2023-24 Winter High School Sports Preview: For Colfax’s Brynn McGaughy, no place like home

Brynn McGaughy stands out everywhere she goes. But in the cold and dimly lit auxiliary gym at Colfax Elementary School, the 6-foot-3 junior really stood out among the other varsity, junior varsity and youth players gathered for practice last week.

That’s not to take away anything from the other athletes, several of whom were part of last year’s Class 2B state title team. But she towers over peers and coaches alike.

Her skill level is such that McGaughy could play her last two seasons of high school basketball anywhere she wanted. She has nothing left to prove at the 2B level with a state title, a second-place finish and state player of the year award in her first two seasons. But instead of opting for a bigger school or basketball academy, she’s never given a thought to playing anywhere else than Colfax.

For her, there’s no place like home.

“I think a lot of girls at my level – if they’re at a small school or just even high school – they’re looking to go to a prep school or an academy, which I fully respect. But the friendships I’ve made here, and the community that has loved me so much has helped me stay here.”

McGaughy also stressed that coach Jordan (Harazin) Holmes, herself a former Colfax star, is a significant factor for her staying on.

“I wouldn’t want to be coached by anyone else in high school. So that’s really what keeps me here. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Why would she? She’s already the unanimous top prospect in the state and No. 15 in the country, according to ESPN.com.

Holmes, who led the Bulldogs to three state titles in Colfax’s four-year run from 2004-07 under coach Corey Baerlocher and played college ball at Seattle Pacific, says it’s the “biggest blessing” to coach a player with McGaughy’s skill and upside.

“It is not a challenge, and that’s just an honest answer,” she said, “And that is a testament to the kid that she is. She does not have an ego and she doesn’t have a big head and I think that’s what makes her ‘the unicorn’ – that is what we call her – just because this is home and she’s not bigger than it.”

Holmes’ first year as coach at Colfax was McGaughy’s freshman season. Holmes called it “fate.”

“When (the Colfax job) came up for grabs, I just thought ‘Gosh, I want it to be built on what it was built on for me,’ because it was so impactful,” she said. “All these things circled back to here and I just thought ‘This is what it was supposed to be.’ ”

McGaughy (pronounced McGoy) has nearly 40 Division I offers – many from “Power 5” conference schools – before she plays a game her junior season.

If she has a favorite in mind already, she certainly isn’t telling. The decision must be like a little kid in a candy store allowed to dip their hand into just one jar.

“It’s hard,” she said. “I have 12 or so schools that I could see myself going to for the next four years, pursuing my education and creating a great relationship with the coaches. But it’s hard. I don’t know. I don’t want to say anything too much.”

There will be plenty of time for all that.

On top of studies, league and state play, club ball and international play, she has found the process a bit daunting.

“It can be at times, for sure. Especially when I started getting more attention,” she said. “It was a lot to manage. But I’ve settled down and am definitely narrowing it down.”

The level-headed teenager has tried to “live in the moment” and take it all in. She realizes she’s only going to go through this once.

“It’s actually quite difficult because I do want to see it in kind of a different standpoint and try to see it in a different perspective. But it’s hard. It just the life I’m living in, and I want to see how cool it is.”

The summer brought McGaughy a different type of experience – injury rehab. On June 24 at Hoopfest, McGaughy suffered an open ankle fracture and dislocation, requiring surgery and a three-to-six-month recovery and rehabilitation.

It caused her to miss all of the summer circuit with her club team, Meta Hoops Idaho AAU.

“I was off my foot for like two weeks and then I went on crutches for about a month, and I still couldn’t put any weight on it,” she said.

She’s been cleared by doctors and is back at practice, but she is still playing her way into game shape. She expects that by the time league games roll around at the beginning of the year she’ll be back to full speed. Holmes will manage McGaughy’s minutes very carefully to start, balancing the Bulldogs title defense with her star player’s future.

“I’m not where I want it to be, but it’ll get there for sure. Coach is getting us in shape.”

Holmes was at Hoopfest watching her son play when her phone started blowing up about the injury.

“I cried. I did,” Holmes said. “I was so sad for her in that moment. I was worried about her pain. It just broke my heart for her. Then, two seconds later I thought, ‘Nope. This is going to be a blessing. We’re gonna work with this.’ Her mental game is going to be where she thrives, you know, in these months where she cannot play.”

For McGaughy, the mental aspect of the injury was tougher than the physical.

“My stress reliever is always basketball and not being able to play basketball took a really big toll on me,” she said. “So, I was super stressed out but we’re here now.”

McGaughy is bringing a lot of attention to the town of Colfax, population around 2,800. She was born in Spokane but moved to Colfax with her mom in first grade. Her dad was a basketball player in high school, but he topped out at 6-1 so she’s already outgrown him. But the genetics run in the family – McGaughy’s great uncle Randy Casey was 6-8 and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and she had a 6-7 cousin play football at Oregon.

“Elementary (school) was cool just to kind of get a feel for (Colfax), I think,” she said. “As I got bigger, I realized how cool the community was and just how basketball oriented this town is.

“My freshman year I really realized that I could actually play at the next level.”

Still, with all the attention and accolades, McGaughy is humble enough to realize there’s more work to do on her game.

“I’ve been here, I’ve been in AAU. I’ve been in Europe with girls much better than me. So, I’ve been around all of them. … I’m always like, ‘Oh, I need to do this better; this better.’ So yeah, I’m not yet satisfied with where I’m at.”

“I still yell at her in practice,” Holmes said. “There are still things that she doesn’t do right. Thank God. She’s not the perfect player, right? So, I’m coaching her up just as much as I’m coaching up other kids – it’s just in different ways.”

McGaughy could score 40 points or more a night if she and Holmes wanted, but she doesn’t play much in the second half as the coach works in the other players on the team. The temptation to just dump it into the paint and let McGaughy work is something they both try to resist.

“I don’t always play too much because we’re trying to get other people looks and other people opportunities,” McGaughy said. “It’s really all about …celebrating their successes because that makes me so happy.”

“I just don’t think she has anything to prove, other than to herself,” Holmes said. “I think she only has to prove to herself who she is, what kind of leader she wants to be, and how to do hard things that aren’t going to come naturally to her.”

One of those things is being a leader when she’s not on the floor.

“That’s tough to do, and that’s not something she’ll ever have to do in the future,” Holmes said. “But when she’s here, you know, she does sit on the bench a lot. So, how do you lead and make others better with just your voice? That’s kind of her challenge, and I love that it’s just gonna make her an even better basketball player down the road.”

McGaughy’s best competition, she thinks, is right here at home.

“I always want to push myself to my best ability and there’s kids on my team in Colfax that can do that. (Senior) Hailey Demler – she really pushes me to be my best because she’s at the position that I want to be at right now. And just be better at it.”