Alopecia Didn’t Bench Her: A Young Athlete’s Comeback Story

Two things become clear when watching Oklahoma State’s Rylee Langerman play basketball. Inside, she’s all grit and determination---driven by relentless hustle and heart. On the outside she’s noticeable in ways that go beyond her jersey.

“I've had alopecia since I was in second grade,” says Langerman. “Little patches would fall out and you could hide it no one really knew that I had it, but then in middle school I started to lose everything. So I just was kind of caught in a place where I was just really confused and no one else around me struggled with the same struggles that I had so I just felt very alone.”

Riley gave her life to Jesus in elementary school which gave her hope and strength as she navigated the challenges of hair loss.

Will Dawson: In middle school you're going through all kinds of changes and trying to figure out who you are and for a girl I’m sure it's probably even more so because your hair is part of your identity.

Rylee: Towards the end of my eighth-grade year is whenever it really started to get bad. That’s when I was like ‘Wow, this is actually going to happen to me.’ My family was asking me if I wanted to wear a wig or if I wanted to do something like that and we went and tried them on and I was like, ‘I just don’t think this is right. I don’t think this is what God has for me.’ I felt like I was hiding something about myself. And I just had to confront that head on instead of putting it off and hoping that it wouldn’t. I just was like, ‘This is what the Lord has for me and I’m going to do my best to embrace it.’ I knew at the time I don’t know how the Lord is going to use this, but I felt very convicted that it was happening to me for a reason so I tried to lean into that.

During those difficult years Rylee developed a love for basketball. The game grew into more than just a passion. It became a source of strength and confidence.

“I think the Lord definitely provided an outlet for me in basketball because I was able to just be on the court, be a completely different person, disassociate from whatever was going on outside of the court because at that time nothing else mattered whenever you’re in the game. So, I think that was definitely a place for me to find a little bit of confidence outside of middle school struggles.”

Her confidence was justified. By her senior year of high school, Rylee led her team to two state championships. Then she took her talents to the University of Arkansas where she spent three seasons---growing both her game and her influence.

“I think anytime a little girl with alopecia comes to my game and stays after to talk to me I think that that is whenever God really just shows me what I was able to do with the platform that he gave me. Being able to meet with the little kids and show them that they’re not alone and show them that it doesn’t have to define you and that you and that you can still be good at basketball or do other things and be in the spotlight and you don’t have to hide. I think that’s every time when I feel the most rewarded.”

In 2024, Rylee made the move to Oklahoma State, joining forces with Christian head coach Jacie Hoyt, who saw firsthand the courage Rylee brought both on and off the court.

Jacie Hoyt: “The light of Christ just shines through her I mean it's very evident in the way that she talks the way that she goes about her business and the way that she just walks in confidence in a situation that I don't know other people could really do it the way she does.”

After earning her master’s degree in health administration this past May, Rylee is now pursuing medical school—driven by the same passion to help others that’s guided her journey all along.

“I just grew up in the medical field. My dad's an orthopedic surgeon, my grandpa was an anesthesiologist, and my uncle is an ER doctor so from a very young age it was just my dream to be a doctor, and I get really emotional when I think about it, just think about how good the Lord has been to provide this opportunity for me and it's an honor to be able to follow in their footsteps and to take care of people and to hopefully show God's love through being a doctor.”

Dawson: “What does your story tell you about God's faithfulness to you?” 

Lagerman: “It tells me that no matter what I'm going through he is always going to be good and his plan is always going to work out better than you could have ever imagined. I think that there's been a lot of times in my life where there's been a lot of unknown and a lot of confusion and I've been able to just rest in the fact that it's going to work out and it's not in my hands and God's going to take care of it even if it's not how I picture it going to be it's going to be better than I could imagine. And being able to look back at personal times in my life and say that I now have no doubt in my mind that that's how it's going to work out and so being able to just rely on God's faithfulness like that is just it's a huge blessing and a comfort.”