By Derrick Smith

Brookelyn Mitchell is a senior at Mustang High School and is a member of the Lady Bronchos softball team. She puts in a lot of work because she wants to be able to reach her highest potential and she uses her teammates as motivation.

“The underclassmen on our team motivate me in the game and in life,” she said. “I was in their shoes at one point in my high school career. I had upperclassmen that I wanted to be like and ones that I looked up to. Being a positive role model is very important to me because I want them to have the best experiences possible and that starts from all of us at the top.”

Teams go through ups and downs during the span of a season but they also make a lot of great mentors over that time. Mitchell has one moment in particular that she looks at as her favorite.

“The highlight moment of my career was May 5, 2021,” she recalled. “The day before the fifth, our first day of the state tournament had gotten rained out which led to us playing at Firelake in Shawnee for three games on that day. Nobody expected us to win. We were the true underdogs that year. In the semis, we played Southmoore who everyone expected to win, but we won. We had gone to City Bites between games and I remember all of us being very lackadaisical and trying to find some form of energy. Then came the championship game. All of us were tired but we were ready to fight. Sierra Selfridge robs a home run and we beat Moore 17-13. The love and amount of pride we all had felt for one another is something that someone had to be a part of to know the feeling.”

Now that she is in her final season of high school competition, Brookelyn has a message for the younger female athletes.

“I want the younger girls that are starting their careers to remember one thing,” she stated. “You are more than a number on a chart. Your stats don’t define you and neither do those around you. You will always be your own biggest critique and advocate, so make sure you talk to yourself positively. Most importantly just go have fun.”