Royals Hall of Fame
Kelley Duffey DeSmit is the third women’s lacrosse player inducted into the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame. The lefty attacker from New Hope, Minn., competed in 70 games for the Royals, totaling 300 points on 130 goals and 170 assists. DeSmit was the first player to reach 300 career points in program history and still remains just one of two athletes to reach the milestone.
In her four years, DeSmit was a four-time all-tournament and three-time all-conference team member. She was named conference player of the week and earned IWLCA All-Region Second Team honors twice. DeSmit also served as team captain for two years. On Queens’ all-time list, she currently sits second in points (300), first in assists (170), and second in assists per game (2.43), Nationally, she sat as high as third in assists and assists per game, ninth in points, and seventh in points per game during her career.
DeSmit majored in Spanish/Latin American studies while at Queens with a concentration in business. After graduating, with guidance from Dr. Michele Shaul, DeSmit applied for and received an academic “continuing education” grant provided by the Ministry of Education in Spain as a North American Language and Culture Assistant. After living in Madrid, DeSmit returned to Minnesota.
DeSmit spent several years coaching with the Minnesota Lakers Select Team, which was the team she played for when she was recruited by Queens.
Currently, DeSmit lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Josh, their two children Elouise (6) and Crosby (4) and their dog, Linus. In addition to starting her family and wedding photography business, she has spent the majority of her career at BI WORLDWIDE, where she is currently an account manager.
