Stability. Retention. Consistency.
Those are just a few words that have described Bradley’s basketball program in the Brian Wardle era.
Eleven years. Seven 20-win seasons. Four Missouri Valley Conference championship games—two NCAA tournament appearances.
A few more to detail his success.
Now, heading into his 12th season at the helm, he’s faced with one of the toughest challenges of his tenure.
Over 6,000 minutes lost from a team that finished second in the conference, each of his top six scorers gone to graduation or the transfer portal, and just one player with 15 starts at the Division I level.
But the Valley’s elder statesmen has adjusted as the climate of college basketball has changed, leading to less stability, less retention and making consistency that much harder.
“It’s pro basketball in today’s day and age, and you have to deal with it,” Wardle said after Bradey’s final game last season. “You got to embrace it. It’s the elephant in the room.”
When rebuilding the team this season, he had clear objectives.
“We gotta get bigger, bigger, longer and older,” Wardle said. “You’ve got to try to stay as old as you can to win. But we’ll do it. We have a great product to sell. We have a great program and fan base, and you know, we’re always competing for championships. It’s just a matter of making sure that we put the right team together.”
His mission to build the “right team” started well before last season concluded, in a place where talent can go overlooked.
Jumping from JUCO
Before the transfer portal opened, the Braves had already locked in two new additions from the Junior College level: Ben Thornbrue from College of Southern Idaho and Noah Williams from Barton Community College.
Thornbrue is a 6-foot-8 wing with a high motor, an inside-out game and experience leading his team to success. He led his JUCO team to the NJCAA Championship game last season, finishing with a team-leading 21 points.
Thornbrue missed the team’s first exhibition against Saint Louis due to injury, but returned against SIUE and led the team in scoring with 11 points and tied for second in rebounds with seven.
Throughout the offseason, Wardle has said the forward has been a “mismatch nightmare.”
“I thought [Ben] showed a few flashes for us,” Wardle said following the SIUE exhibition. “It was good to get him back out there.”
Williams is a 6-foot-8 versatile forward who will provide size, athleticism and scoring. After transferring from Division I Cal-State Northridge to JUCO last season, Williams averaged 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
He’s looking to prove the Division I level is where he’s always belonged.
“I didn’t play my first year, but I did practice with the guys, and it was a pretty good team,” Williams said of his prior Division I experience. “Going into JUCO and having that chip on my shoulder knowing that this is where I should be is definitely going to be something that propels me this year.”
“This is my time to prove that not only do I belong, but I can thrive and have an impactful role on a winning team.”
Reloading in the Portal
After the season concluded and five potential returners transferred to new schools, Wardle and his staff could evaluate what the team needed.
He targeted portal players with the size, length, and skill to play multiple positions and raise the Braves’ defensive floor.
“We were a good offensive team, but we struggled defensively last year,” Wardle said at MVC media day. “It was probably one of my worst defensive teams I had. We struggled to guard, and our size hurt us at times, and we weren’t a very efficient rebounding team. We tried to correct those two areas while staying aggressive on offense. We wanted forwards that are skilled and can move.”
Wardle brought in four players that fit the bill: Wings Trevon Payton and Kyle Grill, and forwards Josh Ibukonoluwa and Xander Alarie.
Payton, the most senior of the group, comes to the hilltop following a strong Division I debut season at Arkansas Pine-Bluff. As a junior, he was one of the country’s most efficient scorers, averaging 10 points on 51.9% from the field and 47% from three.
Payton says that since he arrived on campus, he’s been impressed by the coaching staff’s attention to detail and the team’s willingness to work hard on both ends of the floor. He joined the Braves because they recruited him eagerly once the portal opened and he was intrigued by Bradley’s track record of winning.
Last season he made the jump to Division I and played well, but he believes there’s still another level he can reach.
“I shot it well last year, but I wanted to get more shots up,” Payton said. “I feel like some games I passed up shots trying to fit in. It was like not my role, so to say, but here coach wants me to shoot ball, so that’s what I’m gonna do”
Like Payton last season, Grill is also making the jump to Division I and joins the Braves after three seasons at Fort Hays State. He brings a strong presence on the glass, the ability to score at all three levels and defend multiple positions. The wing was a key part in leading the Tigers to an MIAA Championship.
