This Decatur athlete is rodeo royalty. She’s blazing her own path to success
The Brazile family knows a thing or two about winning championships.
Trevor Brazile is arguably the most accomplished rodeo cowboy of all time, holding the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association record with 26 World Championships. His wife, Shada Brazile, is an award-winning barrel racer and comes from a rodeo family packed with championship pedigree.
That makes their daughter, Style Brazile, rodeo royalty. But she elected to blaze her own path and swap out boots for a pair of basketball shoes. As a sophomore at Decatur High School, Style has been a key component in back-to-back state championships for the Eagles.
“I was hooked on the competition,” Style said. “And rodeo just never really was my thing. It was fun, and I’ll do it sometimes, but basketball has always just been what I’ve done.”
‘Cowboy tough’ — learning from rodeo roots
From a young age, Style was constantly in a rodeo environment. But her heart drifted toward other activities — usually whatever her brother Treston Brazile was doing, like baseball, soccer, and basketball.
“People in the rodeo world, they couldn’t believe that she wasn’t on horses and roping and running barrels,” said her mom, whom Style called her rock.
“But since [the kids] were little, I guess my answer has always been to let them do whatever makes their heart beat. So we just tried to figure that out and support them.”
For Style, it was basketball. There’s not a lot of carryover from the dirt to the court, but Style did say she learned from cowboys to “roll with the punches” and “always bounce back.”
Another one of her main takeaways was learning the value of toughness.
“Nothing comes easy in agriculture, rodeo, or horses and cattle,” Trevor said. “There’s just a lot of hard work involved. And I think that’s part of why she thrives, because I feel like she is cowboy tough.”
She needed some of that grit when she broke her hand two weeks before the 2026 Class 4A Division I playoffs. At the time, it seemed like a season-ending injury, and for many other athletes, it would be.
The doctor told them to wait six weeks, but Style was determined to play. The bi-district opening round of the playoffs commenced 13 days after her operation, and she was in Decatur’s lineup.
“We couldn’t give her real good advice, cause we would have done the same thing,” Shada said. “We would be playing, too. I know [Trevor] would.”
Decatur head coach Drew Coffman said he thought there was no possibility of a return.
“You would never know that she broke her hand,” Coffman said. “So, her toughness is rare. It’s unique. And her work ethic is unique. She wants to win, and nobody’s going to want to win as bad as she does. So, it’s special. She is special.”
Trevor knows the decision to fight through an injury has to come from within — and he let his daughter make the call.
“A lot of times, the people closest to you, not knowing it, will hold you back,” Trevor said. “Just because they don’t want to see you fail. But if she thought she was going to come back, I wasn’t going to tell her any different. That’s how bad she wanted to come back. She only missed two practices.”
Using a cowboy’s work ethic
Trevor often reminds his daughter about the importance of working toward a dream or a goal — it’s what led him to become a Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame selection.
“The secret to success in any sport is that there are no shortcuts,” Trevor said. “Once you know the recipe, if you will, it can kind of be applied to whatever you’re passionate about. ... Sometimes talent doesn’t work hard. And in her case, it’s that she kept setting her sights and adjusting her sights and goals to where it kept pushing her. And so, she never got comfortable.”
Style’s resume speaks for itself. She is a two-time Texas Association of Basketball Coaches all-state selection — that honor, which is rare for an underclassman, is reserved for the 25 best players in Texas per classification.
“It’s been the best two years of my life, and worth every practice and every hard day,” Style said. “It’s 100% worth it, and it’s just been a ton of fun.”
She led Decatur to its first state tournament appearance since 1962 and helped lead the Eagles to their first state title as a freshman. As a sophomore, she helped lead the team to another Class 4A Division I state championship, averaging 15 points, five assists and four rebounds per game to earn Co-District 7-4A MVP honors.
“She’s carving a way for her to make her own name because it has nothing to do with me or anything me or her mom have done,” Trevor said. “It’s been fun to watch her and to know that all we can do is give her opportunity and watch her thrive.”
Fighting through adversity
As she fought through injury, Style’s scoring output was a tad lower than normal. However, she continued to thrive as a playmaker, which is arguably where her game shines brightest. During the playoffs, she averaged 10.6 points and a team-high 6.5 assists.
Decatur faced its toughest challenge in the championship against Waco La Vega. Decatur was down two points and Style, who battled turnover trouble earlier in the game, was set to inbound with seconds remaining.
And just when her team needed her most, she delivered, making the perfect pass to teammate Bralyn Peck, who tied the game with a layup. Decatur went on to seize a 58-54 victory.
She stayed even-keeled in a tough moment, which is a lesson she said she learned from her father.
“He says, ‘You’re going to have highs and lows. You’re always going to mess up. There’s going to be bad days, but they’re also going to be highs,’” Style said.
Going for a championship three-peat
As Style’s high school basketball career continues at Decatur, she’ll step into an even larger role. With Peck graduating, Coffman said the team will need Style to take on more responsibility as a scorer.
She’ll also continue to make an impact through leadership, which is something Decatur will need on its quest for a rare championship three-peat.
“When something needs to be said, she’ll say it,” Coffman said. “... She’s not one of these prima donna stars that think she’s better than everybody. She’s not that at all. So her teammates really respect her and really like her. So, when she says something, it carries value.”
Style, who was also named to the Star-Telegram All-Area First Team, holds offers from Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Houston, North Texas, Oklahoma State and more.
“She has the talent and the ability and the work ethic to do whatever she chooses to do,” Coffman said.
This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM.
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