AUSTIN, Texas — Growing up, it became pretty clear that Tatyanna Bailey was going to play sports. It became more clear that basketball would be the one that mattered most to her. 

What You Need To Know

  • Tatyanna Bailey was a basketball player at Hendrickson High School

  • Bailey was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year

  • She returned to the court less than two months after brain surgery

  • Tatyanna died in August 2023

“Not too many kids want to watch basketball,” said Latraica Spencer-Bailey, Tatyanna’s mother. “ They want to be into the social media, go out with their friends, but Tatyanna was one that was low key always studying the game.”

As she was getting ready for her junior basketball season at Pflugerville Hendrickson, there were signs that something was wrong. Her family noticed she was running a little funny and that maybe she was dealing with an ankle problem or drop foot. They would soon find out something more serious was going on.

“We didn’t start getting really, really concerned until she started having symptoms like throwing up and having headaches,” said Johnny Bailey, Tatyanna’s father. “We just got her together one night and took her over to the hospital.”

That trip to the hospital brought some shocking and scary news. Doctors told Tatyanna and her family that she had a tennis ball sized tumor on her brain. 

“Devastating. You never want your kid to go through that,” Johnny said. “It’s one of those obstacles we had to go hurdle together.”

“My world stopped,” Latraica said. “That was a hard day.”

Tatyanna would need brain surgery. That surgery took place in early December of 2022. Doctors were able to remove most of the tumor. Almost immediately, Tatyanna was talking about coming back to play basketball that season.

“One of the first things out of her mouth was, 'I need a basketball and a hoop,'” Johnny said. 

The family gave her a little Nerf basketball hoop and two days after surgery, she was shooting shots.

“That was her goal, to be back on the court,” said Latraica. 

Tatyanna reached that goal less than two months after having brain surgery. She returned to the court for Hendrickson and immediately was having an impact on the game, hitting 3s in her first game back.

“I was thankful she did what she said she was going to do,” said Latraica.

“Having her back, getting on the court, doing the things she was doing was like a sigh of relief,” said Norma Sierra, the Hendrickson girls basketball coach. 

While Tatyanna was able to finish out her junior season, she was really looking forward to getting healthy and being back to full strength her senior year. But before that final year of high school, Tatyanna started to get sick again. A scan showed that some of the tumor had grown back and had spread to her spine. Doctors told the family at this point there was nothing they could really do about it.

“I just held her,” Johnny said. “That’s all I could do.”

Tatyanna Bpassed away on Aug. 18. She was just 17 years old. Tatyanna had an incredible impact on so many people and on the Hendrickson basketball program as a whole. To honor her, the school held a signing day for Tatyanna’s family in early November, where they signed her letter of intent to UTPB, the school she had committed to play basketball to. They also retired her #22 jersey at the school.

“Proud of her accomplishments,” said Johnny. “Because that’s what she wanted to do and she did it.”

“As a coach, a mother, a friend, I cannot begin to tell you the impact this young lady had on this community, this team and my life,” said Coach Sierra.

The Hendrickson basketball team plays in her memory this season. They start and end practice every day saying “For who…22.” They also break the huddle saying “missing piece” to always keep Tatyanna’s presence with them.