McKee: a leader on and off the court

Logan McKee is leader on the court during her final season with the Oklahoma Christian University women’s basketball team.

Joining the Lady Eagles as a freshman in 2011, McKee took her position on the court as a guard. Over the years she has grown to become a known leader vocally and spiritually in and out of the gym.

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Stephanie Findley found leadership qualities in McKee that have proven key during her collegiate career, and not exclusively in athletics.

“She was definitely what we were looking for off the court,” Findley said. “A good student, a leader, [a member of the] Church of Christ, so that contributed to the fact that I knew she was a good shooter, solid all-around ball player, her [high school] coach spoke very highly of her – the combination of all of those things.”

With those qualities in hand, McKee grew to become an active member on campus.

“She’s pretty involved in Gamma [Rho] and helping with student activities,” Findley said. “She’s involved in a lot of things which shows what a well-rounded student-athlete she is, and I think that rubs off on your teammates as well.”

Findley said McKee provides a leading presence in games.

“She’s becoming more of a steadying force on the court and is definitely the person that we want with the ball in her hands at the end of the game,” Findley said. “In that regard, she’s matured from a freshman who was brand new to everything to one of the players we depend on at the end of the game.”

But McKee has not always limited herself to basketball and social activities. At her high school in Cordell, Oklahoma, McKee played soccer and softball, earning the Shortgrass Conference most valuable player award in softball and the team’s offensive player of the year award for soccer.

According to McKee, it was a combination of the opportunity to play collegiate basketball and the school’s spiritual atmosphere that led her to Oklahoma Christian.

“I grew up playing sports my whole life and basketball was always my number one,” McKee said. “My older sister came to Oklahoma Christian before I did so I would come visit her and I loved it too, so I just always wanted to come here ever since I was young.”

While playing with the Lady Eagles, McKee earned All-Heartland Conference honorable mention and National Christian College Athletic Association Student-Athlete honors during her sophomore year, then was named as an NCCAA Scholar-Athlete her junior year along with finishing second place in the Heartland Conferences’ free-throw shooting at 88.4 percent accuracy.

McKee is studying Elementary Education and plans to graduate in April of 2015, but first she must balance student-teaching, basketball, classes and her social life.

“It’s really hard to be a student-athlete, to balance not only athletics and academics but also your spiritual life and being able to have a social life outside of basketball,” McKee said. “I’m studying to be an elementary teacher and student teaching comes this year. We’ll see how that goes, but I’m pretty excited about it.”

Fellow senior Lady Eagle Skylar Newberry said she looks to enjoy her final season alongside McKee. Both players committed to the team their freshman year and have shared memorable adventures.

“Logan’s a lot of fun,” Newberry said. “There was a couple of us that went trick-or-treating one time in the neighborhoods. Logan was a cow and I was a ladybug, and there were two other teammates who joined us, but that was really fun. We played it off really well [and] got candy.”

When it is time to get serious, though, Newberry said she respects McKee’s sense of leadership that she brings to all of her teammates, underclassmen and upperclassmen alike.

“I think she in an amazing leader because she’s loud, she’s vocal and she knows what she’s talking about,” Newberry said. “[When I say] loud, she’s more of an encourager. If anyone needs help she makes sure they know where they’re going.”

Throughout her college career, the student-athlete life has brought struggles, McKee said. She has persevered, inspiring teammates, coaches and classmates along the way. And through all of the hours spent on the court, in the classroom, with her social club and at home with family, McKee has stayed true to her beliefs, according to Newberry.

“I think that’s another leadership thing she does too,” Newberry said. “She shows her faith.”

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