Eastern Shoshone tribal member Bryan Beaver St.Clair was a team member of the 2023 NAIA National Champions

By Dan Ninham, contributing writer

Bryan Beaver St.Clair is an enrolled Eastern Shoshone tribal member and he’s also Navajo, Cherokee, and Pawnee. He is a sophomore at the College of Idaho studying Psychology. He is also a 2021 graduate of Lander Valley HS in Lander, WY.

St.Clair was a reserve guard on the basketball team for the College of Idaho who were crowned 2023 NAIA National Champions. The Coyotes held off Indiana Tech to win 73-71. 

St.Clair’s athletic accomplishments include being named the MVP for the inaugural Jr. NBA Camp at NABI in 2017.

As a sophomore in high school his team were the Wyoming 3A basketball state champions. He also placed fourth in long jump at the Wyoming State Track and Field Meet. As a junior, he was honored being named to the All-State Team. The team was favored to do well in the state tournament but the season was canceled due to Covid-19.

St.Clair’s senior year included scoring over 1000 points in his career. He was also named the Wyoming 3A West and 3A Player of the Year and he was the first native to receive the award. In addition, during the state track and field meet, he won the state championship and placed second in the state track and field meet long jump.

St.Clair was selected to play in the Wyoming North vs. South All-Star Game and the Wyoming vs. Montana All-Star Games.

St.Clair was a college redshirt freshman for basketball and the team ended up as the regular season champions, Cascade Conference champions, regional champions, and made it to the NAIA Elite Eight at the national tournament. He made the track and field conference mark for long jump and triple jump and the team placed second in conference.

As a sophomore, the team were the regular season champions, Cascade Conference champions, regional champions and the National Champions. The team finished with a 36-1 and won 36 consecutive games after losing the first game of the season.

St.Clair represents his tribal affiliations, family and indigenous people by competing on a national champion team. 

“It makes me feel proud,” St.Clair said as he reflected on the emotions of competing in the national tournament. “I feel happy that I get to represent the native community and my home. I always wear medallions, my ribbon shirt, and let people know I’m native because I’m glad to be indigenous. So the fact that I get to compete at such a high level and be native is something that I hold very close to my heart.”

“I know that I’m here because of others before me who had made stepping stones for me to walk on because i know it’s not easy to be away from my home and people and not everyone gets the opportunities to play collegiate sports, and especially Native Americans so I really cherish and am thankful for every moment that I’m in and do my best to represent our people well,” added St.Clair. 

St.Clair is positively influenced by immediate family members and his coaches at the high school and college levels. 

St.Clair said, “The people who inspired me to be the best I could be would have to be my parents, especially my father Darwin St.Clair Jr. who showed me the game of basketball and taught me everything I know. Another person who inspired me was my older brother Win who was a great role model and constantly helped me become a better person and player.”

“Another person I can’t forget is my head high school coach Stew Mullins who helped me and gave me opportunities to play at the collegiate level,” said St.Clair. “Coach Colby Blaine provides for me like someone who is more than a college coach, someone who is family.” 

“There are tons of people who inspired and helped me on my journey but I have to pay a great thanks to my Shoshone, Navajo, Cherokee, and Pawnee relatives who show constant love, prays, and support as I go through life,” added St.Clair.

Darwin Jr. and Viola Nave St.Clair are the parents of the St.Clair family. Byran Beaver is the second oldest son and middle child. He has an older sister Sunny Rae St.Clair-Lonebear, older Brother Darwin III, younger sister Sandra Naatahazbah, and younger brother Noah Raymond.  

Dad Darwin Jr. talked about the family connections to the sport of basketball and playing at the college level. He said, “Basketball in our family has been an avenue to get your education. Bryan’s grandparents stressed to me and my siblings a great work ethic when it came to sports. His grandfather played at Casper College, Auntie Sara Robinson played at University Wyoming and Central Wyoming College, I played at Central Wyoming College and Valley City State University, ND, his Uncle Owen St.Clair played at Central Wyoming College, Bryan’s older sister Sunny Rae played basketball and volleyball at Scottsdale Community College, AZ, and sister/cousin Tahnee Robinson played at Sheridan College and the University Nevada.”

Darwin Jr. continued, “His grandparents encouraged us and used sports as a catalyst to higher education so we could see new things and learn new things. Education could take us wherever you wanted, so you can take care of yourself and family and help our Native People.”

Older brother Win St.Clair was four years older than Beaver. Win said, “We never got to play against each other. Yet growing up he would always show up for my practices and be shooting on the side.”

There was a time when Win played in the Jr. Jazz recreational league basketball as a sixth grader. He talked about Beaver playing too. He said, “He was playing with the team as a second grader. While being the youngest and smallest player he would hit shots and make plays. Pretty insane for a second grader to compete with kids two to three years older than him. On top of it we would work out in in the summer and we would shoot 100 shots with the other one rebounding and keep score.”

“He showed the ability early to play fast with bigger players and I knew he would be special when he became older,” added Win.

Darwin Jr. recalled Bryan playing with the older athletes. He said, “When he was playing with his older brothers Jr Jazz team of fifth and sixth graders and he was in first or second grade, he would get to sit on the bench and wear his brother’s old jersey and do warmups and shoot around. Finally, he got his chance to go in, and we got the rebound and he hustled down the court and they passed him the ball and he hit the banker and then sprinted back down and took his defensive stance and the look on his face, you could tell he was in the zone. You can still see that look on his face today when he is on the court.”  

Beaver’s high school coach at Lander Valley High School was Stew Mullins. “Beaver was a freshman my first year at Lander Valley,” said Coach Stew Mullins. “It was pretty early when I knew how special he was, not only as a basketball player but as a ‘connector’”. 

“He connects to everyone around him and it really doesn’t matter who you are. Magnetic personalities are used to describe people too often, but Beaver epitomizes that trait more than most I’ve come across. When he was older, he would connect with the younger guys just like his best friends,” added Coach Mullins.

“I had the pleasure of coaching him in the Wyoming Coaches Association All Star Game. He was best friends with every kid there, on both teams by the time it was over. Knowing Coach Blaine over the years and his reputation of team building, The College of Idaho was really a perfect match for what they needed and what would allow Beaver to continue to grow. It was one of those things that you visualize happening, but just never quite know if it will. It was so enjoyable watching Beaver in his element. He’s such a boon to that campus,” added Coach Mullens. 

Colby Blaine is the head men’s basketball coach at the College of Idaho. He coached Bryan for two years. “I had the opportunity to observe Bryan for three summers while he competed with Select AAU in July tournaments,” said Coach Colby Blaine. “The first thing I noticed about him was his vibrant spirit and the joy he brought to everyone’s life. Bryan is liked and respected by everyone. He makes people laugh, pumps them full of confidence and shares his ideology on life, which in turn helps everyone become the best version of themselves. This type of spirit is the foundation to a GREAT basketball player. As I witnessed this over each summer, I knew we needed him on our team, and in our college. I knew he could help us strengthen our culture and team by just being himself.”

“Now that Bryan has been with us for two years, we get to see his basketball talent more and more. Bryan is a fierce competitor, can really shoot the ball and has an impressive bank shot. He has made huge strides with his fitness over the last two years as well. We as a program would not be where we are today without him. We look forward to watching his continued growth and learning from his stories,” added Coach Blaine.