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Kimbo Howard didn’t know what he was getting when Kelly Breen joined Corona Angels Howard, a travel softball team in Southern California. His first impression of her was that she was shy and quiet. He said Breen looked like she might sit down in the dugout and read a book before games rather than warm up. He wondered if she would fit in on the team.

Before each of Corona’s games, players listened to music and danced outside the dugout. Howard was shocked to see Breen was dancing the most, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Breen cut loose before each game, but flipped her demeanor completely once she stepped on the field, which fit perfectly with Corona Angels Howard. Breen’s travel team switch wasn’t the only time she adjusted to a new environment, transferring high schools her junior season and moving cross-country to play for Syracuse. Breen, a sophomore infielder for the Orange, never shifted her mindset despite the constant change. She always wanted to perfect her craft.

“Once she stepped in between those lines, she was 100% focused.” Howard said. 

Before playing for Corona, Breen played for Athletics Mercado, another well-known travel team in California. During the Louisville Slugger Columbus Day Tournament in Colorado, the Athletics matched up against Corona Angels Howard in the semifinal. Mercado edged Corona by one run, and Breen caught Howard’s eye. 

Ryan Angulo, an assistant for Corona, coached Breen when she was younger and would constantly try to recruit her to the team. When Breen was looking for a change of scenery, she reached out to Angulo, and the rest is history, Howard said. 

From the start, Howard was honest with Breen. He knew she’d played at a high level all her life, but with 25 players on the roster, Howard didn’t guarantee her a starting position. But by the end of the first week, she became an everyday starter. 

Breen made it seem like she had been with the team for 20 years, Howard said. She introduced herself to teammates, mixing in personal anecdotes with softball tactics. She made sure she had her signs down, asking others when she wasn’t sure. 

“She’s like a sponge, she picks up on everything…she will never fail for lack of knowledge.” Howard said. 

In her lone season with the team, Breen was one of the top three players, Howard said. She led the team in home runs as the team traveled across the country competing in showcase tournaments. 

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Despite not having the typical size of a power hitter, Breen excelled in the batters box. Sometimes outfielders played shallow due to her size, and she smashed the ball over their heads, or over the fence, Howard said.

During a showcase tournament in Lake Elsinore, Howard recalled when the team trailed 2-0 early in the game and Breen stepped up to the plate. She hit the ball in the left center gap, which normally was a single for her, but when she rounded first base, she didn’t slow down, pushing for second and beating out the throw. She usually has average speed on the bases, Howard said, but her extra effort fired up the team, starting a comeback victory. 

With every jump in her career, Breen played with the same intensity. Once Breen transferred to Arnold O. Beckman High School, everyone noticed right away that she was a big-time player, former teammate Brooke Feldman said. 

“She set the standards of what practice should be and showed you get out what you put in. That’s why she was a big role model for everyone,” Feldman said. 

Feldman remembered fall ball with Beckman was a lot to handle for Breen, who competed in travel ball at the same time. But she was never one to complain, always cracking jokes in the dugout while blasting Morgan Wallen during pregame. 

She was a “perfectionist,” said Lous Simon, Breen’s former head coach at Arnold O. Beckman. During practice, Feldman said Breen could hit homeruns on back-to-back plays, but if she chopped one into the ground after, she got mad. Her teammates sometimes questioned her frustration, but realized it was what set her apart, Feldman said. 

“It’s almost as if she’d just been striking out or missing the ball every single time and the homeruns weren’t good enough,” Feldman said. “The one chopper or ground ball that she had like outweighed everything else and then she’ll stay there until she hits three, four or five more.”

Breen never wanted to miss a game, even under difficult circumstances. Before a playoff game against Redondo Union, Breen dealt with severe allergies. Her eyes were red, her nose was stuffed up and running. Simon told Breen that someone else could hit for her, but Breen played through it. 

Simon was used to Breen not backing down from a challenge. He coached her when she was 11 years old, playing for Orange County United, and said her approach has never changed. She was never one to “go through the motions” like some girls – she pushed for perfection, he said. Simon had to remind her that softball was a game of failure, and the desired outcome won’t always happen. 

“Softball’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Simon said. 

Simon realized that Breen would play Division-I when she was at the 14U level. In addition to hitting, her defensive versatility stood out. Breen had the unique ability to play all four infield positions. 

Glovework is important at both of the “hot corners,” but especially at first, needing to pick low throws out of the dirt. At shortstop, you play deeper and there’s a lot more ground to cover. Angles and timing throws are more important in the middle infield. 

Each position has completely different roles, but Breen could fill them all. At school, she split time between second and third, while playing shortstop and third for the club team. Both Simon and Howard said they were comfortable putting Breen anywhere on the field.  

“If the ball was hit to her, I never had to think twice about her fielding it,” Feldman said. 

Breen’s diverse play helped Arnold O. Beckman go undefeated in Pacific Coast League play, as she made first team all-league. Beckman advanced all the way to the California Interscholastic Federation Division-II semifinals. 

In her freshman season at Syracuse, Breen finished top five on the team in nearly every offensive category. She had the fifth-highest batting average (.285), third-most RBI’s (29) and ranked second in home runs (seven). 

When she returned home for the summer, Breen joined Simon’s summer league squad. There were six teams each, all with high level D-I players. Kelly knew about half the players on her team, Simon said, but he wasn’t surprised that she integrated herself right away. Simon knows Breen could’ve taken three months off to relax. Instead, she played every weekend for six weeks against some of the most talented players in Southern California.

“It was the little things, for her,” Simon said. “When you put your time into something, you find you’re able to master it.”

Published on March 22, 2023 at 11:14 pm

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