It takes a special athlete leave a lasting impression on a program after they have moved on.
For Kingston Lady Jacket basketball standout Braxton Fritz, the legacy she is leaving behind as she signed with Maryville College Wednesday afternoon is big one.
Fritz is a four time All-District player, a member of the 1,000-point club, All-Region, two-time Roane County MVP and helped to lead the Lady Jackets to their first Region Tournament semi-final berth in more than 10 years.
“I’m sad that my high school playing days are over,” Fritz said. “Those girls on the team they’re my best friends. I’ve played with them since I was in elementary school.
“I think that all of the awards that Macey (Neal) and I accomplished and I hope the younger girls will look at what we did and aspire to succeed.”
“High school coming to an end and not being a Lady Jacket anymore is very sad, but I am excited to get started.”
She leaves some big shoes to fill to be certain.
With someone of her playing ability, it was a foregone conclusion she’d be heavily scouted.
She had some decisions to make, but in the end Maryville proved to be a no-brainer for her.
“I actually started to talking to Maryville during my sophomore year of high school because I had connections through my AAU team and coaches,” Fritz said. “So, I’ve talked to them for a couple of years now.
“I met the team and played pick up games with them in the last two years and I just really bonded with the coaches and I really love the atmosphere they have up there. I felt like I would fit right in with how they play and how they are coached.”
Fritz has developed a reputation as a team first kind of player and is humble about her talent.
With Maryville being a small school with a team-based approach to basketball, it fits her quite well.
“It definitely fit what I wanted,” the soon to be graduating senior said. “I wanted to be able to go away to school, but still be able to go home if I needed to.
“My sister goes to UT, so I will be close to her. I like the small school atmosphere. I didn’t want to go to a big school so it was just the perfect size for me.”
Fritz also has had a rare opportunity not many new college freshman get.
Toward the beginning of the month, she got to play with many of her future teammates, all Maryville senior commits, at the Roane State East Tennesee All-Star event.
“I think that All-Star was a great opportunity for me to get to know my future teammates and to be able to play with them,” Fritz said. “Some of them I really hadn’t gotten a chance to meet before that Saturday. I was able to talk with them and we’ve become better friends and I’m sure next year will be even better when we come in to play.”
It also appears as if fate and destiny is setting the table for her. Fritz wears the number 5 on her jersey and she will have the distinction of being the first number 5 in Maryville College Fighting Lady Scot history.
“When went for my visit last year, I asked the coach if he had a number 5 jersey,” the standout said. “He said that he didn’t, but he would be ordering new uniforms this year and he would order one just for me if I committed.
“It made me feel special to hear that and he definitely thinks a lot of me.”
Of course even in light of that information, Fritz understands as a freshman she won’t have any guarantees of seeing the court unless she puts in the work.
“No spot is guaranteed,” she said. “You have to work to earn your spot, but the coach told me he thinks I do have a good chance of playing a good amount of minutes this year and years after.
“Their senior point is leaving so I’ll have to work really hard to step up. I don’t know if I’ll play as much as I have in high school, but I think I will be able to get some minutes as a freshman.
“There are a bunch of other guards who have committed as well. There isn’t a specific point guard position, it will just come down to works the hardest. I think there is a few of us who will have a chance at some big minutes.”
Fritz said she’s ready to work hard and compete with her teammates to get those coveted minutes.
“Oh, yeah. I think it’s going to be good for me, to push myself to be the best version of myself I can be,” the senior said. “To be able to play those minutes and to play against the level of competition. It’s going to be different than high school, but I’m really excited.”
As a science major, Fritz also knows she’s going to have to juggle basketball with her course load, but she’s ready.
“It will be a challenge at first,” she said. “This past year, though, I’ve had a few college courses and an early bird to get me ready to be a college student while juggling classes and playing basketball.”
In addition to basketball, Fritz also plays and excels in tennis.
She wants to concentrate in micro-biology, but she said it’s a broad subject with a lot of possibilities, but hopes to work in a lab when she gets older.
Fritz was also accepted into the Scot’s Scholar Program, which is a scholarship awarded to exemplary students.
