What does it take to become the first in program history?
It’s a heavy question. For junior forward and San Diego State captain Bailey Barnhard, it has been the sum of her works since landing on The Mesa as an eager and determined freshman, and then her open and welcoming arms thereafter.
The 6-foot-1 junior with the ferocity and tenacity of a lioness is the first SDSU player to be honored as a Kay Yow Servant Leader, joining a group of 50 DI women who earned the distinction last year and many across all three levels of NCAA basketball plus junior and community college levels this season.
Barnhard is one of three captains voted on by the team for the 2026-27 season, joined by junior guards Natalia Martinez and Alyssa Jackson. Naomi Panganiban, the fourth part of SDSU’s program standard-setting junior quartet has been determined out indefinitely after an achilles injury in the off season, and optimistically could return as early as some time in February.
For Barnhard, the heart she gives to the game is easy to see on the court in how she plays. That heart also guides her presence as a critical member of the SDSU program.
“I value being a teammate that can be relied on in any situation, in any situation,” Barnhard said.
The Kay Yow Servant Leader award was first presented during the 2024-25 season.
“This award highlights the kind of leadership that inspires hope, brings people together and makes the world a better place. Just as coach Yow did, we hope this recognition will inspire others to lead with compassion and purpose,” Jenny Palmateer, CEO of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, said in 2024.
82 different women’s basketball players have been recognized across NCAA DI through DIII and JC plus CC colleges in the first two years of the Kay Yow Servant Leader Award.
The award requires being nominated by a coach, and head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson explained why Barnhard became the first Aztec to earn the recognition.
“This was a really big honor for her, and I don't even think she knew that it was coming or understands how important it is, because she just does it because she's a good human being,” she said.
“Even as a young person, being a local kid, her mom invites everybody over to the house. She's always making sure we do things as a team. She is the connector on our group.”
That ability has been a critical part of leading the Aztecs to a Mountain West Tournament championship in 2025 and a regular season conference championship in 2026 in her first two years with the program.
“My parents are constant leaders that have always been there for me. They raised me by leading by example (and) are both great people who have touched the lives of many,” Barnhard said. “They have led me to become the woman I am today and that started with the foundation of faith and religion that they implemented in my life since a very young age.”
Who she is off the court is also a big part of why her hustle plays, like the ones against North Texas, resonate so much.
There was the diving battle for an offensive rebound in the second quarter where she spiked the ball off a UNT defender to earn the Aztecs a possession when the game was nip-and-tuck close.
Barnhard drew a charge in the later stages of SDSU’s third quarter run where, with 3 fouls, she got into position and absorbed the impact to get the Aztecs the ball back and keep the momentum rolling. Then, in the fourth quarter with the game all but decided, she forcefully smacked a UNT shot attempt out of bounds and roared with delight, the kind of contagious ‘not against us’ mentality that SDSU will need this season.
“It's an amazing opportunity for Bailey. I mean Bailey is a great human on and off the floor. So seeing her have that award is definitely a testament of what she does and how she brings the team together,” fellow captain Martinez said.
2002 Basketball Hall of Famer Kay Yow is an icon, having courageously fought breast cancer for over two decades after coaching the USA women’s basketball program to Olympic gold in 1988, amongst many other international golds, along with over three decades of success coaching North Carolina State.
“Bailey exemplifies some of the qualities that coach Yow was about. Her generosity, her humility, her grace are all things that Bailey demonstrates on a daily basis. And I think it's contagious,” Terry-Hutson said. “Kay Yow was of service to others and cared more about the fight than anything else.”
Barnhard will wear a patch on her uniform to signify the honor, but the principles and personality behind it are the kind of guides that the whole San Diego State team will look to for the season.
“It’s the things you do as a leader to help better the team, even if it’s not always an easy task. I ultimately work to be the person that my teammates need me to be no matter what, no matter the role,’ Barnhard said.
The Aztecs will host the Play4Kay pink game on Wednesday, Feb. 10 2027 against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Play4Kay is a national, grassroots movement in sports, bringing communities together and honoring cancer warriors, survivors, and thrivers in the fight against cancer. For more information visit kayyow.com.