Upcoming Event: Baseball at Fresno State on February 13, 2026 at 7 p.m.
7 p.m.
Baseball
at Fresno State
The University of Utah Athletics
Photo by: Dan Lofgren
Ambulance in the Outfield
12/25/2017 10:03 AM | Baseball
It was a baseball-perfect day as the final game of the 2017 regular season began on May 28 against Arizona State. It was the top of the first inning when the third batter of the game hit a fly ball to deep center field. At the crack of the bat, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., took off running.
Keirsey ran full speed through the warning track, took flight and hit the wall straight on with his legs at an awkward angle.
"As soon as I hit the wall I knew that something was wrong," Keirsey said.
Keirsey suffered a dislocated hip and acetabular (hip socket) fracture in his encounter with the center field wall in Smith's Ballpark.
"I looked at my hip and saw it was out, and I thought, 'that's not good,'" Keirsey said about the immediate aftermath as he laid on the ground on his side. "I was trying to push my hip back in. I was freaking out."
Athletic trainer Craig Chelette quickly reached Keirsey and accessed the situation, calling for an ambulance. Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg wasn't far behind. He didn't realize the seriousness of his center fielder's injury until he reached the outfield.
"He had hit the wall and suffered a bone bruise two weeks prior, so my thought was that he had reinjured that hip," Kinneberg said. "It wasn't until I got out there that I realized how serious it was and how devastating this injury could be for him, and for us."
Despite the pain, Keirsey gave the crowd a thumbs up as he was lifted into the ambulance.
The Utes rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, and went to visit their fallen teammate in the hospital later that day.
Keirsey is one of the most dynamic players in college baseball. Utah fans are no stranger to watching him leave his feet to make a play. The two-time first-team All-Pac-12 player is also a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection. Last year he was fourth in the Pac-12 in hits per game (1.42). He's also got some wheels, recording nine stolen bases on the season.
While he was still on the ground, Keirsey's first thoughts were of summer ball. He was scheduled to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, where Major League Baseball scouts and executives looking for the next Mike Trout flock each summer to watch the top collegiate players in the country compete. Keirsey was also being considered for opportunities to play with USA Baseball.
"It was really disappointing at first," Keirsey said. "That was one of the hardest things mentally. Not being able to play was tough. I still think about it sometimes, but there's nothing I can do now."
Once he got to the hospital, they took x-rays and popped the hip back in. He had two surgeries to repair his leg and spent a week in the hospital before returning home to San Diego. Keirsey was dedicated to physical therapy, which began the next week.
"The therapist would help me stretch and massage my leg, trying to get mobility back," Keirsey said, noting that his leg was really stiff early on. "Most of the time I was in the pool doing range of motion exercises."
Keirsey could not put weight on his leg for two months and spent most of his summer on crutches. Doctors were in new territory working with Keirsey – they usually see a hip socket fracture in a high-impact accident instead of a sports injury. He began walking several weeks earlier than doctors had estimated.
"I recovered faster than they thought," Keirsey said. "They said that being an athlete had a lot to do with that. [My leg] was stiff and it felt weird walking because I didn't put pressure on it for two months."
First order of business after walking? To head to the batting cages and start swinging.
"I didn't think it would feel as good as it did," Keirsey said of his first swings in early August. He sent a video of the session to Kinneberg, who was keeping close tabs on his center fielder's progress with the help of trainer Chelette.
"I was really shocked because it looked just like a normal swing and a normal pass at the baseball off a tee," Kinneberg said. "I was amazed. I called him and told him to stop doing that because he was too advanced at this point. It told me that he had healed and reassured me that he was going to be ok."
Keirsey still wasn't cleared to run or jog, so he continued with physical therapy and moved into throwing as the summer ended and he returned to Utah for the fall semester.
"We have an underwater treadmill and the AlterG [weightless treadmill] that I'd run on," Keirsey said of his PT in Utah's training room. "It was weird because I didn't have range of motion. I had long strides and just felt scar tissue. Since I've progressed, the scar tissue has broken up. It's stiff, but sometimes after a session I feel sore, and it's a good sore. I'm making progress."
On the baseball field, he also started progressing in fall practice and he had to persuade Kinneberg that he was well enough to join his teammates in games.
"Sometimes he would try to hold me back," Keirsey said with a grin of the longtime Utah head coach.
After the injury first happened, Kinneberg didn't think that he would have Keirsey on the field for the fall semester.
