Julian Welsh-White
Jersey number - 9
Position - Middle attacker
Height - 6-foot-7
Year - Junior
Hometown - Collingswood, N.J.
Major - Sports administration
As a freshman at Collingswood High School in New Jersey, Julian Welsh-White was committed to a career in baseball.
He had never thought about playing volleyball until the coach approached him and asked him to play. But after some tension between him and the varsity baseball coach, Welsh-White decided to give volleyball a try.
"I wasn't that good at first, but I stuck with it," Welsh-White said. "My coach saw my perseverance, and I fell in love with the sport. He is the one that really drove me to pursue volleyball as a collegiate sport."
Welsh-White was a multi-sport athlete in high school in volleyball and basketball. In his senior year, he led the volleyball team to a 20-3 record and conference championship while earning all-state honors.
His high school volleyball coach, Joe Gillespie, saw his potential and helped develop his game while promoting him to club teams in the area. He attended club tryouts with Welsh-White and even made recruiting videos to promote his game.
Ball State men's volleyball coach, Joel Walton, saw the videos, peaking his interest in the 6-foot-7 middle attacker.
"The year that we recruited [Welsh-White] we were looking for another middle attacker," Walton said. "We were watching videos and his video stood out. He's quick, has a quick arm swing, he's tall — he fit a lot of the criteria that we were looking for in that position."
Welsh-White began receiving interest from other big schools as well, including Penn State, Hawaii and Southern California.
After visiting several schools in the midwest, Welsh-White decided to visit Ball State late in his senior year.
"I didn't know where it was, and I had never heard of it," Welsh-White said. "As soon as I got out here, I fell in love with the campus and I wanted to get away."
His journey as a Cardinal has had its ups and downs, as he arrived on campus with several other talented middle attackers.
But teammates and fans see Welsh-White's leadership every game, as he leads the bench celebrations after every big play.
Welsh-White has one year of eligibility remaining after this season. He will no longer help ignite the crowd at Worthen Arena, however.
With his academic scholarship only lasting eight semesters, Welsh-White would be forced to pay full out-of-state tuition to remain a Cardinal for the 2015-2016 academic year. Due to a lack of financial aid, he had to make the decision to leave his teammates and finish his collegiate career elsewhere.
"These guys are like my second family, I'm glad I get to see them every day," Welsh-White said. "I'm still looking at other schools, mainly to finish my education, but I also want to finish my last year playing volleyball."
Read More
Turning the Tides: How Ryleigh Skaggs is changing Wes-Del girls' basketball
By Logan Connor / 1 hours agoHead coach Ryleigh Skaggs is looking to turn the narrative on Wes-Del girls’ basketball
Cardinals survive five-set marathon against Central Michigan, advance to MAC Championship Final
By Daniel Kehn / 12 hours agoBall State advances to the MAC Championship with a five-set marathon victory over Central Michigan
Ball State women’s basketball falls to No. 16 UNC in the Battle 4 Atlantis
By Elijah Poe / 13 hours ago“I'm really glad that I was able to come back in time to play because we're not going to get this moment back,” senior Madelyn Bischoff said about the 63-52 loss to No. 16 North Carolina. “Even though we didn't win, I do think that this is really going to help us in the long run.”
