By: Justin Hargrove, NTCC Assistant Athletic Director
The Northeast Texas Star Foundation in Longview, Texas held its fourth annual Athlete of the Year Awards banquet at Maude Cobb Convention Center on May 19, 2024 and Braylynn Henderson from NTCC Softball was named the Collegiate Women’s Athlete of the Year.
Braylynn recently graduated from NTCC after a stellar career as the number one pitcher for the Eagles. Braylynn from West Columbia, Texas hit .300 this season with three homeruns, including one in her final collegiate at bat. In the pitching circle, lead the way with 106 strikeouts on the season. Henderson had 255 strikeouts during her time as an Eagle pitcher.
During the recent NTCC Graduation ceremonies, Braylynn was selected by the NTCC Faculty to be the student response speaker, showing her educational career was just as outstanding as her on the field abilities. She is our top pitcher and goes out with a great attitude every start and when she is not playing she is constantly locked into the game and motivating her teammates. Assistant Athletic Director and Athletic Trainer Justin Hargrove nominated Henderson and had this to say about her, “Braylynn is a great young lady both on and off the field, with exceptional character. She is a great role model for her teammates and to young ladies everywhere. I hope my daughter has her focus and determination.”
Dr. Joshua Russell of Longview Orthopaedic Clinic started the NET Star Foundation in 2020 as a way to honor high school and college athletes in the area for not only their on the field abilities but being great people off the field.
The vision of the foundation is “To create strategic partnerships that equip us to award excellence in athletics and academics and develop opportunities for education as we inspire students to reinvest and serve in East Texas while impacting the world.”
Braylynn will now enroll at Wharton Junior College in the Radiology Tech program and pursue her career in the medical field.
