Bailey Holle, sophomore guard, is a special kind of athlete. She was born to play sports.
Holle’s father, Eric Holle, is a former NFL player for the Kansas City Chiefs, her mom played collegiate basketball and her uncles are both former Texas State baseball players.
Holle was first introduced to basketball in third grade by her parents and fell in love. What Holle loved more was constantly competing with her twin sister, Brooke, to reach her full potential both in basketball and life.
“It was really fun,” Holle said. “It’s really competitive, we were always competing against each other so I always had someone to race against.”
At Westlake High School, Holle showed her potential when she received the Honorable Mention All-District pick.
Sophomore year she was awarded Second-Team All-District selections and junior year received First-Team All-District honors and was named District Defensive MVP.
Senior year she became a McDonald’s All-American Nominee and led her team to a District 14-6A Championship.
Texas State was always an option, but because Brooke could be right by her side sealed the deal.
“They offered Brooke and I both scholarships, and that was really important,” Holle said. “I’m (also) from Austin so my parents and my family can come watch us play.”
Holle played 16 minutes and had two assists in a win against Incarnate Word in her first collegiate debut. In that season, she played a total of 22 games and made two starts.
Despite a disappointing loss last season at 16-15, Holle is looking forward to doing her part by learning what improvements she can make in her own game to help the team function better.
“I definitely want to improve more off the bounce,” Holle said. “Right now I’m a catch and shoot kind of player and I want to be able to drive and attack more. I personally just want to grow as a player and get more confident on the floor and I want to make the people around me better.”
On Feb. 10, the Bobcats will face University of Texas-Arlington at College Park Center.
“They’re our closest rival in conference,” Holle said. “Last year when we beat them at home it was so fun and they’re always good competition, it’s just fun to play against them.”
Holle and the Bobcats are going to take it one game at a time to improve from last year and establish their presence in the Sun Belt Conference this season.