Belmont Cheers for Beers

Belmont Vision Multimedia, Zach Watkins

It can be difficult being the youngest of four siblings, but for Rylie Beers, it does not help that her three older siblings are all Division I athletes. 

Rylie, a freshman guard on Belmont’s women’s basketball team, followed in her siblings’ footsteps to become the fourth Beers child to play a Division I sport. 

Hailing from Littleton, Colorado, Kari and Ike Beers have traveled all over the country to watch their children play at the highest level of collegiate athletics. 

Rocky, their oldest son, was the first of the Beers children to break into Division I athletics. As a 6-foot-4-inch tight end, he started his career at Air Force before transferring to Florida International, where he played from 2023 to 2025. He is currently playing for Colorado State, where he is tied for fourth on the team in receiving yards with 124 and leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three. 

At Florida International, he was joined by his younger brother Rowdy, who played there in 2023. 

While on the team together, they became well-known for their unusual and very distinct football names. Even now, they still get recognition for their names, with both being mentioned in a segment on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” show about the top 10 best names in college football this season. Rocky Beers came in third. 

Raegan, the second Beers child, is a 6-foot-4-inch center who was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and was ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. She committed to Oregon State, where she won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year before being named to the AP All-American Third Team as a sophomore. 

Then, she transferred to Oklahoma after the Pac-12 disbanded and helped lead the Sooners to the Sweet 16 while being named to the All-SEC First Team. 

It was during that tournament run that the world was introduced to Ike Beers and his enthusiastic and animated cheering, which made him a constant presence behind the Sooners’ bench and a trending topic on social media. 

“Me and my mom would always laugh at it because we would always be seeing where people would be posting about my brothers’ names and my dad’s antics on the TV,” said Rylie Beers. “We’d just be over here giggling like, ‘Welcome to our world.’” 

That world met head-on in Rylie Beers’ first career college game on Nov. 3, when the Bruins traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to take on Raegan Beers and the rest of the Sooners. 

“I wouldn’t say I pulled some strings, but I definitely put that in my coach’s ear to ask to get them on the schedule,” Raegan Beers said. 

The Beers sisters played in front of roughly 40 of their friends and family members, which is something that their dad was very excited about. 

“We are all really looking forward to the night, and we’re hoping it’s going to be a really memorable night that we’re all very blessed to be a part of,” Ike Beers said prior to the game.  

The oddity of two siblings squaring off against one another in a collegiate game is only magnified by the close bond between the two sisters. 

“Rylie has always been her sister’s biggest fan, and now being on the same court as her sister with Belmont will be a surreal experience for her,” their father said. 

For Rylie Beers, it goes beyond the court. She has been influenced by her sister for much of her journey to be a collegiate athlete, starting at an early age. 

“Ever since Raegan started getting recruited, I thought that I could do this too,” she said. “I think it was really prominent around seventh or eighth grade, which—and this is going to sound kind of crazy—was when I started looking at places I might look at going for college because I already knew I wanted to go follow in my siblings’ footsteps.” 

The sister’s basketball journeys intertwined later, when Rylie Beers was considering schools to declare to, and Raegan Beers was in the transfer portal searching for her new basketball home. 

“She transferred from Oregon State to Oklahoma last June, and I went on my official visit and committed at the end of June, so I saw the perspective of two completely different schools for her, so I think she was my main role model when it came to college athletics,” Rylie Beers said. 

“I think her paving the way and seeing how hard she worked and how she could impact people through the sport was just amazing to see, she set a really good example to me for me to see how hard I would have to work to be where I am today, which I really appreciate.” 

However, Rylie Beers pointed out that her relationship with her other siblings also played a part in her being where she is now. 

“Growing up with them was just a lot of fun. I learned how to be tough, have some discipline, and take a hit,” she said. “If it was something like a board game or playing soccer with the neighborhood kids, or even two vs. two on the court or running routes with my brothers, I think the competition level was so high there that the competition level in my games was never as high.” 

It was their experiences as collegiate athletes that ultimately influenced her decision to choose Belmont, a decision she is glad she made. 

“Raegan, Rocky and Rowdy all told me that nowhere is going to be perfect and that every place is going to have its flaws, but you have to pick what feels like home. And when I went on my official visit to Belmont, I thought: This is it. This is home for me,” she said. 

Her dad also pointed to the siblings’ close bond as something that he tried to instill in his kids from an early age, and how he has noticed its evolution. 

“Obviously, as they’ve grown up, there’s been that competition and those tendencies to be siblings and not get along, but as they’ve grown into adults, I would say they’re all really tight with each other,” he said. “I think it’s more of an adult relationship where I think they understand the value of family.” 

With the family spread across the country, it can be hard to get everyone under one roof. But, there was a weekend when everyone’s schedules aligned, and it meant a lot to Ike Beers. 

“We had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago when Rocky was playing football at CSU, and we were just very fortunate that all of the kids could get back here and see that game together. And it was just one of those moments that you cherish as a parent,” he said. 

Having four kids alone can be a lot, much less all four being collegiate athletes, and both daughters acknowledge and appreciate all their parents have done for them. 

“I think that they’ve sacrificed so much of their time and their lives, and I guess that comes with having kids, but I think they’ve gone so above and beyond with us. Not only with sports, but also with raising us as good humans and good kids, and I’m so appreciative of that,” Rylie Beers said. 

With a family full of Division I athletes and a last name like Beers, the family has grown accustomed to an onslaught of jokes and comments. 

“I kid you not, every interview I have there is a question about my last name or my brothers,” Raegan Beers said. 

The last name commands a lot of attention. However, she doesn’t see all of that attention negatively. 

“I think having such a distinct last name is cool because not only do you get recognition, but you also get recognition for your family,” she said.  

Family is a big thing for the Beers; it was a theme that all members of the family reflected on, each with their own perspective. 

“It’s not all about me because there are five other Beers in the family, and so it’s really cool to be recognized for your last name because you’re not the only one with a legacy behind it,” Raegan Beers said, “And now, Rylie gets to carry on that legacy as a Beers.” 

This article was written by Sam Dicus