Central Michigan University Athletics
Hall of Fame 2026: Volleyball Standout 'Grew up Fast' and Produced Remarkable Career
9/29/2026 1:28:00 PM | General, Volleyball, Our Stories
Second in a series of profiles of members of the 2026 Class of the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame. The class comprises basketball player Amy Backus, wrestler David Bolyard, football player Ken Ealy, coach Jim Hornak, volleyball player Kaitlyn (McIntyre) Renzi and gymnast Brittany (Petzold) Franklin. The Class will be inducted during a ceremony in McGuirk Arena at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Admission to the induction ceremony is free and open to the public. The six members will be introduced during the CMU-Western Michigan football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – It's been a dozen years since Kaitlyn (McIntyre) Renzi stepped on the volleyball court in Central Michigan maroon and gold.
"I think just every day being able to compete at a high level is something I miss greatly," Renzi says. "You know, they say it goes by fast, but it's literally so fast. I don't even know how many years I'm removed from it at this point.
"What I wouldn't give to go back and be able to compete at that high level and put myself through that again -- along with the relationships and close friends that I've kept have been amazing."
Renzi was, indeed, amazing. She was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team in 2011 when she helped the Chippewas to the MAC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. She would go on to earn First Team All-MAC honors in each of her final three years as a Chippewa, only the third player in program history to accomplish that feat and she remains in the top 10 in program history in 19 statistical categories including career kills and career points.
Central Michigan held little, if any, interest for Renzi when she was being recruited during her days at Beaver Dam (Wis.) High School. The connection? Then-CMU graduate assistant Bethany (Martin) Lokken was also a Beaver Dam native and had been a volleyball standout at the school a half-dozen years ahead of Renzi.
If CMU was good enough for Lokken, well, then, why not give the school across Lake Michigan a look.
"I came to campus and fell in love," Renzi says, adding that she also met her future husband, Sean Renzi, a former standout pitcher on the CMU baseball team, while at CMU.
McIntyre earned a bachelor of science degree from CMU with a major in exercise science/kinesiology and then went on to the University of Wisconsin, earning her doctorate in physical therapy.
She and Sean are now the parents of three boys, ages 6, 4 and 2, and the family lives in Clarkston. She works as a physical therapist, Sean as an account manager for a financial institution.
Renzi said she reflects on her days as a collegiate student-athlete and how those formative years helped prepare her for her for what has ensued.
"It teaches you responsibility," she says. "We were just kids; we had to kind of grow up really fast alongside each other and you weren't just responsible for yourself, but you had to be a contributing member to the team and you couldn't let the team down. That was just a huge life lesson that, I think, really has gone a long way."
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will, obviously, be a homecoming both for Kaitlyn and for Sean, who was drafted in 2016 by the Chicago White Sox.
"We're excited to come back and bring the kids," Renzi says. "We've only brought our oldest one (to Mount Pleasant). We're excited to get them all there and buy them some maroon and gold."
"I think just every day being able to compete at a high level is something I miss greatly," Renzi says. "You know, they say it goes by fast, but it's literally so fast. I don't even know how many years I'm removed from it at this point.
"What I wouldn't give to go back and be able to compete at that high level and put myself through that again -- along with the relationships and close friends that I've kept have been amazing."
Renzi was, indeed, amazing. She was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team in 2011 when she helped the Chippewas to the MAC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. She would go on to earn First Team All-MAC honors in each of her final three years as a Chippewa, only the third player in program history to accomplish that feat and she remains in the top 10 in program history in 19 statistical categories including career kills and career points.
Central Michigan held little, if any, interest for Renzi when she was being recruited during her days at Beaver Dam (Wis.) High School. The connection? Then-CMU graduate assistant Bethany (Martin) Lokken was also a Beaver Dam native and had been a volleyball standout at the school a half-dozen years ahead of Renzi.
If CMU was good enough for Lokken, well, then, why not give the school across Lake Michigan a look.
"I came to campus and fell in love," Renzi says, adding that she also met her future husband, Sean Renzi, a former standout pitcher on the CMU baseball team, while at CMU.
McIntyre earned a bachelor of science degree from CMU with a major in exercise science/kinesiology and then went on to the University of Wisconsin, earning her doctorate in physical therapy.
She and Sean are now the parents of three boys, ages 6, 4 and 2, and the family lives in Clarkston. She works as a physical therapist, Sean as an account manager for a financial institution.
Renzi said she reflects on her days as a collegiate student-athlete and how those formative years helped prepare her for her for what has ensued.
"It teaches you responsibility," she says. "We were just kids; we had to kind of grow up really fast alongside each other and you weren't just responsible for yourself, but you had to be a contributing member to the team and you couldn't let the team down. That was just a huge life lesson that, I think, really has gone a long way."
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will, obviously, be a homecoming both for Kaitlyn and for Sean, who was drafted in 2016 by the Chicago White Sox.
"We're excited to come back and bring the kids," Renzi says. "We've only brought our oldest one (to Mount Pleasant). We're excited to get them all there and buy them some maroon and gold."
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