Family drives three-sport athlete Mya Tautges to achieve historic senior year at Brainerd

Brainerd senior Mya Tautges has spent much of this school year demonstrating what people living in the Brainerd area have known for years: She’s one the best all-around high school athletes in Minnesota.

Tautges, who stands 6-1, began her senior year by becoming a state-champion swimmer, winning the 50 freestyle at the Class 2A state meet. In March, she led the Brainerd girls basketball to the state tournament for the first time in 28 years, becoming a career 1,000-point scorer along the way.

It’s all led to this spring, where Tautges is leading the Warriors softball team as one of the best pitchers in the state, with a fastball clocked at over 65 MPH and scholarship to the University of St. Thomas in her back pocket.

It’s an unusual trifecta of sports, but not so much considering Tautges comes from a family of athletes. Both older siblings currently compete collegiately and her two fraternal twin siblings also compete at Brainerd.

Mya is the baby of the bunch... and likely the best athlete.

“I’ve been a high school coach for 38 years and she is by far the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” said Dan Anderson, the Brainerd swim coach. “You get those multi-sport athletes in similar sports like running. Maybe even volleyball and basketball. But swimming, basketball and softball? She would excel at anything she tried.”

When asked about athletic abilities that define the Tautges, Joze said a work ethic instilled by their parents is a big part. When it comes to Mya, though, she admits to being constantly amazed at the things her slightly younger sister — Joze is five minutes older — does year-round.

“Everything she does seems to come naturally to her,” Joze says. “She only swims 11 weeks out of the year but she’s able to go out and win a state championship. Who does that?”

The Tautges family lives on South Long Lake, about 11 miles southeast of Brainerd. Swimming was a must.

“I basically started swimming lessons so I wouldn’t drown,” Tautges said. “But you make such great relationships in swimming. It’s a different world. You need your teammates to help you get through it.”

In the pool, success came quickly.

“I was pretty natural because I’m tall and I have really long arms that makes it easier to touch the wall first,” she said.

Last fall, Tautges won the 50-yard freestyle, which is often considered swimming’s premier event. She was the only swimmer in the 2A meet to post a time under 23 seconds, which she did twice, highlighted by a 22.79 in the finals. She also finished third in the 100 freestyle and swam the anchor leg on Brainerd’s 200 freestyle relay team that finished as state runner up.

“She’s got the perfect body for swimming, with long arms and good technique,” Anderson said. “She’s been good since she joined swimming and she’s gotten better every year.”

Tautges started playing basketball at a young age, simply because that’s what other girls her age were doing. She kept playing because, well, it was always just a heck of a lot of fun.

“Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I had a lot of friends in it and I love being competitive,” she said.

This past winter, Tautges toweled off and got to work on the hardwood. A threat both inside and outside, she led the Warriors girls basketball team to the state tournament for the first time in 28 years while averaging 18 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She also surpassed 1,000 career points, and did it in notable fashion with a step-back three-pointer in a victory over Bemidji in February.

“Growing up, softball is the sport our family was the most focused on,” Tautges recalled. “I played a lot of other sports growing up, but when I got to high school, I really prioritized softball.”

Tautges two older sisters, twins Olivia and Emma, are both playing softball in college. Emma is at Division II Upper Iowa and Olivia at the College of St. Benedict.

Mya is one of three Tautges triplets with brother Eli and sister Joze, who together are three years younger than Emma and Olivia. Joze swam and plays softball for Brainerd like Mya. Eli is on the baseball team.

No matter her schedule, Tautges finds time to break out a glove and a ball, usually with her father Bob or Joze, who has been Mya’s nearly constant companion since birth.

Mya credits Joze as being a catalyst to her success.

“We have a kind of radar for each other,” Mya said, careful to point out she has a special bond with Eli as well. “Me and Eli, we talk all the time. But with Joze, we can read each other’s expressions and just know what each other is thinking.”

Joze admits to often thinking “How does she do that?”

“Some of my best memories are of watching her go to state in swimming and in basketball,” Joze said. “And just getting the opportunities to watch her grow athletically.”

Mya has a gregarious, happy-go-lucky demeanor. Her lighthearted side is almost always on display. She’s quick with a zinger or a joke to ease tension.

“As a leader, I need to bring some life to a situation and lighten up the room,” Mya said. “I like making my teammates laugh. I think we play better.”

That personality could fuel another state tournament appearance. Brainerd’s softball team last reached state in 2022 when it was Class 4A runner-up.

Mya’s happy-go-lucky demeanor fades with one very significant exception. She shifts into business mode when the competition begins.

“That’s when everyone knows to ‘Leave Mya alone’,” Joze said.

Joze does cop to having an edge over her sister, however, in one important area of high school life.

“Driving a car,” Joze laughs. “She’s had a little incident driving, but she’s getting better.”