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‘BIG DREAMS’
PARKER COTTON
Chronicle Sports Editor
Brianne Bailey lettered in four sports at South Fremont High School in St. Anthony, Idaho, putting her athleticism to good use.
In volleyball as a freshman and senior, she played in the middle and on the right side. In softball as a freshman and sophomore, she was at shortstop and in center field. And in track and field as a junior and senior, Bailey did the long jump, triple jump and long jump while also finding time for the 300-meter hurdles. She holds the school records for the 300 hurdles (44.38 seconds), long jump (17 feet, 7.75 inches) and triple jump (36-11).
Across all four years, though, basketball remained a constant. Basketball has always been the most important.
“From a young age, I’ve just had lots of goals and big dreams for basketball,” Bailey said. “And I remember being in sixth or seventh grade and thinking how amazing it would be to play on TV and to be a college athlete. And I’m like, ‘I’m gonna work toward that goal.’
“I love the fast pace of (basketball). Sometimes other sports are just slower. I love the physicality, I love the competitiveness.”
Bailey will bring her athleticism — she was the state champion in the triple jump and 300 hurdles as a junior — and that love of the game with her to Montana State. She’s a member of the Bobcats’ four-player freshman class in the 2025-26 season, joining Jamison Philip, Grace Hintz and Kadynce Couture.
When it came time to commit, Bailey could have called or texted. Instead, she arranged with MSU’s assistant coaches to tell head coach Tricia Binford in person.
“That was so much fun to surprise her,” Bailey said, “and you could just feel how excited they were that I was going to be joining their team, and that was really special.”
Bailey averaged 17 points and 10.2 rebounds per game as a senior to earn Idaho 4A Player of the Year honors. She added 5.5 assists and 3.8 steals per game. Bailey said Binford has big plans for her versatility and athleticism at MSU.
“I know they press, they run the floor, they push the pace,” Bailey said. “That’s another reason why I love Montana State, and I think that’s why they loved me. We both love fast basketball.”
At 5-foot-10, Bailey describes herself as “probably more of a combo guard” than anything else in college, but she played some forward in high school because of her height.
Throughout the recruiting process, Bailey said she always felt the most comfortable with MSU’s coaches. She said Binford called her every week to check in.
“That was amazing to me, compared to other universities, just the dedication they had to their recruits and their players,” Bailey said, “and you know that they care and that they want the best for their athletes on the court and off the court.”
Particularly impactful for Bailey, she said, was meeting MSU’s players during her official visit to campus last August.
“That was super cool because they just have a genuine culture,” she said, “and I can just feel the love and support.”
Bailey officially signed with the Bobcats in November.
“Brianne is an incredible athlete and talent as well as a relentless competitor,” Binford said in a press release at that time. “She comes to us as a highly recruited player on the national stage. Brianne is a three-prong scorer and will be a great fit in our fast-paced game, and she’ll impact the stat sheet everywhere.
“Brianne is an outstanding playmaker and makes everyone on the floor better. Combined with her versatility, she has an endless motor, can jump out of the gym and has tremendous rebounding ability.”
Bailey said she enjoys impacting the game in so many different ways. Her senior season featured 18 double-doubles and three triple-doubles.
“I just love basketball, and I’ve always been a perfectionist and super driven in a lot of aspects of my life,” said Bailey, who was her school’s senior class vice president and valedictorian.
Bailey said she plans to study psychology at MSU.
Bailey played four seasons of varsity basketball at South Fremont, the final three with her mother Brooke as the head coach.
The Cougars went 7-14 in Bailey’s sophomore season and then 15-9 in her junior year. In 2024-25, South Fremont went 22-7 and made the state tournament for just the third time in school history.
Brooke played college basketball at what is now BYU-Idaho, and was a high school coach earlier in Brianne’s life. The family values the pictures and videos of 2-year-old Brianne running around a gym as Brooke is coaching.
“She loves basketball, and it’s made me love basketball, and she’s always been there to support me, rebound for me and encourage me,” said Brianne, who was born in Rexburg, Idaho. “My mom has been a huge part of my basketball journey.”
The next steps of that journey will take place this winter in Bozeman. Bailey said it was a great thrill to watch MSU compile a program-record 30 wins last year and envision herself as a Bobcat.
“We got to come to a couple games, and it was just so exciting to know that I’m going to be on the court with them next year,” she said.
Earlier this summer, Bailey had a couple of memories pop up on her phone — a series of videos from when she was training as a younger player. She swelled with pride, recognizing how far she has come.
“I have worked hard to achieve something that mattered to me, and it’s really cool and satisfying,” she said, “but I’m also super excited to go chase more.”
Parker Cotton can be reached at pcotton@dailychronicle. com. Follow him on X/Twitter @ByParkerCotton.
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