Note: This is one of a series of articles about the top stories in OC athletics during the 2021 calendar year.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 22, 2021) – It's not hyperbole to say that in her first year at Oklahoma Christian, Brooklin Bain established herself as arguably the most versatile athlete in the Lone Star Conference.

Bain's starring roles for OC's basketball and softball teams – which resulted in many LSC and regional honors – ranks as the No. 10 story in OC athletics in 2021.

OC's basketball and softball coaches knew Bain was an intriguing prospect, but it's doubtful they expected her to do what she did during a remarkable rookie campaign.

In basketball, OC's 2020-21 season was abbreviated to 16 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was enough time for Bain, a 5-foot-10 forward from Comanche, to emerge as a force in the powerful NCAA Division II league.

Among LSC players, she finished seventh in scoring (15.0 points per game), third in rebounding (9.5 per game) and fifth in field-goal percentage (48.6). She posted eight double-doubles and was named as the LSC offensive player of the week once while leading the Lady Eagles into the eight-team LSC tournament.

League coaches named her as the LSC freshman of the year and placed her on the All-LSC first-team list. Due to the shortened season, no All-South Central Region teams were named, but if there had been, Bain almost certainly would have appeared on that list.

By itself, that would have been impressive, but Bain quickly transitioned from basketball to softball and played a key role for that team as OC went 38-9, rose to No. 4 in the NCAA Division II coaches' poll and earned the No. 1 seed in the South Central Regional.

Bain, who played as a third baseman, outfielder and pitcher, hit .327 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs while posting a team-best slugging percentage of .681. She also had 10 stolen bases. She somehow only made the All-LSC second-team list chosen by coaches, but athletic communications professionals still named her to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association's All-South Central Region second-team list.

As she did in basketball, Bain received recognition on the LSC's All-Freshman list in softball.

She also made a bit of OC history by being named as the LSC's hitter of the week during the final week of the season. Bain became only the second OC athlete to receive a conference player-of-the-week award in unrelated sports, joining current OC women's basketball coach McKenzie Stanford, who did so in basketball and track and field during her playing days.