Kayla Bonstrom

Classroom

Kayla Bonstrom was a 2015 Capital One Academic All-American and Capital One Academic All-District 8 selection. She is a two-time Pac 12 All-Academic selection and a 2015 NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete. She was selected to the Center for International Security and Cooperation Interschool Honors Program in international security studies during her junior year to develop a thesis with the federal government related to national security. Bonstrom will be presenting her senior thesis at the West Point Counter Terrorism Conference in April 2016 and will be traveling to Israel this summer through Stanford’s Bing Overseas Studies Program. She served as a summer research assistant with Professor Lisa Blaydes focusing on the mechanisms of authoritarianism in Iraq under Saddam Hussein in the 1990s and sanction period. Bonstrom was a participant in the Hoover Institute National Security Affairs Mentorship program during her junior year.

Character

Bonstrom leads by example every day in practice, during games and in the classroom. She’s always willing to do extra reps in practice and serves as a mentor to the younger players. She holds herself to the highest standards and maintains high expectations for herself. Stanford Head Coach Rachel Hanson on Bonstrom: “Kayla has an outstanding work ethic and leads by example. She is respected by her teammates and truly embodies what it means to be a student-athlete. She excels in everything she does on the field, in the classroom and in the community.”

Community

Bonstrom is an active member in the Stanford community, regularly volunteering at team and individual community service opportunities. She volunteered at the Redwood City International Institute of the Bay Area to help immigrants prepare for citizenship tests. Bonstrom also volunteered with the softball team this past December at Project Open Hand in San Francisco. She spent time at the Boys and Girls Club in East Palo Alto during 2013.

Competition

Bonstrom was a 2015 NFCA second-team All-American and a NFCA first-team All-West Region selection at first base. She is a three-time All-Pac 12 selection and was named to the All-Pac 12 First Team in 2015. Bonstrom registered one of the best individual seasons in Stanford history during 2015, finishing in the top 11 in program history in multiple single-season categories including batting average (5th, .439), home runs (T-5th, 13), RBI (T-7th, 54), doubles (11th, 16) and fielding percentage (T-2nd, .997). She recorded the highest single-season slugging percentage in Stanford history (.806) – becoming the first Cardinal player to ever break the .800 mark. Bonstrom was named to the 2015 Pac 12 All-Defense Team, making just one error in 381 chances. Bonstrom finished the 2015 regular season ranked 41st in the nation in batting average (.439), 24th in on-base percentage (.549) and 39th in slugging percentage (.806). She has played in 168 of a possible 169 games during her first three years, making 166 starts.