'Not on my bingo card': Walker Kessler reacts to girlfriend Abbie Stockard winning Miss America

SALT LAKE CITY — Walker Kessler sat silently at a restaurant table, mouth open, his eyes locked onto the phone screen.

Then came the words he was hoping to hear: "Your new Miss America is … Alabama."

He dropped the phone and shot up from his chair in excitement. His girlfriend, Abbie Stockard, had just won Miss America. The Jazz center stood there speechless before getting a celebratory hug from head coach Will Hardy.

"You should have seen the aftermath, too," Kessler said. "I was freaking out. I couldn't even talk to the waiter. It was wild."

As luck would have it, he could talk to her, though — and in person. The two so happened to be in the same city. The Jazz had just finished beating the Orlando Magic (Kessler had 10 points and 17 rebounds) and the pageant was being held at the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, not far from the Kia Center.

"I'm not a big believer in coincidences," Kessler said. "I definitely think it's a God thing. The fact that we play in Orlando one time the whole year, and it happens to be the night of her finals night, and she wins. I mean, you couldn't have drawn it out better."

With the Jazz having an off day on Monday, Kessler was able to stay back in Orlando to celebrate with Stockard after the ceremony. He had seen her study to answer questions for "500 different random topics." He had seen the dedication with her dancing. He had seen the long hours needed to prepare for the event. It was special to be with her on her big night.

"She's worked her tail off," he said. "I was not aware of the amount of preparation that goes into all that stuff. She spends hours every day. … She killed it."

He surprised her afterward wearing a Jazz hoody and USA sweats — not exactly an outfit fit for the occasion.

"I didn't have any suits or anything to wear," he said with a smile. "Another reason why people are like, 'Why in the world is she with him?'"

So why is she? Well, he actually has his mother to thank for that.

During his rookie season, Kessler's parents were invited to the Alabama-Auburn basketball by Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. A dancer had caught the eye of Kessler's mom, Andrea, so she snapped a picture and sent it to her son asking: "Do you know who this is?"

"I'm like, mom, you cannot take pictures of random people — that's weird," Kessler remembered, laughing.

Undeterred, Andrea told Walker he should find out who the mystery dancer was and contact her. He, though, refused, saying that'd be "weird" and for her to "just leave it."

Good thing for him, she didn't.

About three weeks later, Walker got a text from his mother telling him the girl's name was Abbie Stockard. Andrea had taken matters into her own hands and gotten her name from Pearl, Walker's former collegiate coach.

Armed with the new information, Walker Kessler figured he'd at least shoot his shot, as it were, and he messaged her on Instagram.

"The rest is history," he said. "So, yeah, mom for the win! Mom approves — she's definitely a very tough critic, as all moms are with their sons, but she definitely feels a chip on her shoulder with the fact that she picked her out."

Hey, choosing the future Miss America for your son is a pretty good thing to brag about.

"That was not on my bingo card, for sure," he said when asked how it felt to be dating Miss America. "It's a great title and stuff, but more than that she's an incredible young woman, even before she won Miss America or anything. It's cool to see her get recognized for that, but she's an incredible person. To me, she'll always just be Abbie."

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