Softball Legend Bramlett Has Sweet Homecoming
October 04, 2021 | Softball, Joel Coleman
Chelsea Bramlett returned to MSU as head coach of Northwest Mississippi Community College.
STARKVILLE – It's been more than a decade since Chelsea Bramlett finished up her Mississippi State softball career. Over 10 years have gone by since she was slapping softballs around and tearing up the basepaths while wearing Maroon and White.
Yet as Bramlett returned to campus this past Friday for a fall exhibition as the head coach of Northwest Community College, she couldn't help but feel a bit like she never left.
"My heart will always be in Starkville," Bramlett said. "It just always will be."
The feeling is mutual. MSU will forever be attached to Bramlett as well. How could it not be? Bramlett is unquestionably one of the greatest softball players to ever wear a Bulldog jersey.
She was an All-American in all four years of her career. Bramlett was a three-time National Catcher of the Year award winner. She sits atop the State record book in multiple statistical categories including batting average, runs scored, hits and stolen bases.
Given all that, Friday was cause for a celebration. Mississippi State presented Bramlett with a cowbell upon her homecoming. Once presented to Bramlett, her current team quickly indicated to her that accepting the gift wasn't enough.
"Of course my girls made me ring it," Bramlett said.
It's ironic. The one who made cowbells clang plenty back in her day was being made to ring her own. To be fair, the Northwest CC team wouldn't have had to twist Bramlett's arm. Again, she loves this place and was thrilled to be back at it.
"It was home for 4 ½ years and being back and seeing how far everything has come and what they've done with the facility, and really all the facilities, it's just been really amazing," Bramlett said.
It was Bramlett's first time to be inside a totally-completed Nusz Park. Bramlett's old Bulldog teams used to play on what was then known simply as the MSU Softball Field. It's the same grounds these days, but now, current Bulldogs follow in Bramlett's shadow by competing in State's $6 million facility that includes vastly improved amenities all around.
Bramlett was incredibly impressed with her alma mater's softball home, and it was made all the better by the hospitality shown by MSU head softball coach Samantha Ricketts and the State coaching staff.
"They all made a point to come over and talk to us," Bramlett said. "It was really good."
The only thing that might would've made it better is if Bramlett could've suited up one more time. She says she frequently thinks back to her days as a player. To say she misses it would be a vast understatement.
"There are so many times I want to just grab the bat and say, 'Just let me show you and let me do it,'" Bramlett said. "I love coaching my girls and I love where I'm at, but there's just nothing like playing. There's nothing like the thrill and the pace of the game and being out there and not knowing what was going to happen. Competing was the best. There's nothing like it."
And getting to compete at MSU for Bramlett made it all the better. Those days might be gone, but they'll never, ever be forgotten by Bramlett.
"Mississippi State is really just one of a kind," Bramlett said.
