Just when you thought July 2026 couldn’t get any better for Walker Kessler, it did. Days after the Los Angeles Lakers struck a deal with the Utah Jazz to acquire Kessler in a sign-and-trade, he and his longtime girlfriend, Abbie Stockard, announced they got engaged.
It was Kessler’s sister, Lilly McCarthy, who first shared the big news on Instagram, and Stockard, Miss America 2025, put out a post not long after on Sunday.
“The greatest surprise,” Stockard wrote. “We’re getting married!! I get to marry Walker Kessler – my best friend! Our story is truly one that only the Lord could have written. So many things I once thought were coincidences were really His perfect plan unfolding, and our story is greater than anything I could have imagined.
“There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with, doing life together and cheering each other on,” Stockard added. “I’m so excited for all the big things God has in store for us and the adventure ahead, wherever He might lead us. Best Fourth of July EVER.”
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Just a couple of hours later, Kessler put up a post as well.
“I give thanks to God I get to spend the rest of my life with you, Abbie,” Kessler wrote. “Here’s to the future together. I love you so much.”
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Kessler and Stockard both attended Auburn University, but this love story didn’t begin there. The big man has revealed how his mother, Andrea, started it all.
“This was, I guess, my rookie year, at the very end of the year, my mom and dad got invited to an Alabama-Auburn basketball game from BP, Bruce Pearl,” Kessler said, via the NBA. “So they were at this game, and love my mom to death, she’s an unbelievable person, but you know how moms are.
“So she takes a picture of this random girl, who was a dancer on the court,” Kessler continued. “And says, ‘Do you know who this is?’ I’m like, ‘Mom, you cannot take pictures of random people. That’s weird. That’s just some stalker activities.’… Three weeks later, she texts me, mom does, ‘Hey, I asked Bruce Pearl who that girl was. This is her name. Just so you can have it.’ I was like, ‘All right, mom.'”
Kessler decided he might as well hit Stockard up on Instagram, and the rest is history. He shared this piece of information after she was named Miss America in January 2025.
Kessler had taken to Instagram to congratulate Stockard back then and also shared a clip of him watching her win it along with Jazz head coach Will Hardy.
“Congratulations, Abbie,” Kessler wrote. “I am so proud of you and everything you stand for. Your hard work and trust in the Lord has awarded you with this incredible opportunity! Use your light to shine on others around you! Love you.”
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Kessler will now be looking to do some winning of his own after becoming a Laker. The Jazz got two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps for the 24-year-old. That’s a sizeable haul, and the Lakers also gave Kessler a four-year, $130 million deal. This is a huge all-in move.
Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Jazz in 2025-26. He only played 5 games as he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder early in the campaign, and he will be looking to make a strong impression in 2026-27.
