Mikyn Hamlin's commitment to basketball led to opportunity with UW
Sep. 20—CHEYENNE — Mikyn Hamlin always loved basketball.
Even with being a standout in both track and field and volleyball, Hamlin knew the round orange ball was going to give her the most success.
During her stellar high school career, Hamlin amassed more than 1,400 points. She was named a member of the first team All-Great West Activities Conference four times and took home the league's most valuable player award three times.
She was selected to her all-state team four times, and finished as a finalist multiple times for the Kansas player of the year award.
Those efforts not only helped her become a standout basketball player in Kansas, it also landed her a full-ride scholarship at the University of Wyoming.
"Basketball was just one of those sports that I gravitated to," Hamlin said. "Every other sport I played I did to gain the aspects of that for basketball. When you live in a small town, that's one of those things you do because everyone does it, and there isn't much else to do."
Hamlin will be joining a Cowgirls team coming off another strong season. The Cowgirls finished second in the Mountain West and made it all the way to championship game in the conference tournament before falling to UNLV.
UW's run last year was, in part, due to excellent play from its younger players. Hamlin whole-heartedly believes she can be one of the next freshmen to carve out a significant role for the team.
"I just want to fit in wherever is best for the team," Hamlin said. "It's hard being a freshman and coming in. Our schedule is difficult and our schedule is really tough this year. Wherever the coaches see me fit and wherever they feel I will excel best is where I (will need to be).
"Wherever they say to go is where you need to go. That's all you can do is be your best and do the best for your team."
Travel, Travel, Travel
Hamlin played on travel teams ever since her parents started one when she was in third grade. Things really ramped up when she reached high school and joined a club team based out of Emporia, a town approximately 314 miles from her hometown.
During the club basketball season, Hamlin would make the five-and-a-half hour drive across the state to compete with her team. Most of the time, her team traveled around Kansas; but during her last season, the team started to branch out more.
"I traveled everywhere," Hamlin said. "Every weekend was like a 15-plus hour drive. My parents said, 'Look, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. You need to be fully bought in if we are going to spend this money and go on these trips.'
"I will be forever grateful for them making that commitment. It was a huge commitment for me to do that, but I was really grateful for it."
Being a three-sport athlete also made things difficult, particularly during the track and field season. A typical weekend for Hamlin consisted of her driving three hours to a track meet, where she competed in the 200-meter dash, shot put and 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
When the meets ended, her and her parents would drive through the night to get to her club team's basketball games. They typically would play at 9 a.m. the following day and play games for the rest of the day.
Hamlin would return home Sunday and typically have a day off before going to another track meet Tuesday.
"It was pretty physically demanding," Hamlin said. "But I knew, in the end when it was all over, that the rewards would be a lot greater than what I was going through at the time. I think it made me mentally strong, as well."
It was a long and sometimes difficult journey for Hamlin, but her efforts didn't go unnoticed. Not only did the grind help her become one of Kansas' best basketball players, but her efforts also caught the eye of the UW coaching staff.
Playing a sport in college is a major time commitment. Not only do athletes have to attend classes, they also have to balance coursework with travel, practice and games.
Hamlin's commitment during her time in club basketball helped show UW coach Heather Ezell and the Cowgirls coaching staff that she was ready for the commitment of college athletics.
"You knew she was part of a family that was committed to the next level and being able to put in that time and effort," Ezell said. "There is no doubt that those 15-hour car rides paid off for her with the chance to play college basketball.
"It does show you that dedication. There are times when we are leaving here late at night and there is still a ball bouncing in the gym. Usually, it's Mikyn."
Coming to Laramie
Hamlin admitted that not many people thought she would choose UW. A lot of people close to her felt that she would accept one of her other offers, such as Tulsa or the University of San Francisco.
"I fell in love with the place," Hamlin said. "The people there are great and everything. They really recruited me hard sophomore and junior year. All the pieces went together, and I knew they were the one.
"...I don't think Wyoming was really in the charts that anybody thought I was going to go to."
Laramie currently has just over 30,000 residents, according to a 2021 report from the United States Census Bureau. While the town is small compared to other areas of the country, it's a big adjustment for someone like Hamlin, who came from a town of just under 4,000 people.
But due to the welcoming nature of Laramie — and Wyoming as a whole — Hamlin said the transition has been nearly seamless.
"It's the perfect adjustment," Hamlin said. "(Laramie) is not too big, and it's not too small. Wyoming has the nicest people in the country, and I think my area is really similar in regards to that. When you go there, it's not a scary transition, because everyone is so welcoming."
College recruiting has now become more about promising recruits things and less about what the university can do to help a student-athlete grow and being honest about what it will take. The transparency UW showed Hamlin was one of her major deciding factors in committing.
"When you get into the recruiting process, there's a lot of PR-ing going on," Hamlin said. "They want to show you how great they are and convince you of this, and tell you all of this, and whatnot.
"Wyoming was really transparent and honest. They weren't scared to shy away from a question you had, even if it was a difficult one."
Another one of the biggest deciding factors happened after Hamlin had already committed. In the summer heading into her senior year, Hamlin suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament.
It's not uncommon for schools to move on from players that suffer major injuries, but UW stuck with her.
Hamlin said leaning on Ezell's similar experience helped her get through the injury to come back stronger than ever.
"We had a lot of good heart-to-heart conversations about what it was like mentally going through that, and how to come back from it," Hamlin said. "Throughout my entire recovery process, they rode with me, and they were super comforting and supportive.
"Those conversations (really showed me) that these people really cared about me as an individual more than they just care about me as a basketball player. That kind of connection, you won't find anywhere else."
While the appeal of Laramie and the UW coaching staff was a big deciding factor for Hamlin, UW and the MW as a whole were other big factors in Hamlin's decision. In the past, the MW was not a strong women's basketball conference, but that sentiment has changed in recent years.
Hamlin said the conference's newfound competitiveness and her desire to play against great competition helped with her decision.
"When UW started recruiting me my sophomore year, you could tell there was a change in the Mountain West coming," she said. "There were a lot of big recruits that we knew that were (getting recruited to that conference) and there were some coaching changes, as well.
"With UNLV, Wyoming and Colorado State, there are some really competitive teams. I knew the Mountain West was somewhere I would fit in and that I had a really good shot of standing out in."
Time will tell if Hamlin will be called upon to make a significant contribution to the team this season. But from what Ezell has seen from Hamlin through offseason work outs, practices and meetings, there is certainly a path for Hamlin to aid UW in the upcoming season.
"(She) has definitely put in the work and is figuring things out," Ezell said. "The biggest thing we talk about with college athletics is being able to adjust to the physicality and the speed of the game.
"(She) has been putting time in the weight room, whether it was with us or at home. Hopefully, that continues to propel (her) into really having a chance to help this team."
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.
