Keven Bradley is in his first year as head coach. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department

Four years ago, Keven Bradley received a phone call that changed his life – and ultimately led to becoming the head coach of Hillsdale’s men’s basketball team.

The call came from a man who he played for and coached with at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. That man was John Tharp, who was then the basketball coach at Hillsdale. He invited Bradley to join his staff.

“After we both left Lawrence, it felt like someday that we were going to reconnect and that we were going to work together again,” Bradley said. “I was just fortunate enough four years ago to get a phone call from him where he said, ‘Hey, I need you, would you be willing to come to Hillsdale?’ I immediately packed my bags.”

Bradley left his job as the associate head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, where he won four division titles in six seasons. When Tharp became Hillsdale’s athletic director last year, Bradley succeeded his mentor as head coach.

So far this season, Bradley has led Hillsdale to an 11-6 overall record, with a 6-4 G-MAC record. A team made up of mostly underclassmen, the Chargers are currently at 7th place in the G-MAC standings. 

“Obviously, coach [Bradley] isn’t new to the program, so he knows and we know the standards that we have for each other and what we hold ourselves to,” junior forward Joe Reuter said, “He’s a great coach for us, because we’re a young team we need someone that explains exactly what we need to do as well as follow through with that and that’s something that coach Bradley does very well.”

During his time as an assistant, the Chargers went 67-18 in three years, with a 49-11 G-MAC record. During that time, he helped recruit and develop two-time G-MAC player of the year Patrick Cartier, who currently ranks seventh on the Charger all-time points list with 1,624 points, and is currently a starter for the Colorado State University Rams. 

Prior to the Rangers, Bradley was an assistant coach at Upper Iowa University, and before that was a graduate assistant at his alma mater. A 2006 graduate from Lawrence University, Bradley played for Tharp all four years and took the graduate assistant job right after Tharp came to Hillsdale. As a player, Bradley led the Vikings to two NCAA DII tournament appearances and finished with a 98-16 record.

Like most players who compete at the collegiate level, Bradley’s basketball experience started at a young age. 

“I grew up on a dairy farm, and there weren’t a lot of outside things we did, but I did spend most of my nights shooting baskets.” Bradley said, “I was fortunate that I had some great family members, some grandparents and some uncles that were really supportive once I kind of got going into basketball.”

After being a player and assistant coach for Tharp, Bradley was able to work on game planning, recruiting, and many other aspects of the program. Now, as a first-year head coach, Bradley is tasked with leading a young Charger squad, which currently only has three seniors. 

“I felt like it was a very smooth transition given the opportunity Coach Tharp had provided me.” Bradley said, “For me, I try to take pieces from everybody I work with, and I’ve tried to absorb that into my coaching style.”

Bradley also has two familiar faces as his assistants this season. The first is John Cheng, who was hired by Tharp in 2022 after two years as an assistant for the Elmhurst University Bluejays. The program’s latest hire is Evan Morrissey, who was a student manager for Bradley at Wisconsin-Parkside from 2013-2016. 

“When coach (Tharp) announced that I would be replacing him, there was always a moment of uncertainty about how players would react. I’m so incredibly grateful that all 10 guys returned and all five of our freshmen remained committed.” Bradley said, “It’s a unique group this year because we’re young as far as court time and starting goes, but not necessarily playing the game our way.”

One of those freshmen was guard Mikey McCollum, who has averaged 18.8 minutes off the bench this season for the Chargers and has averaged 6.4 points per game. 

“Coach Bradley is a really knowledgeable coach and I enjoy playing for him,” McCollum said.