How choir has helped Mustang senior Kamryn Bass persevere through basketball obstacles

MUSTANG — Kamryn Bass resumed practice the day after surgery.

Bass, a Mustang girls basketball sophomore in 2021, wore a brace to support her newly repaired anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. She couldn’t stand on her left leg, and the pain medicine made her somewhat dazed.

Despite those factors, Bass couldn’t let herself miss her final opportunity to prepare for a highly competitive statewide event.

She had to rehearse for her All-State choir audition.

“Sophomore year was probably the hardest music we’ve had all across the board,” said Bass, now a senior. “So it was like, double the work.”

Bass has made All-State choir for five consecutive years, and no audition was more memorable than the time she tottered on crutches into the tryout room and impressed the judges with her alto voice.

Katie Smith, Bass’ mother, doesn’t pretend to be an expert on the two-part audition process.

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Basketball is Smith’s specialty, so Bass has grown up in gyms since she was born into a decorated coaching family. But Smith, Mustang’s girls basketball coach, has always encouraged her children to invest in various passions instead of shaping their identities around a sole activity.

At 18, Bass is taking that advice to extremes.

She belongs to multiple leadership organizations. She’s a straight-A student on track to graduate as a valedictorian. And she serves as a team captain for the Broncos, who are 13-5 heading into Tuesday’s game at Piedmont.

Music, however, holds a unique place in Bass’ life. It’s the creative outlet she has chosen, a compelling source of joy throughout the peaks and valleys of her athletic career.

“It’s like my safety net,” Bass said. “I always listen to music in the car. When I’m on the way somewhere, I’m listening to music. When I’m waiting for something, I’m listening to music. In my head, I’ll probably be singing a song.”

Bass’ musical and athletic worlds have collided to create a special senior year. On Jan. 20, she sang in her last All-State performance in Tulsa. That evening, she joined her basketball teammates in Newcastle, where they defeated Lawton MacArthur to win the Sweet Pea Invitational.

The recovery process dragged through a couple of years, but Bass has restored her strength. She's able to sink a 3-pointer as gracefully as she can glide between notes in jazz choir, where she sings alto and mezzo-soprano parts.

The temporary loss of one passion only increased her enthusiasm for the other.

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Treble and Bass

Katie Smith figured out how to soothe her baby daughter.

Whenever Bass cried in the car as a little girl, her mother used the radio as a melodic pacifier. The tears stopped when Bass heard music, and soon she started singing along.

No one else in the family had this musical proclivity. Smith and her relatives liked singing hymns in church, but Bass had an unmatched knack for repeating the tunes she heard, a skill she showed before kindergarten.

“People were just shocked,” Smith said, “so music has always been something.”

Smith nurtured her daughter’s musical leanings, sending Bass to occasional vocal lessons and choir camps. Although Bass enrolled in choir and made All-State, basketball took priority as she entered high school.

It’s a family tradition. Her grandfather Paul Bass won two state titles and prominent awards as Edmond Santa Fe’s longtime girls basketball coach. Kamryn’s older brother, Keegan Bass, starred for Mustang’s boys basketball team, and Smith, of course, coaches the Mustang girls.

As a sophomore varsity player, Kamryn Bass relied on fundamentals.

“She’s always been a really good role player and a really, really smart IQ basketball player,” Smith said. “It wasn’t like she was real flashy, but she’s one that you kind of needed because she knew stuff, and she’s always been a good shooter.”

Off the court, Smith talked to Bass about finding value in who she is, not what she does. Bass said her mother shared stories of building her identity through basketball and wanting something different for her children.

Smith knew the difficulties of fixating on basketball, particularly when she tore her ACL as a high school sophomore.

Bass endured the same setback at that age.

As Keegan thrived in two sports and eventually signed with Air Force in football, Smith worried about Kamryn’s mental health after she tore her ACL and meniscus in October 2021.

“It’s hard when your mom is your head coach and you’re sitting on the bench; you don’t get in,” Smith said. “It’s a hard mental thing.”

Bass said she was “distraught,” but as she watched her teammates, she found confidence in her voice.

It didn’t just allow her to cheer for her teammates. It was the gift that gave her an avenue to keep competing.

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Multiple fortés

Kamryn Bass had to quickly get comfortable walking with crutches.

When her ACL surgery was scheduled, Bass and her family didn’t realize she would have her second-round All-State audition only two days later. She had never used crutches before, but Bass had to trek across the University of Central Oklahoma’s campus to reach the right building.

Taking several pauses on the way, she made it to the audition room and earned a coveted slot as an All-Stater.

“That year probably meant the most to me,” Bass said. “It showed that I can do it no matter what. It really gave me that confidence boost.”

When Bass couldn’t play basketball, she poured her heart into music. She credited Mustang’s choir director, Sohailah Stout, for keeping her motivated.

At the same time, Bass dedicated herself to physical therapy, and work remained after she healed. Because she spent a month and a half bearing no weight on her left knee, Bass had to regain strength so that leg no longer lagged behind.

“It was insane, just the amount of muscle that I lost,” Bass said. “You could tell a clear difference between my legs, and my calf was like the size of my wrist.”

The discrepancy is no longer there. Smith rotates starters on her basketball team, and Bass is part of that carousel, providing the pep that comes with renewed health.

Her love for singing has only grown, too. Bass stays active in Mustang’s varsity and jazz choirs, and she joined the worship music team at Faith Church in Oklahoma City during the past summer.

Her final All-State concert brought new emotions, and it wasn’t only because she received her medal for making the choir every year.

In previous years, Smith couldn’t attend because she always had to coach in a tournament.

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This time, Smith pledged to go no matter what, even if she had to miss a game. Fortunately, the Broncos won their Friday matchup, so she had a free Saturday morning before she and her daughter won the championship.

Tears welled in Bass’ eyes when she spotted her mother in the crowd at Tulsa Performing Arts Center. Bass performed her favorite piece of the concert, “Let Me Listen” composed by Dan Forrest, and her mom cried, too.

Let me listen as you tell your story.

Your triumphs and your tears.

Your trials and your fears.

Bass said the song reminded her of her relationship with Smith, her “rock.”

As Bass goes through senior milestones before attending UCO, her mother’s longtime advice prevails.

Bass plays basketball and she sings. More impactful than any game or performance, her congenial, driven personality carries through her eclectic pursuits.

Bass echoed Smith’s wise words while sitting in a plush red theater seat Wednesday afternoon at Mustang’s performing arts center before basketball practice.

“It’s all because of her, honestly,” Bass said. “She’s just told me to keep going. I’ve put myself in a lot of different positions when it comes to high school, and it helped me just identify that I’m not what I do.

“I am who I am and no one can take that away from me.”

Hallie Hart covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Hallie? She can be reached at hhart@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @halliehart. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Hallie's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Choir helps Mustang's Kamryn Bass persevere through basketball hurdles