Keegan Cook was named Gophers volleyball’s eighth full-time head coach in December 2022. While the 2025 class isn’t his first recruiting class, the 2025 class is the first class he could recruit from start to finish. How did he do? Keegan has four commitments that would make the 2025 class one of the best in the country. One of the four players was Outside Hitter Kelly Kinney from West Palm Beach, Florida. She was ranked as a Top 15 player in the country last year. GopherHole’s Noel Thompson spoke to Kelly about her volleyball career, her recruitment with Keegan Cook, and why she chose Minnesota over other Big Ten schools.
GH: What was your introduction to volleyball? Was it something you started at a young age or picked up later in life?
My sister started playing volleyball when she was 13 or 14, and I was swimming at the time for some local Swim Club, and I wanted to start another sport. I noticed that my sister was playing volleyball, and I told my parents I wanted to try it, so I signed up for a local volleyball team, like a rec team, and was on the fourth team. But it was super fun. It was almost like a rec team. But I played there for my 10th year, my 11th and 12th year. Then, I switched to another club in Fort Lauderdale until my 15th year. After that, I moved to Tribe, the club I’m at now. So, I’ve been to three clubs and played high school volleyball since eighth grade. I played beach volleyball. I’ve played indoors for high school and club.
GH: Was volleyball something you fell in love with right away, or was there a moment later when you fell in love with volleyball?
I loved playing sports when I was younger; I just loved being active. I was really tall, so everyone always told me I should play volleyball or basketball. But in my 12th year, we went to this national tournament and weren’t the best team. I had a lot of fun with the girls, and I remember thinking I wanted to take this seriously. Then I switched clubs again, and in my 15th year, I fell in love with it. And I was like, I want this to be something that I play at the next level. I want to play in college. So, my 15th year was probably my breakthrough year, and then I moved to my club team, Tribe. And 16th year was my favorite volleyball year I’ve ever played.
GH: Was there a specific moment growing up when you realized you were pretty good at volleyball?
I come from an athletic family, so my parents always humble me. I never considered myself a top player until my 15th or 16th year. There is one moment in my 15th year when we were playing at Nationals, and I was playing on some show court, and I remember looking back on the sidelines and seeing all these college coaches, lined up watching, and I was like, “Oh my gosh. Like, is this for me? This is crazy”. Then that same year, I played at a tournament in Kansas City, and we were not a good team. We were on the 200th court back in the convention center. I was warming up, and all these college coaches were lined up again. And I was like, Wow, I must be pretty good at the sport for people to want me to play for their school in four or five years. I’d say that my 15th year, when I started getting college attention, was when I realized I had a future in Volleyball.
GH: Volleyball is pretty popular in the state of Florida. A lot of great players have come from it. Can you share about the competitiveness not just in the state of Florida but also in your local area? How has the volleyball scene in Florida made you the player you are?
I’ve been to three clubs, and it’s funny; my second club is considered rivals of the club I am on now. We used to play each other all the time. Florida is just super competitive. If you see a lot of rankings that come out, especially for my age group of volleyball, a lot of the top teams are from Florida. You have a lot of these top-level club teams. Still, more importantly, playing with USA Volleyball and being invited to these NTDP (National Team Development Program) series, you meet people from all over the country. So, many of my good friends are also on teams in Florida. So playing with them at USA Volleyball and being able to play with them in clubs makes it super competitive, especially at local tournaments.
GH: Outside of your high school team. You have been involved and invited to several clubs and All-Star teams. You were invited to the Under Armour All-American High School game and played volleyball with the USA. What did you learn through these experiences, and how has that helped you develop into the player you are now?
I always tell myself that there’s always someone out there who’s better than you. So, you should never settle for where you are. Playing for the Under Armour All-American games and any USA team shows me how much I need to work on and where I want to reach in my volleyball career. The level of competition makes me realize how much I love this sport. I love competing. I’m a competitive person, and I love being able to compete with the best in the nation. Being a part of these national programs is fun. You get to go the gym and see the best competition level. To me, there’s nothing like that.
