Growing up in Antlers with his older brother Steven, playing ball sports was something that looked like fun according to Clayton High School junior Brayden McDaniel.

“I grew up watching my brother play basketball and baseball and they looked like fun, so I started playing basketball in first grade and I probably enjoy playing it the most because I’ve been doing it a little longer. I started with baseball in T-ball and then quit for a few years and started playing again when we moved to Clayton in seventh grade.”

Brayden picked up some strong role models along the way in basketball as he was growing up.

“I liked to watch Russell Westbrook when he was with the Thunder, and I also saw Michael Jordan and Kobe (Bryant) play. I just liked the way they played and their intensity.”

Besides basketball and baseball, Brayden also has another interest.

“I’ve been in FFA since I was in seventh grade and I show pigs and have done some livestock judging and I’m currently the FFA president here at Clayton. I’m also in student council and FCA.”

McDaniel’s sports highlight at Clayton came just recently.

“We were playing Stringtown just this past week in district basketball playoffs and I scored 19 points and had several rebounds and blocked shots,” said the 5-foot-11 forward.

On his sports teams, Brayden is one of several juniors who play both basketball and baseball with no seniors on the basketball squad and just one on the baseball team, so his class provides a lot of the leadership for the Bulldogs.

“A good leader to me is someone who can tell people to do things without thinking about it and who does things for the good of the team and not himself.”