El Dorado Springs senior McKinli Mays is one of the most decorated athletes in Bulldogs history. So let’s list her sports in the order of the ones she enjoys the most. “My favorite one is probably basketball,” said McKinli.
In that sport, she’s a three-time all-state point guard with a pair of state runner-up finishes under her belt.
And she’ll play for the Central Missouri Jennies in college next year. “Second is probably track,” she said. “I’m just a really competitive person.”
Competitive enough to once again anchor the El Dorado Springs 4×400-meter and 4×800-meter squads with a chance to win their fourth consecutive state title in each. “And then, probably volleyball is my last one,” McKinli said. “I just do it to have fun and be with my friends.”
And to make all state twice for the Bulldogs as a libero. Her list of accolades runs long, and it runs in the family. McKinli’s oldest sister, Madison, led the Bulldogs to the 2014 basketball state title. Next up was Macie, whose team won it all in 2022. Macie just transferred to play for Missouri State next year where their dad Jarrod once played baseball.
It may look like McKinli doesn’t feel the pressure to live up to the family name. But it wasn’t always that way. Her junior year she felt it. “I really started putting pressure on myself,” McKinli said. “And I just finally learned that I don’t have to get validation from anyone else. I just have to take care of myself.”
Once she did that, McKinli could focus on taking care of others. “I feel like she brings out the best, not only in her teammates, but in her classmates,” said Braylie Steward, a senior teammate of McKinli’s on the basketball and track teams. “When you’re having a slump or a down game she would just help you get through that. She would always remind you that one bad possession isn’t the whole entire game.”
Braylie says there’s one thing she might even be even better at than sports. “[She’s] a great dancer,” she said.
“Dancing?” McKinli responded. “I don’t know. Prom’s coming up. I’ll have to bring out my dancing moves.”
She’s got El Dorado Springs making all the right moves, with a chance to bring home hardware one more time.
