Brady Baskin was honored with a proclamation from the City of Durant and a plaque for his heroic efforts after the Christmas Eve accident that claimed the lives of Durant Lady Lions head basketball coach Will Robinson, 36, and his daughter Clara, 8, after their car hydroplaned and slid into a drainage ditch that led into a creek in Sherman, Texas.
Baskin, who is a scuba diver, assisted in the search for Clara who was lost in the floodwaters, and he conducted numerous dive operations during the search in hazardous conditions that included freezing temperatures and debris-laden waters in December 2024 and January 2025. Despite the extensive search, Clara was never recovered. She was a student at George Washington Elementary School.
The presentation was made during the Durant City council meeting with members of the Robinson and Baskin families present. Baskin was unaware he was going to receive the honor. His wife Sarah Baskin is the site Teacher of the Year for George Washington Elementary School, and he was told it was her who would be honored.
Mayor Martin Tucker proclaimed Dec. 9 as a day to honor Baskin for his exemplary volunteer service, courage in the face of danger and unwavering com- mitment to helping others during a tragedy.
“Durant resident Brady Baskin selflessly volunteered more than 300 hours of his time, skills and personal resources in an extended effort to locate and recover the missing child, answering a call for help during an incredibly difficult and emotional situation,” Tucker said, reading from the proclamation.
The proclamation states Baskin’s actions exemplify true public service that was performed not for recognition or reward, but out of compassion, duty and a desire to help those in need.
Richard Ezell, director of Durant Emergency Management, presented Baskin with a plaque.
“We would just also like to honor Brady and his exemplary service that he did trying to bring closure to this family in this time of need and how he helped bring a community together because he selflessly acted during this,” Ezell said.
Bart Bowman, a former Durant firefighter who is now deputy chief paramedic of Sherman Fire-Rescue, also praised Baskin during the presentation.
“First of all, my condolences to the family,” Bowman said. “This is going to be really hard for me. I was there on the first day when this occurred. We tried so hard. This is still very hard. We still don’t have any closure in the City of Sherman for you guys. It’s very, very rough, but my condolences to you.”
Bowman said he made contact with Baskin on Christmas day.
“He was devoted and I know it breaks his heart that we couldn’t get closure,” Bowman said. “I went out with Brady one day … I chased him down the creek for miles while he was in the creek and there were several times that he would go under water looking under stuff and I thought, ‘We just lost Brady, he’s gone’ because he didn’t come up for a long time and then he would surface and go to the next spot. It’s pretty incredible what he did, and I know that closure is what we all need for this.”
Baskin said, “I appreciate this. I don’t feel like I deserve it. There’s multiple men here tonight that helped me. They weren’t necessarily divers but there’s a lot here in this room. There’s a lot of other men here tonight and in this community that helped me.”
He said many people helped, whether it was physically or through prayers.
“There’s also people in this room and a lot of people in the community that reached out to me and offered me money and I was like. ‘No, I’m good,’ and you know over time, it started to add up all of the equipment that I damaged, that I lost that I destroyed.
“Wet suits, everything that you can imagine, had to basically be replaced or lost at some point. There’s a lot of people in the community that reached out to me privately … They donated money to help me replace my stuff and since I was taking time away from my business, I didn’t have the financial ability to really do that like I normally would have so again, I don’t deserve this, the people of the Durant community do but I do appreciate it, though.”
Will’s father, Tony Robinson, took over as head coach of the team and the Lady Lions rose from tragedy to triumph and made it to the Class 5A state tournament last season for the first time in 16 years.
“It was like something out of a movie,” Baskin said of the team’s accomplishments after the council meeting.
The Lady Lions played McAlester the same night as the council meeting and they won the game 42-30.
Brady Baskin poses with family members after he was presented a proclamation for volunteer service and courage during the search for Clara Robinson, who was lost in a creek after a Christmas Eve car accident.
