As a volleyball player, she lettered three times and help the team to the Division I North championship in her junior and senior years.

[2] Mullen enrolled at the University of Rhode Island, where she played point guard and started all 27 games as a freshman.

[6] Even while playing in high school, Mullen knew she wanted a career as a basketball coach.

She said, "Even as a young player, in my freshman year, I felt like I was trying to be a coach on the floor...That was my dream, what I wanted to do.

"[2] Her first coaching position was at Northern Illinois, where she worked as the director of basketball operations for the 2004–05 season.

Minato also earned All-America honorable mention by the AP and the WBCA as well as ESPN W mid-major player of the year.