"Naturally as a coach, you want to know when they are going to get back to playing and what the progression is," Kinneberg said. "We really didn't know what the protocol for his injury would be, so we wanted to take it easy on him. I didn't think that he would participate in the fall when it first happened, but when he came back he was swinging and we progressed from there. He really got better and better, and started to play defense, have competitive at bats and finally run bases."
Towards the end of fall practice, Utah was holding its annual Fall World Series and Keirsey was patrolling center field. Spectators watched on the second day of games as Keirsey dove for the ball, made the catch, and popped back up.
"I don't normally get excited, but it was a play that I felt like I would make when I was healthy," Keirsey said. "It was encouraging to know that I could be less than 100-percent and still be able to make that play."
Following practices, the team ran a 30-yard-dash series that Keirsey asked to participate in. He wanted to get a base to see where he is now compared to where he was when he was healthy and where he needs to get to when spring practice starts.
Keirsey's time? Less than two one-hundredths of a second (.02) short of what he ran last year, and tied for the fastest time on the team.
"I think he gave us all confidence that his speed is back," Kinneberg said. "His strength is getting very close to what it should be. It was a really bright day for me when he ran that after me not wanting him to. I'm glad he did – it gave us all confidence that he's going to be ok."
Keirsey feels as if he's at about 90-percent in the strength in his leg.
"I wasn't walking on it for two months, so that was inevitable," Keirsey said. "Hopefully I'll be at 100-percent in the next month. I'm doing work to strengthen my glute, since that is where the surgery took place. That is where the push off comes from, so that is the main focus right now."
Despite the hardships, Keirsey acknowledged that going through the process of a devastating injury had its rewards. He learned that walking isn't something that he should take for granted.
"I learned some things that I would not have learned if I was playing or I was healthy," Keirsey said. "This is the first time I have dealt with an injury. If it were going to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time because it was the last game of the season. After this, I thank God I can walk every day. It's brought a new perspective to life. Baseball is a lot of my life, but it's not everything. I've worked hard to get back healthy and get back on the field."
Kinneberg has no doubt that Keirsey will be starting in center field on opening day.
"He's worked extremely hard to get where he's at," Kinneberg said. "There's no doubt that he'll be 100-percent when we open at Oral Roberts."
Keirsey ran full speed through the warning track, took flight and hit the wall straight on with his legs at an awkward angle.
"As soon as I hit the wall I knew that something was wrong," Keirsey said.
Keirsey suffered a dislocated hip and acetabular (hip socket) fracture in his encounter with the center field wall in Smith's Ballpark.
"I looked at my hip and saw it was out, and I thought, 'that's not good,'" Keirsey said about the immediate aftermath as he laid on the ground on his side. "I was trying to push my hip back in. I was freaking out."
Athletic trainer Craig Chelette quickly reached Keirsey and accessed the situation, calling for an ambulance. Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg wasn't far behind. He didn't realize the seriousness of his center fielder's injury until he reached the outfield.
"He had hit the wall and suffered a bone bruise two weeks prior, so my thought was that he had reinjured that hip," Kinneberg said. "It wasn't until I got out there that I realized how serious it was and how devastating this injury could be for him, and for us."
Despite the pain, Keirsey gave the crowd a thumbs up as he was lifted into the ambulance.
The Utes rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, and went to visit their fallen teammate in the hospital later that day.
This guy is glad to see that we got the win! Heal up DaShawn, and we'll see you back patrolling the outfield next year! #goutes pic.twitter.com/lI2XiwvMRo
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) May 28, 2017
Keirsey is one of the most dynamic players in college baseball. Utah fans are no stranger to watching him leave his feet to make a play. The two-time first-team All-Pac-12 player is also a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection. Last year he was fourth in the Pac-12 in hits per game (1.42). He's also got some wheels, recording nine stolen bases on the season.
While he was still on the ground, Keirsey's first thoughts were of summer ball. He was scheduled to play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, where Major League Baseball scouts and executives looking for the next Mike Trout flock each summer to watch the top collegiate players in the country compete. Keirsey was also being considered for opportunities to play with USA Baseball.
"It was really disappointing at first," Keirsey said. "That was one of the hardest things mentally. Not being able to play was tough. I still think about it sometimes, but there's nothing I can do now."
Once he got to the hospital, they took x-rays and popped the hip back in. He had two surgeries to repair his leg and spent a week in the hospital before returning home to San Diego. Keirsey was dedicated to physical therapy, which began the next week.
