After missing out on most of the season last year, Prairiland High School senior Brylee Galloway was eager to step back onto the diamond in his last year. As a multi-sport athlete, Brylee already competed and impressed on the football field and basketball court. With the forecast seeming clearer for a full season, this year is significant for Brylee as he and almost the entire team have years of experience playing together.
“We’ve all played together all our lives in little league — like me, Blake (Ballard), Eli (Rolen), Gage (Bankhead), and Brooks (Morrison) too — maybe one or two guys on the team haven’t played with us all growing up,” Brylee said. “We’re all pretty tight, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we can pick each other up off of that.”
Thus far, the Patriots have beaten quality teams the likes of Durant, Paris, and Hughes Springs, and Brylee believes these quality wins are no fluke. Instead, he sees the early performance by him and his team as a sign of more good things to come.
“We’ve played and beaten some good teams, and we’ve lost some that I feel like we should’ve won. Either way, I think we’re going to be a good baseball team by the end of the year,” Brylee said. “I think we can go several rounds deep in the playoffs if we play to our full potential.”
Being a leader to his football and basketball teammates was important for Brylee, and there is no difference on the baseball field. No matter which team he is a part of, Brylee enjoys helping steer the people around him in the right direction through both his actions and words.
“I like to lead by example whether it’s football, basketball, or baseball,” Brylee said. “If people are down in practice, I try to take the lead and excel in practice to try as hard as I can to get people energized. If there’s a bad day at the plate in baseball, I try my best to get something going, steal some bases, and get people in the game. I also like to be vocal and encourage my teammates to keep their heads in the game. It’s really important for me to bring everyone together and to have the right mindset during a baseball game.”
With the mandatory mask mandate lifted in Texas and the outdoor environment, Brylee is both optimistic and grateful for the opportunity to compete this year as he knows nothing seems to be guaranteed these days.
“I’m very grateful. When we were preparing for football this summer, I was worried about no fans coming or not even getting to have a season, but everything was basically a full go, and we are blessed to probably get through each of our whole seasons of sports,” Brylee said. “It was rough missing the baseball season last year, but I really felt bad for those seniors. It was rough for all of us because I thought we were going to be really good last year, but I’m glad it’s different now and I think we will be just fine this year.”
As a child, Brylee used to ride bulls for a year or two, and performed well by winning two buckles and a saddle, but he eventually quit to play sports. One unfortunate experience showing a pig as an innocent 8-year-old may have steered Brylee from livestock escapades to long sports practices.
“I was probably eight years old or so, and I was showing pigs at the county show in Paris,” Brylee said. “I took my pig in there and there were probably 12 or so other people with their own pigs in there. I was walking my pig around with everyone sitting there watching us. My pig stopped, and I was standing right behind it trying to help it get moving again, but then I felt something hitting my foot and leg. I looked down and there was pee all over my leg, and then, poop landed on my boot. I just stood there with everyone looking at me and laughing, I kicked the poop off my boot, and I finished the show. Afterwards, my dad got onto me for not shaking the judge’s hand, so he yelled at me about it. I went back there balling to shake the judge’s hand thinking, ‘My dad doesn’t love me and I have crap on my foot.’ It was bad.”
When times get tough for Brylee, he knows who to go to when he needs a boost or encouragement, and his girlfriend has faithfully and happily been there to support him.
“Being with my girlfriend Kendall (Boles) is my happy place,” Brylee said. “We’ve been together for two years, and she’s usually who I go to when I’m down. If things are kind of rough, we go eat or something. She’s really the one that keeps me going.”
Humor is something that occurs in Brylee’s life, but he is not always on the receiving end. One fateful football practice, he recalled a time where a Spongebob reference was funny, unforgettable, and a little bit savage yet humorous.
“I was at football practice one day, and we were going from the offensive side to the defensive side,” Brylee said. “There was a kid that said, ‘Hey throw it long!’ and I think it was Brooks that threw it to this kid. He was going after it and then BOOM, crash. He hit the net that you throw the balls into for the quarterbacks, and he absolutely wrecked — probably did a flip or two. I asked him if he was alright when he was limping back over and I just saw skin flapped up and his bone. Then, I turned to Landry (Morrison) and yelled, ‘My leg!’ as a reference to Spongebob…he couldn’t play for a week or two after getting stitches, but it was really funny.”
Prairiland is competing in the Bells Tournament which runs through Saturday. For more sports coverage, click here.
