Bearkat Athletics A Family Affair
11/19/2015 2:00:00 PM | Athletics
Most students leave home when they head off to college.
For seven Sam Houston student-athletes, home followed them to the university.
Three sets of siblings live amongst the athletic teams. Redshirt freshman Josh Delaney and sophomore transfer Cameron Delaney play for the men's basketball team while their sophomore sister Angela Delaney plays for the women's side. Senior Paul Baxter and his freshman sister Lydia Baxter are both on their respective basketball teams while senior tennis player Bailey VanDyke has a younger brother, Nate VanDyke, who is on the baseball squad.
 |
It was never a plan growing up for any of the siblings to all head to the same school in their sports, but they all agreed it's a nice thing to have.
Five came to Sam Houston as freshmen. Two transferred to the university after spending a year at another college.
Cameron Delaney recently transferred after a season spent at the University of Denver to join his brother Josh, who redshirted his freshman season last year. Angela appeared in 17 games last season as a Bearkat.
“When Cameron went to Denver, we both thought he was crazy and knew he would be homesick,” Angela said. “Now that he's here, we're focused on competing. He helps us a lot.”
Although Cameron is redshirting this season, it hasn't stopped him from missing a beat with his lifetime teammate since the two rejoined during summer workouts.
“We didn't skip a step when we stepped on the court,” Cameron said. “We're still on the same page. The chemistry is there. We're just meshing together.”
And with the men and women's games lining up back-to-back for some games in the spring, it looks to be a good deal for their parents, according to Josh.
“It wasn't planned for us three to go to the same school,” Josh said. “We totally didn't plan it. Now our parents can come to the same area and watch us play just like in high school.”
While Bailey VanDyke is the older sibling, Nate was the first to come to Huntsville for his college education.
Bailey began her college career at the Louisiana-Lafayette. It wasn't until her brother visited SHSU on a recruiting visit that she decided to look into transferring.
“When Nate came to Sam Houston on his recruiting visit, I tagged along,” Bailey said. “I loved the campus and decided right then I wanted to transfer.”
For the Baxters, this will be the only season their parents get to see the sibling duo share Johnson Coliseum. Lydia enters her freshman season as a small forward while Paul is in his senior season as a guard for the Bearkat. That age difference has helped her adjust to playing college ball, Lydia said.
“My brother has always been an inspirational and motivational person for me,” Lydia said. “Having him here is like having an extra coach or positive person there for me. If I am having a bad practice or day, he will pick me up.”
Even though Paul is the older sibling, it hasn't stopped Lydia from teaching him a few things. Paul said watching her play inspires him to fix some kinks in his game that he would have never thought about if it weren't for her.
“She does a lot of things natural,” Paul said. “When I watched her play last summer, she would just have a lot of natural moves, and it made me want to try different things naturally that I would never think of.”
Unlike the aforementioned siblings, Bailey and Nate don't share the same sport. Nonetheless, the sibling pair has still been able to be there for one another in their respective sport.
Since the two have joined Huntsville together, Nate said it's been nothing short of awesome getting to have his sister at school and living with her once again.
“We both have each other's backs,” Nate said. “We know what to say to each other. We keep each other in check.”
Playing different spring sports at the same time sometimes makes it a challenge for the brother and sister to see each other play. But the pair takes advantage of every opportunity they have.
“Nate and I have always supported each other 100 percent through high school and college, whether it's me watching baseball or Nate watching me play tennis,” Bailey said. “I'm not sure if I like baseball or I just like watching Nate play.”
For the Baxters and the Delaneys, basketball season is in full swing. Nate and Bailey start their respective seasons in February. For all three sets of siblings, Bearkat athletics definitely is a family affair.
