DEVILS LAKE — Tylie Brodina first announced her offer from Minot State University just over a year ago, on June 3, 2025.
It was the first college offer she received.
In the year since, she led Devils Lake girls’ basketball to a third consecutive state appearance and was named all-state for the second season in a row. She received an offer from the University of Mary last fall.
On May 29, she announced her decision.
The Minot State Beavers await her.
“I’m pretty excited,” Brodina said. “It feels nice. A little weight is kind of off me. And now I can just enjoy the rest of the summer, work hard, and just knowing that I’m gonna go to a good place.”
Brodina’s commitment came a few days short of a year since her initial offer.
Before she finalized her decision, she went on a second visit to the campus.
“I was kind of keeping my eye open a little bit, and then once it kind of came this summer, I was ready to decide where I was going,” Brodina said. “So I revisited, and it just felt really nice when I revisited it. And that’s kind of how I decided.”
On her second visit, Brodina got another look at the dorms, facilities and schooling.
She needed to make sure it was the right choice.
“It just kind of felt like a right fit,” she said.
At Minot State, Brodina will play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for head coach Ryan Clark, who was the Lake Region State College women’s coach from 2022 to 2024.
Clark first saw Brodina play in Devils Lake. When she won state tournament MVP as a freshman, leading the Firebirds to a drought-ending title, it was on her future collegiate floor with Clark in the stands.
But Brodina said she didn’t really start getting college looks until after Clark took the Minot State job in April 2024.
Clark and his assistants instantly helped Brodina feel at home.
“I just really liked the coaches, like the whole coaching staff,” she said. “They were all really, really nice. Coach Clark, he was really inviting, and he really showed me where I would fit on their program.”
With an offer to the University of Mary on the table, Brodina still had to make up her mind.
Her brother Parker, two years older, is on the men’s basketball team at Mary. Tylie went to him for guidance.
“I was thinking UMary for a while, but it just didn’t really work out that way,” Brodina said. “And so then I kind of turned to him and I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t really know what to do.’ And he was like, ‘Well, I think you should just follow what your gut’s telling you.’ And that’s kind of how it happened.”
Parker has already given Tylie some insight on what to expect at the college level.
“I think it will definitely be a big jump,” she said. “Even Parker told me, he’s like, ‘It’s gonna be a big wake-up call.’ But I think I’m ready for it. Definitely the workouts and stuff are gonna be harder. But I think it’ll be good.”
She said Parker has given her “encouragement of what to expect in college and what mindset you need to have.” He tells her to “keep an open mind to where you’re gonna be playing and how hard you need to work.”
Given the success Brodina had as a freshman, the college level has been on her horizon for a while.
But in the two seasons since, improved consistency has helped her blossom into an all-state level of player. She averaged about 19 points a game as a junior while surpassing 1,000 career points. As a freshman, her production came in waves, but as an upperclassman, it was there nearly every night.
“I think just getting older,” Brodina said of the reason for that. “Your mind’s kind of still growing, so I think just becoming a little more mature and getting more comfortable with the game is definitely a big thing, like knowing what to do in pressure situations, and I think just overall maturing was a big thing.”
Brodina also took on a little more of a leadership role this past winter.
In her first two varsity seasons, she was a young player compared to the likes of Torri Fee, Cabryn Fritel, Jolie Martinson, Claire Heilman and other program stalwarts who led the way. Devils Lake graduated a large class going into her third season, making her a de facto leader alongside seniors Presley Brown, Mia Elsperger and Jenae Martinson.
But now that her own senior year is coming up, she views herself as needing to step into even more of a captain position.
“I think just kind of teaching the girls — we have a lot of younger girls this year — so I think just kind of getting them to help make them successful in the future will be a big thing,” Brodina said. “Getting them to be comfortable with the game and just being a good overall leader to them is definitely what is going to be our goal this year.”
In the meantime, basketball pretty much never stops in Brodina’s life — or for any of the Brodinas, really. Tylie is right in the thick of her AAU basketball schedule, which takes her to places like Iowa, Minneapolis, Sioux Falls and Chicago. She’s on a roster that includes Katie Burchill from two-time defending state champion Valley City.
“It’s been pretty good. All my teammates are really nice there,” Brodina said. “We all get along fairly well, and Terry [Porter] is a really good coach. So just looking forward to keeping a good, fun rest of the year playing with them.”
The offseason work is just another way for Brodina to keep progressing as a player.
And now, that work is in the specific pursuit of becoming as strong of a player as she can before heading west to Minot.
“During the week, I try to focus on my individual skills and just try to get up and do as much basketball as I can,” Brodina said. “But I think when it comes to AAU, I just try to play a role where I would probably play in high school and just get more comfortable with it. Have fun, and obviously improve skills, but more just like go out, play and have fun.”
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