Callie Minshew: Mississippi Made

By Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications

Many know her as Gardner's sister, but freshman Callie Minshew is on a mission to make a name for herself with Mississippi State volleyball.

The lone Mississippi native on the MSU roster is doing just that. Through two weeks of play, Minshew leads the Bulldogs in kills (74) and points (90.5) and has become a fixture in the Bulldog starting lineup, despite being surrounded by a talented group of attackers.

"I want people to know who I am," Minshew said. "I want to put my name out there and do the best I can for my team."

But playing volleyball at MSU wasn't always a guarantee. In her early high school years, Minshew had to go to Memphis for club competition to get any attention from collegiate coaches - there weren't clubs in central Mississippi that were focused on sending their athletes to college.

Then Minshew met a Bulldog.

Around Minshew's sophomore year, former MSU volleyball coach Jenny Hazelwood called Minshew's name. She was opening a club called Infinity Volleyball Academy. It was late in the recruiting process, but Minshew bought in.

And it paid off… Kind of. Colleges took notice of Minshew, but they were all mid-major programs. Minshew was honored, but she still felt like she was being overlooked.

"She was picky in her recruiting process," MSU head coach Julie Darty said. "It was a good picky. She was waiting for what felt totally right, not just 'I can go there and be an all-star.'"

That's because Minshew was dead set on one place: Starkville.

The Brandon native was locked into Mississippi State from the very beginning, before the recruiting process ever started. It was her dream school, the university her sister, Meredith, attends. It was home.

"I saw the atmosphere how the community loves the sports here," Minshew said. "I immediately loved it, and I knew this was the school I had to go to. With every other school I visited, I thought they were really nice schools, but Mississippi State, you can't touch it.

"From an early start, I knew that, if I played volleyball or not, I wanted to come here. Playing volleyball just makes it even better."

But first, MSU had to have interest in Minshew. When Darty became head coach in the spring of 2018, her first priority was figuring out how her upcoming class would come together.

"We didn't know who was in or out, or who was staying," Darty said. "I moved here from Florida, and at that time, I didn't know anything about in-state volleyball."

So, Hazelwood and Minshew's high school coach got in Darty's ear.

"They both said, 'you have to look at Callie,'" Darty said. "So, we went to a practice and watched her."

It didn't take long for Darty to know that Minshew was a perfect fit.

"They knew the kind of players that I like," Darty said. "They knew that I didn't have to see her play very much to know she was my type of kid."

Darty compares Minshew to senior setter Alleah Stamatis.

"Nothing is ever good enough [for Alleah]," Darty said. "She is a competitor, and she is going to find a way to win. That's how Callie is, as well, and that's why they have a good connection, because they are out there to get the job done."

From there, it was automatic. Minshew attended MSU's elite camp that summer and committed in the Newell-Grissom Building, ringing a cowbell in front of her peers.

"I would have come here and just been a regular student, but playing volleyball, I have the best of both worlds," Minshew said. "I get to come to a school where I feel at home, but I also get to do something I love. It's a win-win."

Fast forward to the summer of 2019. The two-time state champion and Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year had put in the work on the high school and club level. Now, it was time for her to prove that a Mississippi kid could compete in the SEC.

"I had my name to prove," Minshew said. "I'm undersized, and bunch of people look down on me."

Living up to her reputation as a competitor, Minshew did not back down. A month later, she was starting in MSU's opening match against Chattanooga. Then, a day later, she picked up 17 kills and led a comeback win over Western Illinois.

"I have proven what I can do," she said.

To Darty, Minshew's production now is just the beginning - not only for Minshew herself, but for the growth of volleyball in Mississippi.

"The state is getting better," Darty said. "The club she was at isn't a bad club. They are playing high-level competition. I think the trickle-down effect is that people in her club say, 'Wow, look at Callie. She went to Mississippi State.'

"I do think things are changing, and there is a different kind of vibe with the program right now."

The Bulldogs are 6-0 to start the 2019 campaign, in part due to Minshew's performance. The Mississippi kid's strong start begs an obvious question for Darty:

"Why would we want the best kid in the state to go anywhere else?"

Mississippi State University Athletics

Callie Minshew: Mississippi Made

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