Meet the Bulldog: Keahilele Mattson

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's been a breakout season for freshman Keahilele Mattson 43 games in.

"So I've just been trying to stay calm, you know, look for the better pitches and just trying to find ways to help my team out," she said.

It's safe to say she's been helping her team plenty.

Mattson has been crushing everything thrown her way. The freshman outfielder is hitting well over .350 this season and leads the team in homers and runs batted in. She is a big reason why the Dogs have the best record in the Mountain West.

"I call her Steady Eddie," says Interim Head Coach Jodie Cox. "If I had a little bit of that steadiness, I would have been a different player. She just doesn't take a pitch off. I tell her all the time, I would not want to be a pitch caller and pitch to her. She's amazing."

Her performance snagged her a player of the week award last month but despite all the success happening now, Mattson isn't forgetting to look ahead to the future.

Mattson is an Ag Business major, which makes sense here in the Central Valley, but she's eyeing a pretty unique crop.

"My grandparents in Hawaii, they own a coffee farm," she said. "My plan after college would be to take over that farm and do my own thing with it, kind of go into the natural side of things, looking at growing my own produce and just figuring out ways to live off the land, basically."

It's a bit different than farming almonds or other Valley crops but the fundamentals of agriculture are the same.

"I think that's really important too, is finding other people here you can connect with and just being able to use the Valley resources," she said.

It's going to be a big venture for Mattson but just like her approach at the plate, she's staying calm and enjoying the present while getting ready for the future.

"I'm so grateful to be a Bulldog and just able to be in this environment and have fun with all these girls," Mattson said.