Braylin Terrell is getting ready for Tuesday afternoon practice at Walton-Verona High School. Dressed in blue and white Bearcats gear, she’s talking about basketball, family, college and what it’s like to be tall.
Terrell, a 6-foot-2 senior post player, is the tallest player on the Bearcats. She’s not only that. The affable athlete is also the tallest person at home. That’s saying something as Terrell comes from a family long on height not to mention strong on talent.
“Oh, I passed everybody a long time ago,” Terrell said with a laugh. “My dad likes to tell everybody he’s taller. He claims he’s 6-3, but he’s really closer to 6-1.”
Terrell’s tallness nearly eclipses the height of her grandfather, 6-foot-2 former major league pitcher Walt Terrell, who attends her games. Walt Terrell pitched 11 years in the majors, seven with the Detroit Tigers. He earned 111 career victories. He coached local high school baseball teams including St. Henry plus summer baseball clubs. But he has nothing on his granddaughter when it comes to height.
Braylin can look her grandfather in the eye. Every time she does, though, she wants to give him a hug. The basketball standout inherited her athletic genes and agreeable nature from her immediate family and her grandparents.
“We’re pretty much about even,” Braylin said of her grandfather’s height. “I’m also the only girl in the family with three brothers. I’m the oldest sibling, so I got them too.”
This is fun bantering for the easy-going Terrell. She’s not actually keeping track of everybody’s height. She could really care less, even when she’s on the court giving up several inches to opposing players.
However, people are keeping track of Braylin Terrell. She was on the receiving end of a handful of college offers. She made a verbal commitment to Grace College, an NAIA program located in Indiana. On Friday, in the regular-season finale at Newport Central Catholic, Terrell will stand on the brink of a milestone.
“She needs eight points to reach 1,000,” said Bearcats coach Rianna Gayheart, who’s been keeping track. “She’s had a nice career.”
MORE THAN A SCORER
Gayheart appreciates a point producer. She scored 1,902 points at Owen County and 704 at Northern Kentucky University. Even so, Terrell is much more than a scorer to her coach.
“Braylin is our rim protector,” Gayheart said. “She can score, but she also gets rebounds and blocks. She’s just a big presence for us inside. She’s one of our leaders.”
Walton-Verona, the two-time defending All “A” Classic 8th Region champion, is aiming for its first 20-win season in five years. The Bearcats won their 10th All “A” Classic regional crown in 16 years earlier in the season. The lofty Terrell is a big reason why. She leads the 19-9 Bearcats with 8.7 rebounds per game and 55% field goal shooting.
RELATED: Walton-Verona vs Bishop Brossart girls basketball photo slideshow
Terrell is second on the team in scoring with an average of 14.4 points. She’s right behind sophomore Elin Logue (15.3 ppg) and ahead of senior Campbell Christy (12.5). All have played in at least 100 career games.
Logue is already in the 1,000-point club and holds the program record for 3-point baskets. Christy, Walton-Verona’s all-time scoring leader in soccer, is heading to Thomas More University. She has verbally committed to the Saints’ soccer program. They are the Bearcats’ big three. Terrell is the biggest.
“Those three and a handful of solid role players make up our team,” Gayheart said. “Overall, we’re a mix of seniors and youth. I have no juniors. We’ve relied on senior leadership and our young girls. We’re pretty well balanced.”
Though they lost for the remainder of the schedule two injured players with starting experience, the Bearcats have five scorers with at least 100 points. They possess a strong regular playing rotation. Terrell is the opposing team’s first visual target. On the hardwood, she quickly becomes a headache for the opposition. She maintains the focus of the defense throughout games. She takes a physical pounding while colliding with other big bodies near the basket.
It adds up to a lot of bumps and bruises, 992 career points and 830 rebounds. Those numbers will move up and yet they’ll continue taking a backseat to what Terrell values most.
“Just bonding as a team really well, having good chemistry and amazing coaches,” Terrell said. “And winning games.”
