By Reese Merritt
@reesemerritt_
It doesn’t come often that someone has two parents who played professional sports, let alone one. And it certainly doesn’t come often that both parents clear the height of six feet. But for Sydney “Bean” Douglas – this happens to be the case on both counts.
On the second day of the 2025 Hoophall Classic, Douglas – a 6-foot-6 forward – and the rest of the Ontario Christian girls basketball team defeated Christ the King 87-75, keeping a steady lead that they never relinquished throughout the high-scoring game.
Douglas was assigned a difficult task, primarily guarding the No. 5 ranked WESPN’s Super 60 Recruit from the Class of 2026, Olivia Vukosa. The Ontario Christian freshman only came away with seven points compared to Vukosa’s 25, but Douglas was able to snatch up six rebounds, lead the team with two blocks and land a team victory.
“I think I could have done better. But you know, we came out with the win. That’s what’s most important,” Douglas said. “I think we played good as a team.”
A portion of Douglas’ family sat alongside the court in Blake Arena, watching her disrupt the follow-through of the ball as it left the hands of her opponents. This family of her’s includes a mother from the WNBA and a father from the NFL.
Maylana Martin, Douglas’ mother, was drafted 10th overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2000 WNBA Draft. Prior to her time with the Lynx, Martin was one of the most prolific players in UCLA women’s basketball history, where she still ranks first in most three throws made (797), third in career scoring (2,101) and fifth in rebounds (935) in the school’s history. These achievements translated into effective teachings Martin could provide to her daughter.
“[My parents] really wanted to emphasize being able to handle the ball because my mom said that’s what she really needed when she got to the [WNBA],” Douglas said. “In the summer of my sixth grade year that’s all I really worked on.”
Even though Ontario Christian’s young, promising talent is finding success on the court – such as her ball handling – Martin is proud of how Douglas has handled life off of the court.
“What I’m most proud of her for is probably the off the court stuff, like they have to deal with so much more at such an earlier age,” Martin said. “And just listening to her do interviews, like I could not have done that my freshman year in high school.”
The impact family has had on Douglas doesn’t stop with Martin. That same impact is harmonious with her father.
Rome Douglas, also standing at 6-foot-6 like his daughter, played basketball in high school before receiving a scholarship to play offensive line for USC’s football team. He took part in the Trojans’ 1996 Rose Bowl victory before playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and St. Louis Rams in the NFL.
The former lineman happens to be responsible for a particular and touching part of Douglas’ name, which lives on in her social media handles: her nickname, “Bean.”
“When I was a baby, my dad, he thought [my name] rhymed with kidney bean, so he called me his Sydney Bean,” Douglas said.
But now, her teammates on Ontario Christian call her by a different name.
“They actually call me Big Bean,” Douglas said.
Growing up in California, Douglas is the oldest of four kids, all of which are cities that seem most desirable to visit – London and Rome Jr., who are twins, and Zurich. Intense competitiveness is a must on the court when Douglas and her siblings are playing. And at times, it doesn’t end well.
“We played 21 all the time,” Douglas said. “Yeah, I win all the time. It always ends in a fight, and my sister gets mad at me all the time.”
When Douglas isn’t in the line of friendly fire with her sister, London, she is seemingly collecting a round-the-clock list of offers from college programs. As a first-year student in high school, Douglas already has over 30 offers, including UCLA, LSU and South Carolina.
The Class of 2028’s graduation is years down the line, but it’s apparent that Douglas is budding with potential, and has a support system for both on and off the court.
Photo Courtesy of Patrick Fergus/The Student