OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 29, 2021) – The seconds tick off the clock. Three… Two… One…
 
Comanche High School needs three points to make it to the state championship basketball game. Freshman Brooklin Bain drives and puts up the shot, scores and gets fouled.

With zeros on the clock, Bain hits the free throw. The crowd erupts and Comanche is headed to the title game.
 
That story represents just one example of the pure athleticism, focus and competitiveness which makes Oklahoma Christian freshman Brooklin Bain a successful dual-sport athlete.
 
Bain now plays basketball and softball at OC, and while it makes for a challenging schedule, playing multiple sports is something she has done from a young age.
 
"I started playing softball when I was five and basketball when I was in the third grade," she said. "I started playing softball because my mom was a high school coach when I was little. I was always around it and when I was old enough to play, my mom signed me up. Then, I started playing basketball when my mom put together a little team in third grade and I've loved it ever since."
 
Brooklin Bain's mother, Misti Bain, played basketball at OC from 1989-1993, earning NAIA All-America honors as a senior. Misti Bain said she knew from watching her daughter at a young age that she was destined for greatness, as Brooklin has been a student of basketball, always working to improve her craft.
 
"She always wanted to play the game, even at the age of four," Misti said. "She didn't want to go play with the other kids. She wanted to sit in the dugout and be like the players. In basketball, I can remember her doing agility drills in the gym with high school girls when she was five years old.  She was always wanting to shoot the ball on the big goal, not the smaller goals for her size."
 
Brooklin's admiration of high school athletes soon evolved into a personal reality for her when she entered her freshman year at Comanche. She played softball and basketball and ran track. She boasts a lengthy list of accolades from her high school years:

• Four-time All-Area selection in basketball and softball
• Two -time Duncan Banner Player of the Year in basketball and softball
• All-State selection in basketball and softball as a senior
• Two-time All-District Softball Offensive Player of the Year
• 2016-17 basketball state runner-up and four-time state-tournament qualifier
• As a softball senior, hit .503 with 13 home runs, stole 42 bases and had a 12-4 pitching record

Comanche was set to make the state basketball tournament again her senior year before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Misti Bain said watching her daughter navigate the loss of her full senior year in basketball, softball and track was heartbreaking.
 
"This past year, she has grown and matured so much in life and athletics," Misti said. "Watching her be so excited for our team to make the 3A basketball state playoffs again and not getting the chance to finish was devastating."
 
Her accolades give credibility to the passion and unmatchable hard work Brooklin puts into everything she does. Misti said achieving is simply in Brooklin's DNA, but she does it all with a humble heart.
 
"When she dedicates herself to something, I can guarantee she will be successful at it," Misti said. "She may fail a few times along the way, but she will keep trying until she reaches success. She knows in her heart hard work pays off. She has received many outstanding awards and successes throughout her 19 years and I can proudly say she is a very humble person. She has always put God first and knows the special talents he has given her."
 
Humble attitude, hard work and a love for competition are three key traits to building a great athlete and Brooklin embodies all three, which helped her achieve her dream of being a collegiate athlete.
 
She started receiving collegiate scholarship offers during her freshman year of high school. The first came from Oklahoma State in softball, but she turned it down because she didn't want to commit to playing just one collegiate sport. Throughout her four years in Comanche, she received many offers in basketball and softball. Oklahoma Christian was the first school that told her she could play both sports, which ultimately won Brooklin over.
 
"I picked Oklahoma Christian, because I loved the coaches and they were so willing to work with me to play both," Brooklin Bain said. "When I came on my visit at the end of my junior year, everyone was so nice and it just had that family feeling. I've always heard from college athletes, 'When you know you know' and as soon as I stepped foot on campus, I just knew Oklahoma Christian was the place I wanted to call home."
 
Having played at OC herself for current women's basketball coach Stephanie Findley, Misti Bain said she was excited for Brooklin to call OC home.
 
"I know what an amazing school Oklahoma Christian is," Misti Bain said. "For her to get the same educational and athletic experiences as me is a blessing. During the entire recruiting process, deep down I wanted her to go to Oklahoma Christian, but I never once gave her any clue about my thoughts. This was her deal, her future and I wanted it to be all her decision."
 
OC softball coach Shanon Hays said Brooklin Bain is a huge asset to have on the Eagles' roster and she will make an immediate impact for the No. 13-ranked team in NCAA Division II as a closing pitcher and solid offensive threat. 
 
"Brooklin is a talented kid who can do multiple things on the field," Hays said. "She is a pitcher with a lot of upside. She is also a lefty hitter who can drive the ball all over the park and run. We could use her at almost any position if we needed to."

Findley said she wanted Brooklin on her squad because of Brooklin's work ethic, both on and off the court.
 
"She is a very hard worker, is tough and plays hard all the time," Findley said. "When I see someone who plays as hard as she does, I want them on my team."
 
Brooklin has made an immediate impact on the basketball team, and as injuries have plagued the Eagles, she has stepped into a larger role and shined.
 
Seven games into her freshman season, she averages 31 impactful minutes a night. She has scored 20 or more points twice, with her career best of 24 points coming in a win at Cameron on Jan. 9, a performance that earned her recognition as the Lone Star Conference's offensive player of the week.

She has also registered two double-doubles – in the Jan. 9 game at Cameron (24 points, 15 rebounds) and again in a win at Angelo State (Texas) on Jan. 20 (20 points, 11 rebounds.) On Thursday, she drained a critical 3-pointer in the final minute to help lift OC to its league-leading fourth road win of the season, 72-68 over Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Findley said Brooklin's early success can be credited to her flexibility – she's now playing a different position than originally planned, because of all of the injuries in the program – and all-around talent.
 
"She's good," Findley said. "She knows basketball and she works hard. She adapts well, because she works hard, pays attention and studies the game."
 
Misti Bain, who coached Brooklin when she was young, still continues to coach her today – just over the phone now.
 
"Even after college games, I am on the phone telling her the good, the bad and what she needs to work on," Misti said. "I guess as long as she is a competitor, I will always be mom and coach."
 
To Brooklin, Misti is not just her mom or her coach. She is her role model.
 
"My mom played at Oklahoma Christian and was an All-American and ever since I was little I wanted to do the same," Brooklin Bain said. "Whether she knew it or not, she set the stage for me, because I wanted to achieve what she did and more. She has always been one of my biggest supporters and pushed me to be the best. I hope I am half the woman she is one day."