Grace Turk (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Lyons; born October 17, 1999) is an American former

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

player and a member of the

United States women's national softball team The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur Sof ...

. She played college softball for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

where she won three consecutive

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

from

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Early life

Lyons was born to John and Erin Lyons. She was born in

Bitburg Bitburg (; french: Bitbourg; lb, Béibreg) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem ...

, Germany, and grew up in

Peoria, Arizona Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the populati ...

, since her father was an F-16 pilot in the

Air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

for 20 years. Her father, played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

High school career

Lyons attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, where she served as team captain and helped lead her team to the 6A state championship in 2016. In 2017, she hit .526 with 47 runs scored, 35 runs batted in, seven home runs, 14 doubles, three triples and nine stolen bases, while playing shortstop, second base and centerfield.

College career

Lyons began her debut for

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. She started all 63 of Oklahoma's games at shortstop and ranked second on the team with 54 assists. Following the season, she was named a unanimous selection to the Big 12 All-Freshman team. During her sophomore year in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, she started all 24 of Oklahoma's games at shortstop and ranked second on the team with 40 assists, in a season that was shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. During her junior year in

, she started all 60 games at shortstop and helped lead Oklahoma's top-ranked defense with 64

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s and 65 assists with just five errors for a .963

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

, and a team-best 11

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s. She batted .392 with 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 52 RBIs. During the season opener on February 11, 2021, in a game against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

, Lyons and

Tiare Jennings Tiare Rose Jennings (born June 5, 2002) is an American college softball player for the Oklahoma Sooners. As a freshman in 2021, she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year, Softball America Freshman of the Year and was selected as a first-te ...

each homered three times against the Miners, tying a school record for most home runs by an individual player in a game. The Sooners set an NCAA single-game record for home runs in a game with 13. During the regular season she had 45 putouts and 50 assists with just three errors for a .969 fielding percentage and turned six double plays. She was subsequently named the

Big 12 Conference Softball Defensive Player of the Year The Big 12 Conference Softball Defensive Player of the Year is a college softball award given to the Big 12 Conference's most outstanding defensive player. The award has been given annually from 2004 to 2012, and 2016 to present. Winners Winners ...

. During her senior year in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, she played in all 62 games, making 61 starts at shortstop. She batted .401, with 23 home runs, seven doubles, three triples and 70 RBIs. She ranked sixth in the country in RBIs and eighth in the country in home runs. Defensively she ranked second on the team with 13 double plays, with 64 putouts and 80 assists with just six errors for .960 fielding percentage. On February 13, 2022, she had her streak of 151 consecutive starts snapped. During the regular season she led the Sooners' defense with 48 putouts and 57 assists and turned 11 double plays. She was subsequently named the Big 12 Conference Softball Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She was also named a top-ten finalist for the

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is an award given by USA Softball to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United St ...

. During her redshirt senior year in

she served as team captain. She led the Sooners' team that ranked first nationally with a .988 fielding percentage. During the regular season she had 42 putouts and 59 assists, with nine double plays and just three errors all season. She was subsequently named the Big 12 Conference Softball Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. She became the first player in conference history to win the award three times. She posted a career-best .978 fielding percentage in 2023, with just three errors in 134 chances during her final season, and was subsequently named the Softball America Defensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

On April 17, 2023, Lyons was drafted in the sixth round, 22nd overall, by the Texas Smoke in the 2023 Women's Professional Fastpitch draft.

Personal life

On November 19, 2022, Lyons' boyfriend,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player

Michael Turk Michael Matthew-Paul Turk (born March 14, 1998) is an American football Punter (football), punter who is a free agent. He played college football at Lafayette Leopards football, Lafayette, Oklahoma Sooners football, Oklahoma, and Arizona State Sun ...

, proposed to her on the field following the

Bedlam Series The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry. It refers to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference. Both sch ...

football game. The couple got married on June 23, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Grace Living people 1999 births Oklahoma Sooners softball players People from Peoria, Arizona Softball players from Arizona People from Bitburg