Kat Wallace’s mother coined the phrase the former Mississippi State softball player still uses as a daily guide.
As a starter at Brookhaven High School, Wallace would get discouraged when things did not go her way at the plate and in the field. So her mother would tell her to lean into everything she did with “two cheeks” — in other words, with all her effort and all her energy.
“Give it both cheeks basically means don’t half-do anything. Give it all you’ve got,” Wallace said. “Once that started coming around in softball, it transferred into all areas of my life, whether that was academics and taking care of my business in the classroom. Whatever I was doing, everything, I was going to give it two cheeks.”
Wallace had the motto stitched onto her glove once she came to MSU, and later had the phrase trademarked, purchasing sweatshirts for her teammates and coaches. It helped her go from a community college standout to a manager and later a player for the Bulldogs, and now to her current role as an administrative operations fellow for the MSU athletic department, where she reports to Athletic Director Zac Selmon.
Growing up in South Mississippi, Wallace was a Bulldogs fan as a child along with her three brothers, who forced her to be competitive from an early age. By the time she was in high school, she knew her goal of playing softball in the Southeastern Conference was unrealistic, so she enrolled at Jones College, a school roughly 80 miles east of her hometown with a winning tradition on the softball field.
“NAIA and Division II, Division III schools showed some interest, but I wanted to go somewhere where softball was important and you were going to win and compete for championships, and the best opportunity to do that was at Jones,” Wallace said. “They were just coming off a national championship when I committed there, and we won a lot of ball games.”
After her first year at Jones was cut short due to COVID-19, Wallace had an excellent sophomore season, batting over .300 and helping her team finish as the NJCAA Division II runners-up. Also a standout in the classroom, Jones was an academic all-American in 2021 and maintained a 4.0 GPA.
She transferred to MSU following her second year at Jones, fully assuming her softball playing career was over. A scholarship allowed Wallace to complete her four-year degree in Starkville tuition-free, so she hung up her cleats and became involved with the Bulldogs’ softball program as a manager for the 2022 season.
“I just had a blast. Being around the game at this level was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed being a student of the game under the staff here. They taught me a lot,” Wallace said. “I caught a lot of bullpens and threw a lot of batting practice, some front toss. We helped out with a lot of the infield and outfield drills. Really just whatever they needed me to do.”
Wallace was happy to remain in that role for her senior year, but head coach Samantha Ricketts had something else in mind for her.
Ricketts gave Wallace a call in the summer of 2022 and said that her work ethic and character had impressed the coach enough to offer her a spot on MSU’s roster.
In 2023, Wallace played in 40 games and made 20 starts at second base, finishing with 10 runs scored and more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six). She used her final year of eligibility in 2024, earning a master’s degree in business administration, and appeared in 34 games this past spring, mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.
“That was a pretty cool phone call to get. (I) think I shed a couple tears, all of joy,” Wallace said. “I stayed in shape, I kept working out and taking care of my body and stuff, so that wasn’t too bad. The biggest challenge was getting my swing back in playing form. At the SEC level versus the junior college level, (the pitching) is completely different.”
After graduation, Wallace — whose undergraduate degree is in mathematics — had planned to get a job teaching math and coaching high school softball. But she had interned with the business office for the athletic department and the Bulldog Club, which opened her eyes to the prospect of remaining involved with athletics at her alma mater.
One of MSU’s sport administrators notified her about the open administrative operations fellowship after the Bulldogs’ season ended in May, and Wallace jumped at the opportunity. She mainly supports the department’s high-level administrators, helps put on special events and hosts the visiting athletic directors on football game days.
Wallace is also the chair of the Community Engagement Committee, helping coordinate the “Trick or Trot” fun run to benefit the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability in early October.
“Starkville has been a great place for me to be green and growing,” Wallace said. “There’s always something to learn, and I’m around some really great people here who I can learn from. I’m building connections with people from all over and learning a lot about the athletics world and building a lot of relationships. I could see myself staying here.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
