Chasing Dreams: How CC Crawford Balances Volleyball, Family, and Future Ambitions

by Mikayla Nagl, Sports Reporter, Fan Day Nation

Caroline “CC” Crawford proudly holding the Regional Champion trophy after a successful season with the University of Wisconsin volleyball team. The 5th-year senior looks ahead to even more achievements. (Photo by Julia Kostopoulos)

Caroline “CC” Crawford, a fifth-year senior volleyball player at the University of Wisconsin, knows the importance of the game and has been competing all her life, on and off the court. As the only girl among three brothers, Crawford learned quickly how to be competitive and that drove her to fall in love with sports. CC and her brothers all played multiple sports growing up, so being an athlete kind of fell into her lap. She never felt any pressure to play, though. She has always loved the game and believes that “movement is medicine.” 

Crawford grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri, but her family history goes back a little further than that. CC’s grandmother on her father’s side was a first-generation immigrant from South Korea who came to America during the Vietnam War. 

“The older I get, the more I dive into my culture and want to learn more about it. Being able to connect with her and learn new things is exciting for me,” CC said. 

Growing up in a half-Asian household, Crawford shares that “there was a lot of discipline and they were very strict on us, but I am thankful for that. They sacrificed a lot to provide for my brothers and I, so I now play for them realizing where I am now is because of them.” 

Crawford grew up playing four sports in her high school career: basketball, track, softball, and, of course, volleyball. Her love for volleyball grew over the years; she originally wanted to play softball in college instead. She grew up loving the game, but in her freshman year she started getting into high-level competition volleyball. “I had never seen anything like it before, the thrill of the game and the feeling of the game was so different than any other sport I played. I fell in love with it,” CC stated. 

CC Crawford celebrates during a University of Wisconsin volleyball match, inspired by the fans wearing her jersey number in the stands. "It’s a new type of motivation," she says, reflecting on her dedication and connection with supporters. (Photo by Julia Kostopoulos)

The University of Wisconsin volleyball team made it to the NCAA Final Four last season and was a tremendous success. Crawford said, “It was a surreal moment, and I have been dreaming of it ever since I started playing college volleyball. Obviously we fell short last year, but hope to make it further this season.” 

Fans are important in any sports community, and CC was able to experience this firsthand for the first time last year. “I’ve never seen anyone in the stands wear my jersey number until this year. It’s really inspiring to see that someone notices all the work you are putting in, and it’s a new type of motivation.”  

CC started her college career at the University of Kansas and transferred to the University of Wisconsin halfway through her sophomore year. She is now studying biology pre-med in hopes of becoming a doctor one day after playing volleyball professionally. 

Crawford never knew life would take her this far with volleyball, and if she could tell her younger self anything it would be to “dream big.”