“Kyle is coming from D2 like I was, but he’s going to have a big role for us,” Payton said. “He’s someone that could surprise a few people.”
Bradley solidified their frontcourt with two Division I transfers in Ibukonoluwa and Alarie.
Ibukonoluwa brings 41 games of experience with a High Point side that made the NCAA tournament in each of his two seasons. Though not playing a significant role on either of those teams, the Australian brings an athletic profile that will likely be the starter at the five for the Braves.
“[Josh] has probably been one of the more consistent players we have,” Wardle said. “He moves well; he can shoot a three. He’s had some really good glimpses. He’s just going to have to adjust to the physicality of the league when we get to Valley play.”
Alarie, the son of former NBA player Mark Alarie, joins the Braves after a season at Northeastern University, where he flashed his talent in the first 10 games before an injury sidelined him for the final few months.
Both Ibukonoluwa and Alarie will get significant playing time at both the four and five.
“We wanted forwards that are skilled and can move,” Wardle said. “They’re not true fives, but they are forwards that can do a lot, and that’s kind of what we recruited. They’ll see a lot of minutes [at the five] as of right now and they could be matchup problems because they are forwards.”
For the Braves wings and forwards, they ventured into the portal for junior college, Division II, and low- to mid-major Division I ranks.
To boost their guard play, Wardle and his staff ventured overseas.
A taste of international flavor
One of Bradley’s biggest offseason additions was Bulgarian point guard Georgi Gerganov. During his final season in Bulgaria’s National Basketball League, he led the NBL in scoring at 21.5 points per game and also added 5.5 assists and two steals per game.
After years of professional play, Gerganov was primed to give the Braves a steady point guard who can toggle between creating for himself and getting his teammates involved while competing on the defensive end.
But then disaster struck.
During one of Bradley’s first summer workouts in June, Gerganov suffered a torn ACL during a non-contact drill. The team was devastated.
“You feel for him,” Wardle said. “It’s not really even about the program; it’s about him personally. You feel for his family that probably sacrificed a lot to get him over here to play. Unfortunately, that’s part of basketball. We wanted to make sure that we let him have some days to mourn, and then we tried to get him to bounce back, get his mind right for the rehab and the recovery.”
Gerganov was ruled out for the season, but has been rehabbing well and staying active during team activities. The loss of what many in the program thought could be an all-conference player dealt a major blow to the Braves’ guard depth.
With the season just a few months away, Wardle had to act fast.
“A few days later, you figure out all right what’s best for the program,” he said. “That’s a question I have to answer every day, and that’s why we decided to go get another point guard that has some experience that can help Dietrich (Richardson) out. Because point guard play is so critical to winning.”
That experienced point guard is Max Gaspa, a Spanish ball-handler with years of professional experience across different leagues in Spain. Most recently, he represented Spain at the FIBA U20 European Championships, where he averaged 9 points per game. He projects to provide a steadying presence off the bench for the Braves.
A steadying, veteran presence they’ll need with so few returners.
Returners with higher expectations
While Bradley lost many contributors from last year, a few pieces return who will have a significant impact.
The most seasoned returner is forward Timoty van der Knapp.
The Italian is expected to be one of the Braves’ biggest contributors this season after a significant boost in production last year. In 34 games, van der Knapp shot 42.9% from the field while grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.
Entering his third season, van der Knapp prepared this offseason for an expanded role as he becomes a team leader.
“Getting stronger was one of my priorities,” van der Knapp said. “On the court, I focused on improving my decision-making and taking a bigger role in leading the newcomers. I’m an upperclassman now as a junior, so I’m being a leader for sure.”
Wardle has also recognized the improvement from his junior forward.
“He’s gotten stronger; that was the number one thing he needed to do,” Wardle said. “He’s improved his three-point shooting, and his ball handling’s gotten a little tighter. Each year you stay in a program, you get more confident and your work ethic gets better. I’m super excited for him.”
In their Arch Madness game against Northern Iowa, van der Knapp was Bradley’s engine in the second half, helping spark a rally that ultimately fell short. Now he looks to bring his experience to help the newcomers prepare for one of the most physical and competitive mid-major conferences.
