Colstrip's Malea Egan shares journey from California to the Cats

LAUREL — While Malea Egan may be a standout for Colstrip in track and field, the senior is headed to Bozeman next fall to hoop.

Despite reaching out early, Egan had to patiently wait for the Cats to come calling.

“Beginning of my junior year I reached out to (Montana State) multiple times," Egan told MTN Sports. "They didn't reach back out until the beginning of my senior year. It was pretty amazing. I didn't know what to do. I showed my mom like, 'Oh my gosh, they e-mailed me back.'"

Egan moved to Colstrip from Elk Grove, A Sacramento suburb, prior to her sophomore year.

“During COVID, my mom was working a lot in the hospital, so it was hard juggling online school with my brother and I,” Egan said. “So, we moved to Colstrip because all my family was there. My grandma, my aunt and the rest of my family just really helped out.”

So having come from a basketball hotbed like California, Egan says her younger years were a huge part of her development.

“The exposure, also, with all those colleges there — the competitiveness was different. There's still a lot of competitive teams in Montana, it's just the different levels. It's different, so it was a little shock," Egan said.

While Egan hopes to finish off her track career with a trip to the podium at state, a move to Bozeman could rekindle special memories. She helped the Fillies win the 2022 State B basketball title inside Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.