By Aubrey Marjason
One person, in particular, works closely with the team, supporting them and doing everyday tasks, that greatly help the team and program as a whole. This person is Kassidy Depuy.
Depuy has been OBU’s student assistant since the 2023-24 season. She has been through constant changes in responsibility, coaching staff, and player lineup, and yet, she still remains consistent, getting everything and then some done for the team. Some of her many responsibilities include score and time keeping at practice, inventory management, laundry, and statistic taking at games. She is constantly in the gym, helping the coaching staff and players with whatever they ask, never complaining and almost never receiving appropriate recognition.
In addition to physical needs of the team, Depuy also creates many social media posts and team graphics for the Bison. As a marketing major with a minor in graphic design, Depuy is very skilled at putting relevant, organized, and to put it simply, really cool designs together for her team. This is another task that she does happily, and many don’t even know she is the one making the posts.
In addition, Depuy is always making the program look appealing to those on the outside. She is the one who handles most of the food runs, interacting constantly with Shawnee businesses. She always leaves a great tip and makes sure to return to businesses who enjoy feeding OBU basketball, making our program look good to others. Besides businesses, she also plays a huge role in recruit experiences. As the student assistant, it is her job to make sure the locker room is set up for recruits. Many girls visit OBU and want to be wowed by gear and our facilities. By making setups nice, clean, and appealing, Depuy
greatly benefits OBU’s recruiting process. Depuy credits her hard work to two things.
“I started doing this to stay around a sport that I loved, but I’ve kept doing it because of the people it’s brought me and my friendships with the girls and coaches,” she said. The title student assistant means more than just getting tasks done to Depuy. It means making an impact on a program and the people who are a part of it, and those that are on the outside looking in. Depuy is known to reject any help. She enjoys getting things done herself. She takes pride in every laundry load, every shot clock reset, every meeting with the coaches, and every stat she takes on the sideline. Her title as student assistant is not merely a job she must show up to every day, but it’s something she loves doing, not for herself, but for others.
Depuy has selflessly served the staff and players in the OBU program and although a senior, she plans to stay another year as a graduate assistant, continuing her generosity. Kassidy Depuy has become a friend to many while also building professional and organizational skills. She dedicates countless hours per semester to the OBU Women’s Basketball program and it almost always goes unappreciated. Today that changes. She should be recognized each and every day. Just like a player gets a shout out for a huge play or shot, Depuy should be praised for the behind the scenes work she does every day and
for being a huge asset and benefit to the team.