“I think I can help them prepare the best they can before the games,” van der Knapp said. “I told them the MVC is a physical league, so I made sure everybody during summers gets some pounds and is ready for impact this season.”
Van der Knapp is currently sidelined with a foot injury that is expected to keep him out for most of November. Despite this, he is still focused on staying ready for when he returns.
“Injury is never fun, but it happens,” van der Knapp said. “Right now I’m just focusing on how to get better every day. I can still practice, work on my shooting form, and try to keep my conditioning. I figure I’ll be ready when I’m back.”
The only other returner who played minutes for Bradley last season is Dietrich Richardson, the former four-star recruit and Peoria native.
The sophomore guard saw limited action last season, primarily playing wing when he got on the court. But with the departures of Jaquan Johnson and Montana Wheeler, and Gerganov’s injury, the door has opened for Richardson to solidify his spot as the Braves’ starting point guard.
“We like getting him back to his more natural position as a point guard,” Wardle said. “We’ve liked his development. There are going to be some bumps in the road — it’s not gonna be super smooth sailing for any sophomore — but I’m very confident in what we’ve seen in his growth.”
Richardson has some experience with Missouri Valley play, getting nine minutes at the MVC tournament and making brief cameos in nine conference games. But if Bradley wants to replicate their success in recent years, he’s going to have to live up to the expectations fans had when he became the Braves’ highest-ranked recruit ever.
“I’m ready,” Richardson said.
“I worked my ass off all summer. I’ve seen big improvements in my game. I put on 25 pounds since last year, and that was one of my biggest, like the biggest, ifs in my game. ‘If he’s strong enough.’”
“Now I feel like I’m strong enough,” he continued. “Strong enough to play at this level and maintain the bumps and everything that you know comes with it.”
Two redshirt freshmen will make their Bradley debuts this season: Jackson Seastrunk and Gustavo Guimaraes.
Seastrunk is a 6-foot-5 guard who should get an opportunity in the rotation and has shown flashes in each exhibition game, playing at least 20 minutes in both and shooting 50% across the two contests.
Guimaraes is a 6-foot-11 big who is working his way back from injury after an ACL cost him his entire first year. The Brazilian also dealt with a toe injury over the offseason and is just starting to find his stride, Wardle said.
He played five minutes in the exhibition against Saint Louis but did not play against SIUE. Wardle mentioned he still has a way to go before becoming a significant factor for the Braves.
An uphill battle ahead
The Braves were largely successful in their mission to get bigger, longer and older, reworking the roster with players who bring the size, skill and versatility to score inside and out, handle the ball, defend on the perimeter and crash the glass.
They also added two freshmen to round out the roster: Race Kowalczyk, a sharpshooter from Ohio and the son of longtime Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk, and Dimitrije Palovic, a Serbian guard who averaged 15 points and six assists per game in high school.
But despite Wardle’s success in addressing the team’s needs, the road ahead won’t be easy.
While Bradley added several upperclassmen, the Braves still lack experience playing together and competing in the Missouri Valley Conference, a league routinely ranked among the top 10 in the country. Injuries to key contributors have made that transition even harder as the season approaches.
With so many new faces and limited continuity, bumps and bruises are inevitable as the Braves try to find their footing.
Those concerns have been reflected in outside preseason expectations. Several national outlets have projected Bradley to finish between fifth and seventh in the Valley. The conference’s official preseason poll, voted on by head coaches, athletics communications directors and media members, picked the Braves to finish sixth.
That would mark Bradley’s lowest conference finish since 2021.
But inside the program, the expectations haven’t changed.
“We don’t really care much about that,” Payton said. “We are worried about Bradley, not worried about everybody else or what they think about us. We’re gonna play our game, do what we gotta do, and show everybody why we shouldn’t be that low.”
For a program that has built its identity on stability, retention and consistency, this season will test whether Wardle can maintain that standard with an almost entirely new roster.
The pieces are different, the challenges are greater, but the goal remains the same: compete for a Missouri Valley Conference championship.
Their mission to do so and prove everybody wrong starts at home on Monday vs. Monmouth College.
