year-round development both on the mound and at the plate. I'm excited to get to watch the guys continue to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them to better themselves on the field and in the weight room, and for the invested WashU is making in the program to keep it at the forefront of not only the UAA and D-3 but all of college baseball!" – John Howard '19