Burnet’s MaeSyn Gay signs to play for Hardin-Simmons University

CAPTION: Burnet senior MaeSyn Gay (second from right) signs her National Letter of Intent to play college basketball surrounded by her family that includes Thomas (left), Gabe and Jill Gay-Castillo and Tydrick Riley (right). Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Burnet High School senior MaeSyn Gay made her commitment to Hardin-Simmons University official March 6 when she signed her National Letter of Intent to play basketball.

“The coach (Kendra Whitehead) is a great motivator and role model,” Gay said. “We’ll grow as Christian leaders. We all love each other. It reminded me of here. “

One Cowgirl Gay spoke to before committing to HSU was standout guard Paris (Brinkley) Kiser, a 2019 Burnet graduate.

“Paris is one of the many girls I always looked up to,” Gay said. “She talked to me about the team. She grew as a person. Paris is someone I look up to.”

The 5-foot and 10-inch athlete finished her final season in Kelly green by being named co-District 24-4A’s Most Valuable Player with senior teammate Zaria Solis.

The daughter of Jill and Thomas Castillo and Tydrick Riley will major in sports management and minor in communication with the goal of working for ESPN or for the NFL.

The signing ceremony was a big one for Gay, who spent much of 2023 recovering and rehabbing a knee injury that happened at the Lampasas basketball game Jan. 10, 2023, the second district contest of the season. The Lady Dawgs had just upset district favorite Marble Falls 43-29 on the road and were looking to capture another victory. Seconds into the contest against the Lady Badgers, Gay suffered the injury.

Gay applied the same work ethic to her rehab that she has for being the very best she can be and then trusted the rehab got the knee to be able to take the pounding that comes with being a tremendous athlete. Insiders say that while fans can appreciate Gay’s natural talent and ability, it’s her business-like approach to every practice that puts her in a different category.

Those who know her say she is quick to offer encouragement and praise and balances that with limiting the amount of horsing around during practices. That helps explain in part why the Lady Dawgs have never finished worse than second on every Burnet High School basketball team Gay has been on the roster.

She believes “that five minutes we relax” might make a difference in the outcome and took the initiative to talk to her teammates. She noted “it’s a two-way street.”

“We were able to respect each other,” she said. “We love each other and cherish each other. It’s having 20 sisters. It’s a big ol family.

“My sports are my pride and joy, and I spend so much time getting better,” she added. “I want them to get better as much as I do. I’m always pushing my teammates to have a program the middle school and youngsters can be proud of.”

Long before she was a Lady Dawg, Gay said she was a fan. She recalled a very special group of Burnet athletes stopping by Burnet Middle School during the 2018-19 school year — the Lady Dawgs basketball team that was a Class 4A state semifinalist, the best finish in program history. On that state team was Kiser.

Gay said that visit is why she interacts with her teammates, younger players and youngsters who come to her games. She credits those players for making her — a seventh-grader — want to equal and surpass what they accomplished and for encouraging her and her teammates to believe they could.

“That state tournament team came and practiced with us,” Gay said. “It made us feel like that’s what we wanted to be – to be included, no matter the age. You can inspire them to be Lady Dawgs.”

In essence, that’s what she hopes her 2024 class has done for Burnet athletics.

“We talk to each other,” she said. “When it’s hard, we make sure each girl understands what it means to be a Lady Dawg.”

Going into her final year, Gay was waiting to be released by her doctors to be able to participate in volleyball two-a-day practices. Before the end of the first week, she was back on the court doing her part to help the Lady Dawgs finish second in District 24-4A and reach the regional quarterfinals.

As the favorites to win the district title, the Lady Dawgs played that way, no matter if it was on the volleyball or basketball court.

“All of my friends and teammates, there was no way we weren’t going to be district champions,” she said of the basketball team. “We all wanted the same things. Being a Lady Dawg is the most awesome thing in the world.”

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CAPTION: The Lady Dawgs congratulate MaeSyn Gay (seated, second from right) on signing her National Letter of Intent to play college basketball. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography