BILLINGS, Mont. – The MSUB softball program announced the signing of 10-year old Bria Koch to the Yellowjacket team the athletic department released Saturday.
 
Bria became an honorary member of the Yellowjacket program during Draft Day when she was partnered with the Montana State University Billings softball team through the organization Team IMPACT.
 
"Our team and the coaching staff are really excited to officially welcome Bria to our Yellowjacket softball program," MSUB head coach Rebekah Gasner said. "Today was the team's first time meeting her as a whole group. Our team advocates had introduced themselves and spent time with Bria earlier and they were able to come back with all of these wonderful things about her and so we were all very excited to meet her.

 

"I also think it is special because it is signing week for our other Yellowjacket programs so I think that it is fitting that she is able to sign with us today," Gasner continued. "We are really looking forward to working with Bria the rest of the year and we are hoping to continue that relationship as well. It is a great opportunity for our program to experience this, and we are so excited that Bria has become a member of our team." 

Making her debut as a Yellowjacket, Bria was joined on signing day by MSUB director of intercollegiate athletics Krista Montague and Coach Gasner as well as Bria's parents Bonnie and Brad and all of her new teammates.
 
"We are super excited," MSUB shortstop and Team IMPACT advocate Katlyn Stringari said. "This is the best opportunity I have ever had. Not a lot of athletes get a chance to work with someone like this. Bria is so positive about everything and I hope we can be good role models for her and people that she can look up to. As for the team, this is one of the most amazing experiences we have been a part of, whether that is spending time with her in the hospital or spending time with her outside of that. It makes us better people and a better team, and we feel very blessed."
 
Bria lives with a condition called Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a disorder of the bone marrow. Bria receives blood transfusions every 3-4 weeks and it was through her visits that the Koch family learned of another Team IMPACT member of MSUB athletics - Sebastien Easton.
 
Bria is now the second member to join the MSUB athletic department as the MSU Billings men's soccer team drafted Sebastien in September 2014. The relationship between the soccer team and Sebastien has had an indelible impact on both the Easton and Yellowjacket families that has continued through the present-day.
 
Bria will be joining the Montana State University Billings softball team for events throughout the season. During the doubleheader against Concordia (Ore.), Bria was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first-pitch. On signing day, the second grader was presented with a team jersey bearing her favorite number 12. Bria was also given a locker in the Yellowjacket softball team room and was able to warm-up before the day's games on the field.
 
"We really think it's good for Bria to meet other girls who are in a team environment and foster those relationships," Bria's mother Bonnie Koch said.
 
"All the women we have come in contact with through the (softball) program have just been awesome," Brad Koch Bria's dad added. "Bria has got that same spirit down in her heart."
 
Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization from Massachusetts whose mission is to pair children with severe diseases with college athletic teams. Through this partnership, the children gain strength and a sense of camaraderie, and are exposed to many of the valuable experiences that student-athletes regularly have.