Brette Reagan completes debut season as Klein ISD's first female baseball coach
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- Consider it Chris Griffin's pledge to his program.
"We're looking to find the best fit for our players," Griffin, the head varsity baseball coach at Klein Collins High School, explained to ABC13. "To get the best coaching and create the best culture."
So, Griffin hired who he felt was the best candidate to serve as head coach of the Tigers' sophomore team this season: Brette Reagan.
"I love challenges and wanted to step up to the plate for it," Reagan said of the opportunity to coach baseball for the first time.
Believed to be the first female baseball coach ever in Klein ISD, Reagan is making history on the diamond - after making history on the diamond. She's the only three-time All-American in Baylor University softball history and a member of the school's athletics hall of fame.
"It's different from softball, but not as much as you would think," Reagan said of baseball. "The mental game comes in heavily."
After wrapping their heads around the concept of a female baseball coach, Tigers players said Coach Reagan's gender really isn't a curveball at all.
"She brings what we need to the table," senior infielder Bryce Weeden explained. "She helps us with whatever we need, no matter what it is or how it is. When I first heard about the hire, I was skeptical."
"She's no different from any other coach we've had," Colton Griffin, a senior infielder, said. "She's ready to get you to compete every time. The mental game is a big part for her."
In addition to working with infielders at every level of the program, Reagan coaches headspace and hitting for Klein Collins. In baseball and softball, a batter - unable to control the type or location of a pitch - must react.
She was also deliberate about her reaction to blowback regarding her hire.
"I get it," Reagan admitted. "It's a new thing, and that's the way things go sometimes when it is new. People throw their punches, and people say things. At the end, I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about what's in front of me and who I have to take care of. And that's all that matters to me."
Coach Griffin's desire for the best fit turned into a trailblazing hire and a big hit.
"I was fortunate to be in that situation," Griffin said of the opportunity to hire Reagan. "It's nothing special I did or my assistant did. We talked about it and went to her and approached her about it - and it happened to work out."
"Everybody is different in this world," Reagan noted. "Whatever works, you want to keep working - you want to keep doing it. Don't turn away from something because of what may happen or what may be said. If you love it, do it."
Reagan will assist with the Tigers' varsity team on its playoff run, including scouting Friday, and she will be in uniform in the dugout Saturday against Bridgeland.
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SEE ALSO: Klein Collins HS athlete Jackson Loftin drafted by hometown Astros
