Keiran Bray, former intern for the San Miguel Basin Forum, reported that her freshmen year of playing college basketball is going well. Bray is at Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, about 30 miles east of Lincoln.
“I love it,” she said last week. “It’s so much fun. It’s going really well.”
Bray gets quite a bit of playing time for the college’s JV team. Her team just finished the JV season on Feb. 10, ending with a record of 5-6, and the varsity team will play for a few more weeks before the post-season begins.
Bray agreed the work “is a lot” at times, especially the 6 a.m. practices, but she’s happy with the choice she made. She enjoys working out, staying in shape, and being a part of a collegiate team. She really likes the JV coach, a younger woman who Bray said has a great ability to connect with players. She does also like the head coach too, though she has limited time with him.
As far as academics go, she loves her classes. She said Nucla High School did prepare her for the workload. In fact, she’s not “super challenged,” though she wouldn’t say her courses are easy.
“I felt pretty prepared for college,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I struggled coming in.” She did begin her freshman year with college credit, due to Nucla High School having dual-credit options, so she’s getting to take some of the major-based classes in her degree plan, which is ag business. She’s also working on a minor in communications.
Bray, who wrote monthly columns related to agriculture for the Forum, is still writing, but mostly for her course work. She’s currently working on a paper about the wolf reintroduction issue in Colorado, and what that means for livestock producers.
She’s also joined the ag club, and she goes to the meetings for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) every Thursday. She’s got a good group of friends, and she likes her roommate. The food options in the cafeteria are good, and she can pick and choose her meals.
Is she homesick? A bit. Christmas break allowed her a good chunk of time at home with her family on the ranch, and she will be home for spring break too.
With her first year about 75% complete, she’s already having to think about what next year’s schedule will look like. Yes, she’s planning on returning to Nebraska.
Bray said she’s busy, but it’s been a positive experience. Her advice to high school kids considering an opportunity to play college sports is that they should take it.
“I guess my biggest thing is ‘if you’re not sure, go for it,’” she told the Forum. “For me personally, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come here and play basketball, but I am definitely glad I gave it a chance. It’s been amazing. You can always change your mind later with no harm done, really.”
