Bronson's Lasky named The Daily Reporter Bud Barnes Memoria Female Athlete of the Year

BRONSON – What makes an athlete great, worthy of celebration and acknowledgment? There are a number of qualities that make an athlete great, including toughness, confidence, discipline, resiliency, and humility, among others. In addition to all those qualities how about a three-sport athlete that earned not only three Big 8 All Conference honors, but also two All-State honors, two district and two conference titles, and a total of 12 varsity letters throughout her distinguished career? If all that strikes you as worthy of celebration, then let me introduce to you the 2023-24 The Daily Reporter Bud Barnes Memorial Female Athlete of the Year, Bronson’s Brealyn Lasky.

“I feel honored to be nominated and named athlete of the year for Branch County,” Lasky said. “It is nice to know that my hard work and dedication to my teammates, my school, and my community has been noticed.”

As mentioned above Lasky, also known affectionately as Breazy, is a three-sport athlete who earned Big 8 All Conference First Team honors in volleyball, basketball, and softball. Lasky also earned a pair of All State honors, earning second team All State in volleyball as a setter according to the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) and All State first team honors in softball as a first baseman according to the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association (MHSSCA). For Lasky that makes three all-state honors in volleyball, earning MIVCA All State second team honors her sophomore, junior and senior year, and her first all-state softball honor in her senior season.

“I can truthfully say that I have enjoyed all three sports I have participated in during high school,” Lasky said. “I have played all of them since I was five, and I cannot imagine picking a favorite among the three of them.”

The Lasky name should be familiar to many in the county, as Brealyn is just the latest in a long line of ultra-talented sisters that have come through Bronson athletics. Starting with her oldest sister Adyson, followed by Kiera and Meagan, and culminating with Brealyn, the Lasky’s have been a fixture for Bronson athletics for a number of years, including the four straight state titles captured by the Viking volleyball program which saw the three oldest Lasky sisters contribute to the run, including Kiera who was the Libero on all four state championship teams.

“My sisters definitely did not make it easy on me (coming through the programs), as they all had their own successful high school careers. Funny enough, throughout my senior year I had multiple coaches tell me that they were happy that they would not have to play against a Lasky ever again,” Lasky commented. “I was able to be a manager for each of my sisters, which allowed me to be able to watch and see how they carry themselves both as students and as athletes. I learned many individual skills from each of them, but the one common thing I learned from all of them was being a strong leader. I would be lying if I said sibling rivalry did not play a part in motivating each other, but at the end of the day we are incredibly supportive of each other in everything we do.”

Even with the last of the Lasky sisters making their way through the purple and gold, opposing teams will still have to deal with a Lasky, as Brealyn’s father Tony will continue to lead the girls' basketball program at Bronson High School.

“Being a coach's kid is never easy. I have been lucky enough to have both of my parents coach me throughout my athletic career. It definitely has had its ups and downs, and very quiet car rides home. It was great to have my dad coach me the past four years, he is a great coach that treats every kid on his teams like they are one of his own,” Lasky added.

Brealyn leaves behind a tremendous legacy that started with her oldest sister and continued throughout the four, a time filled with many achievements and a ton of memories.   “It is hard to choose just one memory from the last four years, I was very fortunate to be a part of three very successful programs and have made so many memories along the way. I think if I were to look back in five years, I will not remember any specific shots, plays, sets, or hits, but rather the memories I have made with my teammates and coaches along the way,” Lasky added.

More: Introducing the 2024 The Daily Reporter Softball Dream Team

While sports have always been an important part of her life, Brealyn will leave those behind to instead concentrate on her studies as she will now move on to Glen Oaks Community College to study nursing.

In many ways Brealyn was perhaps the perfect Lasky sister to end the line as she embodied all that made her sisters great before her. Hard work, discipline, desire, motivation, and most of all, humility, just a few ways to describe Bronson’s Brealyn Lasky, the 2023-24 The Daily Reporter Bud Barnes Memorial Female Athlete of the Year.

Get To Know Your Athlete of the Year

Name: Brealyn Lasky

School: Bronson High School

Sport: Volleyball, Basketball, Softball

College : Glen Oaks Community College

Degree: Nursing

Favorite Food: Chicken Alfredo

Favorite Dessert: Key Lime Pie

Favorite TV Show : Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite Movie : The Harry Potter series

Hobbies : Reading, baking, drawing, and Lego building

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Bronson's Lasky named The Daily Reporter Bud Barnes Memoria Female Athlete of the Year