Blazing onto the Mississippi State softball scene in 2007 is a player from Cordova, Tenn., who will be burning up the basepaths for the Bulldogs for years to come.Freshman catcher/infielder Chelsea Bramlett knows why she was recruited to play for MSU.
“I think a lot of the reason I was recruited was speed,” Bramlett said. “I have pretty much always been a catcher, and it is different to be a catcher that has speed.”
Bulldog head coach Jay Miller agreed that Chelsea’s speed makes her a great softball player.
“She’s an outstanding young talent,” Miller said. “Chelsea is the fastest player I’ve ever coached in 25 years at the Division I level.”
A 2006 graduate of First Christian High School, Bramlett led the Lady Crusaders to a spot in the state tournament with a 34-8 record in her junior campaign.
She was recognized by The Commercial Appeal with a “Best of Preps” award in softball, as well as All-Metro honors in volleyball and basketball.
Bramlett said she chose to play at MSU mainly because of the coaches.
“I really liked it here,” she said. “I liked the coaches; I liked the campus. Coach Miller has done a lot with the Olympic team and professional teams, and he was one of the nicest coaches I met.”
Starting in all of the Bulldogs’ 16 games so far this season, Bramlett currently leads the team offensively with a .429 batting average.
She has tallied four doubles so far and has only walked three times.
Bramlett said one of her nicknames is “Wheels,” due in part to her 16 stolen bases on 18 attempts so far this season.
She has reached home plate 21 times this season, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the Bulldogs’ total runs.
When she’s not racing across home plate, she spends time behind it backing up senior catcher Blair Hewett. She also plays second base.
Bramlett has played mostly second base this season but said she may fill Hewett’s role next season.
“I think I’ll be focused more on catching than on the infield next season,” Bramlett said. “But I don’t know for sure. We’ll just have to see how things play out.”
So far this season, Bramlett has a .941 fielding percentage. She has been hit at 68 times this season, which puts her third on the team in defensive opportunities.
Bramlett said she feels welcomed on the team and appreciates all the mentoring and leadership the older players have provided.
She said NCAA softball is pretty much what she expected, and she hasn’t been surprised much.
However, her greatest obstacle in her career has been complacency, she said.
“I’ll never be perfect,” she said. “I have to strive to keep working to be better constantly.”
Bramlett has already emerged as one of the Bulldog leaders, impressing her coaches and teammates.
“She is going to be fun to watch the next four years,” Miller said. “I really look for her to do an outstanding job, scoring a lot of runs and stealing bases.