The Drury Lady Panthers will have a new look this upcoming season.
New head coach Kaci Bailey has filled the Lady Panthers roster with some familiar faces.
“I’m just happy to be home,” said Drury junior Makaiya Brooks
It’s a homecoming for the former Central Bulldogs star and SPS all-time leading scorer.
“Being able to play in front of family, and fans, being able to bring the Northside back it feels really good,” Brooks said.
Brooks hit the transfer portal after two seasons at Memphis.
“Coach Bailey and Coach Knudson were the first ones out of the portal to recruit me and I liked them,” Brooks added. “They made me feel comfortable from the first phone call, then when I got the call that she was the head coach and she wanted me to come on campus I felt like I was already at home.”
Brooks will join incoming freshman Sara Mendel.
Mendel earned Class 4 Player of the Year as she led the Ava Bears to the state quarterfinals this past season.
“It’s so much different from high school. It’s a big change, it’s so much faster and more competition,” Mendel said.
Mendel originally committed to SBU, before former coach Kelsey Keizer left the program.
“With the coaching change I kind of felt like I wanted to see what else was out there, and coach Bailey reached out to me,” Mendel said. “Drury’s always been my dream school and I always wanted to play there. It just felt like home to me, and I just fell in love with it.”
Mendel and Brooks will join a few area athletes already on the team, creating a Southwest Missouri reunion on the court.
“I know almost all of them and I knew all of them before I came here, so it’s really nice getting to play with people that I already knew,” Mendel said.
“It feels great I don’t have to play against them anymore. It’s really exciting to have a big community like that,” Brooks added.
