Karley Shelton graduated a year early from Lexington High School to do what she loves: play softball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

Shelton comes from a family of Division 1 athletes. Her parents played baseball and softball respectively at UNC Charlotte. Her brother, Colby, is a sophomore playing baseball at Florida, and her former teammate and sister, Kiley, is a freshman playing softball at Colgate. 

Shelton’s parents brought her and her siblings up on one key belief, that is the importance of hard work.

“Both my parents strongly believe that hard work will beat talent any day,” Shelton said. “I live by that, my brother lives by that, my whole family lives by that.”

With this belief instilled in her, Shelton worked hard throughout her life, which allowed her to graduate high school early and join the Gamecocks softball team when she was 17. 

“(She’s a) very hard worker. She’s definitely dedicated to getting better every single day.” Lexington softball coach Laurie Epps said. “She had goals, and she was going to make sure that she reached those, and she was able to do those.”

This pattern of hard work can also be seen in her sister, according to Epps. Epps said that the biggest difference between the two is that Karley is “a bit more vocal”.

“(Karley and Kiley) are both great, great athletes,” Epps said. “Both of them work extremely hard, both of them hit very well, defensively they’re strong. So she’s just a bit more vocal than her sister.”

Within South Carolina’s softball team, Shelton cites senior outfielder Brooke Blankenship as someone who also works really hard. 

“(Blankenship) works really hard. We usually go and hit together,” Shelton said. “We do clinics Monday nights because (coach) Kevin runs a clinic and we help work it.”

Her time settling into life at South Carolina was far from easy. 

Shelton had to take four classes over the summer to graduate early and did not find out she was accepted to USC until a week before she had to move in. She didn’t even have her class list until two days before the first day.

“It was a mess, but it worked out. Everything worked out,” Shelton said.

In high school, Shelton was ranked as the No. 9 player in the country for the class of 2024 by Extra Innings Softball and was being recruited heavily by fellow SEC school Ole Miss, and South Carolina’s in-state rival Clemson. 

Shelton ultimately chose to stay close to home and join the Gamecocks due to its player development. 

“(I knew that) they wouldn’t just hit me balls but they would actually teach me the game,” Shelton said. “At other schools, I would have probably just plateaued instead of getting my game better.”

Epps had no doubts about Shelton’s collegiate destination, saying that South Carolina was “always high on her list.”

“I had a feeling that’s where she was going to end up,” Epps said.

South Carolina’s softball coach Beverly Smith praised Shelton for her skill level and said that she expects her to be featured in the team’s lineup. Smith added sometimes she has to remind herself Shelton should be a senior in high school

“If you come out and watch practice, specifically BP, no part of you thinks she’s a freshman,” Smith said. “She’s come in with a great deal of confidence and energy, and I think she’s going to be a direct insert into our lineup this year. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that she was 17.”

In Shelton’s three seasons of high school softball, she never had her batting average dip below .450, hitting .506 her freshman year, .451 her sophomore year and .456 her junior year. 

Despite this success in high school, there is a jump in quality when going from high school to SEC pitching, but Shelton feels that she has adapted well to this new challenge.

“I will say I adapted pretty well in the fall when we did scrimmages,” Shelton said. “Then I would face some rough patches here and there, but I would work with coach (Epstein) and coach Kevin to get it fixed up.”

According to Shelton, there have been many teammates who have helped her adapt and taken her under their wing, those being senior outfielder Aniyah Black and redshirt junior outfielder Bre Warren. 

“After one of our first fall games, Aniyah texted me on the way back from the bus,” Shelton said. “She was like, ‘Just to let you know, I’m so proud of you. I’m so grateful I get to play with you.’” 

Throughout the early season, Shelton has been a regular in the lineup and has been succeeding while still figuring out her role in the team.

“I think one of my roles is just being a great teammate,” Shelton said. “Pushing the people beside me to make them better, and working extra hard so everybody benefits from it.”

Along with pushing her teammates, Shelton said that one of her goals for the season is “for everyone to find their role”.

Shelton also spoke about her personal goals for the season. While listed as an infielder, Shelton said that her main personal goal is to excel in whatever role she has.

“Personally, my goal is just to do (a good job) wherever they put me, and do my best at it no matter what,” Shelton said. “And also being a great teammate and helping everybody out.”

While her sister is also a freshman playing college softball, their paths will not cross competitively this season, but she will play her brother’s school in Gainesville later this season, as they are both in the SEC. 

The “inter-conference rivalry” that could typically be seen among fans of schools within the same conference does not exist between Karley and her brother. Instead, it is seen as a source of pride among the two.

“I wouldn’t say there’s much of a rivalry,” Shelton said. “It’s just like, we’re both proud that we’re both playing in the SEC. It’s cool to have.”