Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly (born November 21, 1994 in Lutherville, Maryland)[1] is an Americanlacrosse player who plays for Archers Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).[2] Kelly plays as a midfielder and face-off specialist and scored the first goal in PLL history in 2019.[3] Kelly was selected to play in the 2021 PLL All Star Game in San Jose, California.[4]
Prior to joining the Archers, Kelly played for the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL). He was selected to the MLL All-Star Team in 2018,[5] and helped lead them to an overtime victory over Team USA.[6]
Kelly attended University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC) from 2014 to 2017 where he played college lacrosse. In 2016, Kelly was named co-MVP of the National Championship team and was awarded the Turnbull Trophy. In 2017, Kelly was named team captain and helped lead UNC to an ACC Championship.[1] Kelly is ranked 2nd in all-time face-off wins (718) and 3rd in all-time most ground balls (378) at UNC.[7]
Kelly played high school lacrosse at Calvert Hall College High School where he was a two-time high school All-American and helped lead Calvert Hall to an MIAA championship in 2012. He was the youngest member of the 2012 USA Under 19 Lacrosse Team, helping the team win the gold medal at the FIL World Championship in Turku, Finland.[8][9]
. . . Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly . . .
Stephen Kelly was born at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, to Gayle and Frank Kelly III. He started playing lacrosse at age 6 at the Lutherville-Timonium Rec Council (LTRC). Kelly also played for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) National Team which won the 2009 US Lacrosse U15 National Championship[10] and he was named to the All-Tournament Team. Kelly continued playing lacrosse at Calvert Hall College High School, where he was a four-year letterman playing as a midfielder and face-off specialist. He was named team captain his Senior year.
Kelly also captained the football team at Calvert Hall where he was a three-year starter. He helped lead the team to their first football championship in 28 years. Kelly was named first-team All-MIAA as a running back and All-State as a defensive back in 2012.
Kelly played college lacrosse at UNC where he was a four-year starter at face-off and team captain his senior year. Kelly was awarded the Holmes Harden Sr. Memorial Award all four years for leading the team in ground balls and was a two-time All-American. He ranks second in all time faceoff wins and third in all-time most ground balls in UNC Lacrosse history.[1]
Stephen Kelly was one of the six UNC players to be selected in the MLL Draft as a sixth round draft pick (#48) Midfielder/Face-off Specialist for the Bayhawks in 2017.[11] Kelly was selected to play in the 2018 MLL All-Star game against Team USA.[12][13]
On March 4, 2019 the PLL released their six team roster with Stephen Kelly as one of the Archer’s Face-off Specialist.[14] Kelly quickly made history on the League opening game (June 1, 2019 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts) against the Chrome Lacrosse Club winning the first face-off, first ground ball, and scoring the first goal in PLL history eleven seconds into the game.[15]
He currently ranks (July 2019) third in League History for Ground Balls.[16]
. . . Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly . . .