2024-25 Winter Sports Preview: Five-star recruit Brynn McGaughy upgrades title-contending Central Valley girls squad

With a strong returning lineup, Central Valley was expected to challenge for the Greater Spokane League 4A/3A title this season.

But add in the top college prospect in the state, and some have already penciled the Bears in for playing on the second Saturday in March at the Tacoma Dome.

“Brynn changes a lot of things,” Central Valley second-year coach Jason Wilson said.

Brynn, of course, is Brynn McGaughy – the No. 21 recruit in the nation, according to ESPN.com, who committed to the University of Washington earlier this year. The 6-foot-2 five-star wing, who was 2B player of the year her sophomore season when she led Colfax to the state title, transferred to the Bears recently for her senior season.

“Colfax will always be home to me, no matter what,” McGaughy said. “It’s not a reflection of the people in Colfax, or the coaches or the players. It’s more so – ‘How do I want my future to look?’ ”

McGaughy and her family contemplated a couple of options, but her father lives in the Central Valley School District, so the competitive Bears became an easy choice.

“It’s just a blessing that my dad does live in this district, because there’s great girls here,” she said. “The coaches are awesome. The school is really good, and there’s a history here, too. So, it’s really important coming here and stepping into this role. I’m not taking it lightly.”

An ankle injury sustained during Hoopfest after McGaughy’s sophomore year required surgery, and she had a second procedure following her junior year. But McGaughy is 100% and ready to go.

“Honestly, I’ve never felt better,” she said. “After my second surgery, I’ve been going quick. Like super, super fast.”

Wilson said he found out about the transfer by accident. He was registering his daughter, Gabby, for the team and saw McGaughy’s name in the school’s registration portal.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I thought there was a problem with the system – like somehow they got intermixed or something. … I was just dumbfounded. Every year people go, ‘Hey, do you have a new player, or new transfers?’ and the answer is almost always no. And then the one time we do, it’s a five-star recruit.”

Wilson and the school played it quiet at the beginning until everything was in place to avoid any potential backlash or controversy.

“Ultimately, it’s about the kid anyway. So whatever their reasons are, like, who cares?” Wilson said. “It’s an 18-year-old girl that wants to have a different experience for her senior year. So, as long as they’re doing things the right way, let’s let her do that.”

McGaughy is no stranger to playing basketball on a big stage – even an international one – but there will be some adjustments transitioning from the 2B classification to the bright lights and big gyms of the GSL and playing against 4A/3A competition in one of the toughest girls leagues in the state.

“I mean, stepping into (CV’s) gym, and on the court for the first time was – it was something new,” McGaughy said. “The first three years of high school, it’s been the darkly lit gyms and in ‘the freezer’ at Colfax. But I love it. I mean, I like the challenge. I like something new.”

She said she’s excited to bring her game into the GSL.

“I think it’ll translate just fine,” she said. “I like to play against good competition. I understand that’s what is in the GSL. … I’m excited to showcase my skills and, you know, give people a show.”

“Brynn is so dang talented,” Wilson said. “She does things that you just don’t see from a normal high school kid, obviously. And you know, she gives us so many more options on both ends of the floor.”

Wilson and McGaughy know the spotlight is going to be on her and the Bears this season, which will increase the pressure to succeed.

“There’s obviously been a lot of interest around school,” Wilson said. “People asking about her, or people walking through the gym slowly, trying to watch her play.”

“Pressure is a privilege,” McGaughy said. “I don’t think everybody understands that pressure can be a good thing. My freshman year, pressure got to me so quick. In the state championship game, I had three points, and it got to me. And then my sophomore year, I showed out, and we won a state title.”

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Wilson said. “We have expectations. We expect to be in Tacoma. And obviously, with Brynn, it’s ramped up quite a bit. There’s a lot more interest and curiosity in our team and stuff like that. But I’ll take it as opposed to the opposite side. She’s been great so far, and we’re just all really excited. The girls have embraced her. She’s embraced the girls. It’s the first week and a half and it’s been pretty good.”

It won’t be a one-player show, though. The Bears return five players who received all-league attention last season, including first-team pick and league defensive player of the year Eden Sander, along with fellow senior Gabbie Wilson, juniors Aspen Henry and Gracie Lanphere, and sophomore Drae Domebo – who will start the season with an injury.

“They were good without me,” McGaughy said. “And I’m just hoping to build upon that. I’m going to be whoever coach and the girls need me to be. I’m not going to be somebody more than that. I’m just a girl that likes to hoop, you know, and step on the floor and play with talented, kind women.”

“The girls are super motivated,” Wilson said. “All summer long, it was just: ‘Tacoma.’ Like, that’s our deal. Our seniors, especially, have worked really hard, trying to improve, and they have next-level goals as well. … But Brynn has kind of brought out another level of (team) inner confidence.

“They’re starting to believe it. I’ve always thought it was there. But Brynn’s obviously kind of raised that level of confidence and brought it out a little.”

Sander, in particular, is a player who has respect throughout the league but maybe doesn’t get as much notice as she could.

“I’ve known Eden since she was born,” Wilson said. “Everything for her is based off of just competing and work. That’s how her family’s based, and that’s how she is. I don’t know if I’ve met a better competitor. She competes for everything. She wants to win everything.”

Wilson said it’s taken some time to delineate between coach and Dad when it comes to his daughter.

“It was a challenge until Mom stepped in and she kind of squashed all that,” he said. “My wife told me, ‘Hey, when practice or the game is over, you’re ‘Dad’ again. You’re not ‘coach’ anymore. You know, it took maybe about a year to kind of figure that out, but once we did, it’s been good.”

In addition to her obvious basketball skill set, McGaughy will bring a mature focus to the court for the Bears this season – something that has been cultivated through her years of playing high-level basketball and her experience on the recruiting trail.

“I think getting recruited at a young age helped me mature quickly,” she said. “I really had no choice. Once I started getting offers, and then once I started, you know, telling coaches, ‘No,’ that’s when I really understood that this is no joke. Like, I have to grow up. I have to use wise words and be kind about it and really understand where I want to go for the next four years.”

“I was telling somebody the other day, if I was that caliber player I don’t know how nice or how humble or I would be,” Wilson said. “But she’s very coachable. She’s been in the spotlight probably since she was 14, and so to be that caliber player and still be that type of kid is pretty impressive.”