Clemson Commit Comes Full Circle
By Seth Manus
In the Spring of 2018, Clemson Softball held its inaugural softball camp. At the time, 12-year-old Sam Minish was too young to participate and was only there because of her sister. Instead, she threw the ball with her dad in a nearby empty grass area. As a kid she thought to herself, “This would be a cool place to go. I think I want to go here.” The area she chose to play catch in would become McWhorter Stadium, the home of Clemson Tigers Softball.
Fast-forward six years and the Madison County High School senior is the No. 2 outfielder in the nation and the No. 7 overall player in the class of 2024, according to Extra Innings Softball. The two-time 16U Alliance National Champion is committed to play at Clemson University.
Clemson has always been the goal for Sam. From her days as a 12-year-old to her first official visit to campus, she knew where she was going.
“It is my dream school,” said Minish. She will wear No. 20 for the Tigers in honor of her father and sister because that was the number they each wore.
Her parents, Tonya and Jeremy Minish, realized her potential early on. Her mother saw it in T-ball and saw it was something she was “naturally good at a very young age”. As for her father he knew Sam had a legitimate future when he saw her start softball.
“She was 7 and she was playing with 9 and 10-year-olds,” said her father. “She batted leadoff, she was the pitcher on the team and we won.”
The family was, of course, at a softball tournament when the rankings first came out. The Minish family felt very humbled and excited.
“I still can't believe it,” said Sam when speaking on how she feels about the rankings and her high recruit status. “It doesn't feel real at all.”
“I always try to think we have parent blinders on and our kid looks better than she really does but then she just keeps performing and other people see what we see,” said her father.
“You always see other girls and never think in a million years it’s gonna happen to your own daughter,” said her mother. “We are so proud of her.”
Sam’s parents are her biggest supporters. Whether it is her mother helping send highlights out to coaches and scouts on Twitter to get their attention or her father giving her batting lessons. Her parents always make sure to get Sam where she needs to be. They are “always present”.
They are proud of the woman she has become. “It has been tough,” said Tonya Minish. She has become strong and stands up for herself and she has forged her own path, her parents said.
Sam Minish is also more than just softball. She is most proud of her faith. “Without Him none of this would be possible,” said Minish. Second, she is most proud of her parents and everything that they do for her. She also is proud of “hitting dingers”. She loves spending time outdoors. She is an avid hiker and enjoys spending days at the lake with her friends and family. She loves hunting and fishing as well.
Minish loves to support her friends in their sports too. She is always in the Rowdy Raiders Rude Crew at different events. She gives back to her community. This past fall she helped coach a rec league softball team. Her mother said that they receive messages from the parents of little girls who look up to Sam and they say she is a role model to the local kids.
“Gotta remember where you come from,” Minish said when speaking about her community. “Can't forget about the little girls who look up to you.”
This summer Minish will move to Clemson and join her new teammates. She will return to the field where she tossed a ball around with her father as a little girl, bringing her childhood dreams of becoming a Clemson Tiger full circle.