GH: Can you share about your experience when your recruitment started? What was that like?
Colleges can contact you on June 15th, the summer going into your junior year of high school. For me, that was June 15th of 2023, my 16th year. That was my favorite year of club. So that summer, on June 15th, I woke up and had letters, emails, and calls from colleges. It was coaches who wanted to set up calls to talk to you. So, for the next couple of weeks, I called coaches. I had a list of 20 schools because I never really had a dream school, so I always had an open mind when it came to that. I made my list of top 20 schools and narrowed it down every week because I planned to take my five official visits in the fall.
GH: What stood out to you about Minnesota during your recruitment?
I talked to Gophers coach Keegan Cook on June 15th, and before that, he was my coach on the first-ever national team I was on. So, I got to interact with him. That was fun. He is an incredible coach, so I greatly respect him. I got to talk to him for the first official time that day, and I was blown away by everything he had to bring to the table. My dream is always to play in the Big 10. I just always wanted that. Having Keegan as a coach, how he coaches, his program, his values, and his commitment to the players as people and athletes blew me away. My first call with him put a tiny seed in my heart; my reaction was Wow, I like Minnesota. I could see myself there. I got to talk to Kristen Kelsay (former Gophers assistant head coach) and interact more with the girls on the team and the other recruits. Ultimately, it came down to where I could see myself playing and where I wanted to be in my heart.
I had five schools going into nationals, and I planned to take my official visits. So, I was not expecting to wake up on July 7th and tell my parents I wanted to go to Minnesota. I called everyone on July 7th; I committed that day. I publicly committed on July 8, which was one of the best moments of my life. I have the video of the two calls with Kristen and Keegan of me telling them that I’m coming there. Keegan, I’ve never seen him show so much emotion before. He’s just such an amazing person. Everyone there is, and I just knew I made the right decision. I literally had a dream about wearing a Minnesota Jersey playing volleyball. I just knew that that was the place I needed to be.
GH: You are a part of a fantastic recruiting class for the gophers that features McKenna Garr, Carly Gilk, and Jordan Taylor. This class is one of the best in the nation. What’s your relationship like with your fellow recruits in the class?
I have nothing but love for all of them, like they’re all my best friends. I’ve known Jordan since 2022, probably between all the USA programs we’ve been to together. It’s funny. During the June 15th process, Carly and I met each other at AAU, which was around a week after June 15, and both of us were talking about how Minnesota was one of our top choices, and that was the first time I got to speak to her. And I was like, wow. She’s a really, really cool person. Like, I could see myself being best friends with her. And then, obviously, we committed on the same day.
Regarding McKenna, I met her on my official visit, but we connected a lot online before that, and now we’re all so close. Carly is one of my favorite people ever. Hannah and Jordan, I love them both and am so excited to be there with them. They’re there right now, so I see how much fun they’re having there. I’m just so excited. All the girls on the team are incredible.
GH: What kind of player are Minnesota Gophers volleyball fans getting? What should they expect when Kelly Kinney arrives on campus this fall?
I’m the type of player who would do anything the team needs me to do to win. My ultimate goal is to win a national championship with Minnesota and a Big 10 championship. I would love to become an All-American; that’s every girl’s dream when going to college. I know Keegan and what he has in store for this program, and I trust him. I’m just going into Minnesota knowing that whatever they need me to do, I’ll do to make the program better.
GH: What are you most looking forward to playing volleyball as a Minnesota Golden Gopher?
I can’t wait to play in the Pav. l love energetic, competitive atmospheres. During my sophomore year, I was injured, so I went on tour to many of the colleges I was considering, and Minnesota was obviously one of them. I watched a game in the Pav for the first time, and the fan base is absolutely insane, like the blanket lady! It’s just so fun. I can’t imagine having an entire support system like that backing you up. I’m just so excited to get there and be able to play with the girls that I love, play the sport I love with, and with the fans that support me through it all.