Kelli grew up in the small Central Texas town of Hamilton, where there wasn’t much to do other than play sports. Kelli’s goal early on was to earn a college scholarship, in either basketball or golf. Kelli soon realized that she’d have a hard time being recruited as a 5 foot 7 inch post player, so she chose golf as her primary sport in her junior and senior years. Kelli took lessons from legendary LPGA instructor Amy Fox, and with Amy’s help, Kelli won multiple Texas State Team and Individual Honors. Kelli’s hard work paid off, and she was awarded multiple offers to Division I schools. Though Kelli was honored, the offers were not quite what she was hoping for. She turned them down and spent a year on the Junior College squad of McLennan Community College. From there she received a full scholarship to Baylor University to complete her last 3 years of College, with a Degree in Health Fitness.