Less than two weeks ago on January 22, the De Pere Redbirds and their community lost seventh-grader Hadley Baker to a rare form of cancer.
She had been battling Rhabdomyosarcoma since mid-2023 and positively impacted the Tritons’ FRCC competitors.
Three days after her passing the Redbirds traveled to the Triton Center and took the court for the first time without Baker sitting on their bench.
However, Baker’s number 22 jersey remained on the Redbird bench for this top conference matchup.
“She 100% inspired us,” said De Pere senior Jaden Ciesielczyk. “She’s huge for us and has been with us for a year and a half.”
Baker grew exceptionally close to the team during her time with the Redbirds and even received a varsity letter.
Before the game vs the Tritons on Saturday, PA announcer Mike McKenna led fans in a moment of silence to remember Baker.
Additionally, W7 Productions’ live stream of the game was dedicated to Baker, and pictures of her were shown during commercial breaks.
The Notre Dame girls all wore a gold shoelace, the color that represents Rhabdomyosarcoma, to show their support for the Baker family and the De Pere community. There were also gold bracelets for fans to wear at the game.
The Redbirds completed their season sweep of the Tritons with an emotional 54-40 win.
De Pere Head Coach Jeremy Boileau explained that Hadley chose the number 22 because of former Rebbird and current St. Norbert basketball player Avery Bierowski. Her sister Egan Bierowski now wears that number 22 for the varsity Redbirds and was one of the first ones to meet Baker back in August 2023.
“We came into this game with the mindset that all it takes is all you got, and we just gave our everything for Hadley and her whole family,” Bierowski said in a GB Press Gazette interview.
Boileau commented on the emotions of the week and the team’s relationship with Baker.
“It meant the world playing for her. She brought a ton of energy to our team. The #22 jersey she wore was a constant reminder, and then, of course, she died on the 22nd of January.”
This Redbirds team will be looking to take on the rest of their season with as much strength, courage and fight as Hadley Baker showed in her long year-and-a-half battle with Rhabdomyosarcoma.

