Les Schwab Invitational helps Brayden Bafaro’s legacy live on with ‘Do The Right Thing’ scholarship

The late Liberty Falcons 3-sport standout was ‘a champion for all’

Brayden Bafaro spent his 24 years of life doing the right thing. 

The former three-sport athlete at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon, now has a scholarship fund dedicated in his honor that features the simple but poignant slogan in its name.

The Brayden Bafaro “Do The Right Thing” Scholarship Fund, founded in 2022 after Bafaro’s sudden passing, aims to provide support for aspiring student-athletes who have a penchant for putting others above themselves. It’s the way Bafaro lived his life before succumbing to cancer in May 2022.

“This scholarship is designed for the kid who is not necessarily the best player or the most outspoken,” said Anne Bafaro, Brayden’s mother. “This is for the person who quietly makes a difference, because that was Brayden. It’s for the person out there doing the right thing every day, not for an essay to get a scholarship; they’re doing the right thing because that’s who they organically are.” 

Added older brother, Brett: “Brayden was a person who wanted to uplift everybody. He always had an eye for the underdog, and I think he saw himself as a little bit of the underdog … This scholarship isn’t for the flashiest person, but the person who could use a little extra nurturing to grow into the person they know they can turn into.”

Donations to the Brayden Bafaro Scholarship Fund can be made at the 2023 Les Schwab Invitational boys basketball tournament, which will run Dec. 26-30 at Liberty. There will be a raffle with prizes, including court-side seats, an LSI apparel package and Nike shoes.

The scholarship winner will be announced between the first and second quarters of the championship game.

“Brayden was taken too young; it wasn’t right because of his potential as a person,” said John McCallum, president of Prime Time Sports, the LSI’s organizer. “Brayden was such a team-first, locker-room guy, and that’s part of how this all came about. We get to raise awareness for the fund and raise awareness for Brayden about who he was and how he is still helping people, even though he isn’t here.”

A 2016 Liberty graduate, Brayden played football, basketball and baseball for the Falcons. He was selected to participate in the 2016 Les Schwab Bowl, an annual high school football all-star game featuring many of the top players in Oregon.

Prime Time Sports also organizes the Les Schwab Bowl, which is where McCallum got to know Brayden.

“Brayden was a dynamic personality during that time,” McCallum said. “He was not just a great football player, but a great person. He was a guy with a great attitude who just brings everyone together.”

Brayden played college baseball for Clackamas Community College and Oklahoma Christian University. His lifelong goal was to become a teacher and baseball coach.

“I coached, and his grandfather was a high school and small-college coach for 35 years, so we come from a long line of teachers and coaches,” Anne said. “Brayden always knew that’s what he wanted to do. He loved kids. He was always playing with his nieces and nephews, kids with special needs. He was a champion for all.

“When he was younger, we used to call him the camp director because he would always find kids at his older brother’s games and rally them up to play. His motto was, ‘If they could walk, they could play.’ That’s always who he was.”

When Brayden was given a terminal diagnosis in April 2022, he remained stoic as his family members wept. Brayden was more concerned about their well-being than his own.

“He didn’t show any fear; all he did was try to comfort us,” Brett said. “That goes to show his true nature and why a scholarship like this is so … him.

“Even when Brayden was facing the most adversity possible, his character remained true to who he was. The reason he was so nurturing by nature was because he was a natural-born leader. That’s something we look for in any candidate for this scholarship.”

Brayden became friends with one of McCallum’s sons after the Les Schwab Bowl. McCallum witnessed Brayden’s coaching ability first-hand and was eager to find a way to honor him. 

“Brayden was very motivated to come back and be a coach and make a difference, so we decided to create a scholarship,” said McCallum, who credited Les Schwab Tires and Express Employment Professionals for providing the initial seed money. “We want to give back to those high school athletes who help out their communities.”

The fund came together quickly.

Only 10 months elapsed from Brayden’s cancer diagnosis to his passing in May 2022. Two months later, part of the proceeds from the Les Schwab Bowl were donated to the scholarship fund.

“John called us and asked if it was too soon, and we said no,” Anne said. “Brayden’s fight had ended, but his desire to be a teacher and coach was his lifelong dream, and we wanted to honor that.” 

Along with the raffle, a video telling Brayden’s story will be played at this year’s LSI.

Brayden remained a caring and nurturing person to the end, and his legacy will live on with a scholarship designed for individuals who possess the same traits he did.

“In a house full of crazy boys, my dad being one of them, Brayden was the one who noticed the little things,” Brett said. “He was such a sweet kid, and I’m so glad we are able to do something that really carries on his legacy.”