"The therapist would help me stretch and massage my leg, trying to get mobility back," Keirsey said, noting that his leg was really stiff early on. "Most of the time I was in the pool doing range of motion exercises."
Keirsey could not put weight on his leg for two months and spent most of his summer on crutches. Doctors were in new territory working with Keirsey – they usually see a hip socket fracture in a high-impact accident instead of a sports injury. He began walking several weeks earlier than doctors had estimated.
"I recovered faster than they thought," Keirsey said. "They said that being an athlete had a lot to do with that. [My leg] was stiff and it felt weird walking because I didn't put pressure on it for two months."
First order of business after walking? To head to the batting cages and start swinging.
"I didn't think it would feel as good as it did," Keirsey said of his first swings in early August. He sent a video of the session to Kinneberg, who was keeping close tabs on his center fielder's progress with the help of trainer Chelette.
"I was really shocked because it looked just like a normal swing and a normal pass at the baseball off a tee," Kinneberg said. "I was amazed. I called him and told him to stop doing that because he was too advanced at this point. It told me that he had healed and reassured me that he was going to be ok."
Keirsey still wasn't cleared to run or jog, so he continued with physical therapy and moved into throwing as the summer ended and he returned to Utah for the fall semester.
"We have an underwater treadmill and the AlterG [weightless treadmill] that I'd run on," Keirsey said of his PT in Utah's training room. "It was weird because I didn't have range of motion. I had long strides and just felt scar tissue. Since I've progressed, the scar tissue has broken up. It's stiff, but sometimes after a session I feel sore, and it's a good sore. I'm making progress."
On the baseball field, he also started progressing in fall practice and he had to persuade Kinneberg that he was well enough to join his teammates in games.
"Sometimes he would try to hold me back," Keirsey said with a grin of the longtime Utah head coach.
After the injury first happened, Kinneberg didn't think that he would have Keirsey on the field for the fall semester.
"Naturally as a coach, you want to know when they are going to get back to playing and what the progression is," Kinneberg said. "We really didn't know what the protocol for his injury would be, so we wanted to take it easy on him. I didn't think that he would participate in the fall when it first happened, but when he came back he was swinging and we progressed from there. He really got better and better, and started to play defense, have competitive at bats and finally run bases."
Towards the end of fall practice, Utah was holding its annual Fall World Series and Keirsey was patrolling center field. Spectators watched on the second day of games as Keirsey dove for the ball, made the catch, and popped back up.
"I don't normally get excited, but it was a play that I felt like I would make when I was healthy," Keirsey said. "It was encouraging to know that I could be less than 100-percent and still be able to make that play."
Following practices, the team ran a 30-yard-dash series that Keirsey asked to participate in. He wanted to get a base to see where he is now compared to where he was when he was healthy and where he needs to get to when spring practice starts.
Keirsey's time? Less than two one-hundredths of a second (.02) short of what he ran last year, and tied for the fastest time on the team.
"I think he gave us all confidence that his speed is back," Kinneberg said. "His strength is getting very close to what it should be. It was a really bright day for me when he ran that after me not wanting him to. I'm glad he did – it gave us all confidence that he's going to be ok."
Keirsey feels as if he's at about 90-percent in the strength in his leg.
"I wasn't walking on it for two months, so that was inevitable," Keirsey said. "Hopefully I'll be at 100-percent in the next month. I'm doing work to strengthen my glute, since that is where the surgery took place. That is where the push off comes from, so that is the main focus right now."
Despite the hardships, Keirsey acknowledged that going through the process of a devastating injury had its rewards. He learned that walking isn't something that he should take for granted.
"I learned some things that I would not have learned if I was playing or I was healthy," Keirsey said. "This is the first time I have dealt with an injury. If it were going to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time because it was the last game of the season. After this, I thank God I can walk every day. It's brought a new perspective to life. Baseball is a lot of my life, but it's not everything. I've worked hard to get back healthy and get back on the field."
Kinneberg has no doubt that Keirsey will be starting in center field on opening day.
"He's worked extremely hard to get where he's at," Kinneberg said. "There's no doubt that he'll be 100-percent when we open at Oral Roberts."
Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark | construction update - 1.2.26
Wednesday, January 07
Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark | construction update - 11.4.25
Tuesday, November 11
Utah Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 | Baseball's C.J. Cron
Monday, October 13
Progress check at Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark
Tuesday, August 12