Area Briefs: McSurley to join Titans
BASKETBALL
McSurley joins IUSB program
The IU South Bend women’s basketball program has completed filling out their roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season, as the Titans and head coach Steve Bruce announce the signing of Maddie McSurley.
McSurley comes to IUSB following a standout career at New Prairie High School. As a four-year starter for the Cougars, McSurley earned two All-Northern Indiana Conference honorable mention awards, was named to the All-LaPorte County Team as a senior, and was named an Indiana Basketball Coaches Association All-State honorable mention.
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Recording 11 double-doubles during that senior campaign, McSurley was named to the North-South All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
“Maddie plays with a full heart and a competitive spirit,” said Bruce. “She is a high-character person and will be a great fit into our team’s culture.”
“I wanted to play at IUSB, because I’ve heard so many good things about the program,” added McSurley. “The girls are very connected, and the team just has a lot of fun together.”
HIGH SCHOOL
Ostrander named new Eddies AD
Edwardsburg's Board of Education has approved Brad Ostrander as the new athletic director.
Current athletic director Kevin Dean will retire this fall.
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Ostrander graduated from Bethel College in 2000 and obtained his Master's Degree from Western Michigan University in 2010. He's been a sixth grade teacher at Edwardsburg the past 18 years and was also an assistant baseball coach.
Ostrander's title will be Edwardsburg Athletic Director and Dean of Students.
COLLEGE
Briscoe honored by Crossroads League
The honors continue to come in for Grace College Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe.
Briscoe was recognized this week as the Crossroads League Athletic Director of the Year. It marks the fourth time that Briscoe has received the AD of the Year distinction (including 2021, 2017, 2010).
Additionally, Briscoe was named the 2022 NAIA AD of the Year by NACDA (National Associatian of College Directors of Athletics), and he will be honored this week at the NACDA National Convention in Las Vegas.
The Lancers achieved success across the school year in 2021-22. Grace sent six teams to the NAIA National Championships and had several others ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll during the year.
Briscoe is heavily involved in NAIA leadership positions. He has been a member of the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the past six years. For three years he was on the NAC's Executive Committee, chairing the Championships and Competition Committee. He was recently elected to be the vice chair for the NAC's Executive Committee this past summer.
He is also the NAC's sport liaison for men's basketball, helping assist the sport through its transition to a single-division national tournament. He also served on the first two NAIA Men's Basketball Selection Committees, which select and seed the national tournament teams.
Under Briscoe’s leadership, Grace has cemented its status as an academic powerhouse as well. Every Lancer team has achieved NAIA Scholar-Team status for five straight seasons. Teams must post a GPA of 3.00 or greater to earn Scholar-Team recognition. Last year, the athletic department had an overall GPA of 3.47, marking the highest overall GPA in department history.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Area Briefs: McSurley to join Titans; Ostrander named Eddies' AD