TALENTED GUTMAN’S TALL TALE
Another tall and talented basketball player at Walton-Verona is 6-foot-7 senior forward Aaron Gutman. He leads the boys team in scoring for a third straight season. His 24 points per game pace the squad by a wide margin. Gutman is the northern Kentucky leader in scoring. He ranks 17th in the state.
Gutman has almost as many points this season as the next four Bearcats combined. Those four players nevertheless form a strong core around the big fellow. They include seniors Aidan Kerns (11.4 ppg) and Jonathan Strunk (6.8) and sophomores Adam Gutman (6.2) and Wyatt Shearer (5.2). There’s also senior Justin Hester and juniors Duece Shearer and Cole Dryden. The Bearcats’ rotation goes nine-deep with Aaron Gutman at the top.
“A very good player,” said Bearcats coach Mike Hester, who played at NKU. “He’s very confident. He wants to go Division I for college.”
For now, Gutman has offers from Georgetown College, Union and Walsh.
The Bearcats meanwhile have put together an 18-11 record. They won six games in a row beginning the first week of February. They won five straight games during a hot stretch in January. Walton-Verona is the reigning two-time All “A” Classic 8th Region champion.
The Bearcats have won the All “A” Classic 8th Region title seven of the last nine years. They always seem to have a top-flight player or two and this year it’s Aaron Gutman, again. For all his exploits in 2024-25, his best move is an unheralded one that came before the season started.
“We lost four very good players (who accounted for 60% of the scoring),” coach Hester said. “I just felt like after losing all that offense we had to change what we do and we’d be better off slowing it down. Last year, we played extremely fast but this year we have two bigs and Aaron.”
Coach Hester approached his star about the slowdown. It wasn’t exactly the greatest news for an aspirational D-1 player looking to bolster his résumé with a monster scoring season, something that attracts the attention of college coaches. Gutman didn’t see it that way.
“We talked about it, that we wouldn’t play with a lot of speed due to personnel,” Gutman said. “We definitely have slowed it down, but it’s not a bad thing. I think for me winning is the most important thing. If we have to slow it down to win more, fine. Winning the district and the region and going to state is what’s important. In order for us to win games, we need to take our time instead of looking for quick shots.”
Hester said his star’s easy buy-in is an example of great leadership. And it’s indicative of the kind of person Gutman has become.
RELATED: Walton-Verona and Simon Kenton play in chippy 32nd District battle
“Aaron’s a great teammate and he plays hard,” Hester said. “Because he’s the big guy and the guy who’s scoring, other teams see that as an easy answer. Because of that, he sees some tough defenses. We saw a diamond-and-1 against Oldham County. He sees a lot of face-guarding. It’s like, stop Aaron and you stop us. It’s happened but it hasn’t always happened because Aaron has done a great job making the right decisions and getting everybody involved.”
OTHER BEARCATS GET BUSY
Kerns has been a prime beneficiary of Gutman’s largesse. He put in 26 points while Gutman had just nine vs. Oldham County. He scored 24 against Newport Central Catholic. Wyatt Shearer scored 20 vs. Scott. Strunk scored 19 against Gallatin County.
Kerns was out 12 games with a wrist injury after getting hurt in December. Even with the improvements of others, somebody had to step up.
“Aaron is still getting his points,” Hester said.
Gutman scored 45 Feb. 14 against Tates Creek. He added 10 rebounds for yet another double-double. He has also recorded triple-doubles this season.
In a six-game span beginning Feb. 1, Gutman poured in 195 points for a 32.5 average. He scored 34 against Holy Cross. He followed with 31 against Grant County and 32 vs. Cooper while amassing three straight games with at least 30.
For his career, Gutman is nearing 2,000 career points and the school record, and 650 rebounds, both towering accomplishments at a small program.
Like that of Bearcats girls basketball counterpart Braylin Terrell, his has been a tall tale full of hard truths for opponents.
“Both teams support each other,” Gutman said of the Walton-Verona girls. “We root for them and they root for us. It’s definitely cool. At some schools, you don’t get both teams doing well at the same time. For us, it creates a really good basketball atmosphere at Walton-Verona.”