Providence alum headed to Houston to play in the Manager Games Elite 8

Mar. 29—LOUISVILLE — Bryce Hutchins' love of basketball and desire to be a coach pushed him to seek a student manager position for the Bellarmine University Men's team. The respect of his former teammate and longtime friend helped land him a spot on the Knights' bench.

That friend is Juston Betz, who like Hutchins played baseball and basketball at Providence High School. Betz, a star guard at Bellarmine who just finished his senior season, lobbied for Hutchins' inclusion as a manager on the team. For the past two seasons, Hutchins has more than fulfilled his obligation, becoming a part of the team and cheering the Knights on to success.

This week, those roles will reverse.

Hutchins and the Bellarmine managers are heading to Houston, site of the NCAA Men's Division I Final Four, for their own postseason challenge. The squad will compete in the Elite 8 of the Manager Games.

Awaiting Bellarmine in the first round will be the University of Kentucky, which just happens to be Hutchins' childhood favorite team.

"Even as a manager, I never would have thought of the idea that I would get to do that, so it will be fun," Hutchins said of facing UK.

The Manager Games officially started in the 2014-15 season in the Big Ten Conference. Managers of opposing teams played typically the night before the regular squads faced off, sometimes on the same court. The first postseason games launched the following year.

Social media voting and regular season play cuts the 64-team Manager Games bracket down to eight squads. Last year, Bellarmine fell just short after being eliminated in the Sweet 16. This week, it will be in the managers' hands as the Elite 8 will be decided on the court.

Michigan, Liberty, Michigan State, West Virginia, Notre Dame and Miami are also headed to Houston for the Managers Games, which will begin Friday with the championship slated for Saturday at the Final Four Fest.

Bellarmine, hailing from the ASUN, had a 6-0 regular season mark.

"We're like a really poor man's rendition of the Bellarmine offense," Hutchins said. "We try to move the ball around quickly — a lot of ball movement and player movement."

Or, as described on their Bellarmine MBB Managers account, the team is #TheManagersThatDontDribble squad. It's a hat-tip to Bellarmine coach Scotty Davenport's system, which prioritizes quick ball movement instead of dribble penetration.

"That's the really funny part of it," Betz said. "When we go to watch them play, they try to play the exact way we do. I know especially the conference teams are like 'What in the world? You guys play the same way Bellarmine does.'"

Hutchins' father, Scott, coached Betz and his son in baseball at Providence High School. A few years older than Hutchins, Betz recalls meeting his friend when they were both youngsters hanging around the baseball diamond watching older siblings play.

In their teenage years, Betz was a star and Hutchins was an underclassman on the baseball and basketball teams. Betz said he was always impressed with Hutchins' desire to get better — to listen to the advice of older players and coaches.

Betz went on to play at Bellarmine, while Hutchins' saw his senior seasons of baseball and basketball cut short in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hutchins joined Betz at Bellarmine, and though he wasn't playing a sport, athletics remained his passion.

"I knew I wanted to stay in sports. It would be really hard for me not to be part of a team," Hutchins said.

During his freshman year, Hutchins was a manager for the Bellarmine baseball team. But he caught the itch to coach basketball, and he was impressed with Davenport and the Knights program.

Hutchins hoped to become a student manager for the Knights, and that's where his friend helped out.

Betz describes Hutchins as a selfless person, and said even the way he humbly asked if he could help him land a spot as a manager was authentic. Betz helped arrange a meeting with Hutchins, Davenport and Scooter Galloway, director of operations for Bellarmine Men's Basketball.

"I didn't hesitate for a second because Bryce is exactly the type of person you want to be a part of your program because he's extremely selfless and he wants to learn and be part of a winning culture," Betz said.

Hutchins was added to the team as a student manager, and he said it's been a great experience. Bellarmine has enjoyed some big wins in recent years and captured the ASUN title in 2022.

"I've learned a lot of things through the manager role as far as just responsibility and organization," Hutchins said. "We've had a lot of fun moments. Winning the ASUN last year was really special. It was great seeing our players and staff rewarded for all the hard work they've done."

Hutchins has demonstrated he can also play basketball. Self-described as a "catch-and-shoot guy," the junior and his fellow managers are hoping to bring a title back to Louisville. Regardless of the outcome of this week's tournament, his role as a team manager has taken him to some of the top basketball campuses in the country.

In 2021, Hutchins and the managers team faced the Purdue squad at Mackey Arena. They also played at UCLA, though it wasn't at Pauley Pavilion. The Bellarmine managers also play an annual home-and-home against the University of Louisville.

Betz said he likes the managers' odds unless the rumors that former UK star Tyler Ulis will suit up for the Wildcats' squad are true.

Betz is recovering from a postseason operation and won't be able to make it to Houston, but he's hoping the tournament will be streamed online so he can watch and cheer on his former Pioneer teammate and friend. He said the entire Bellarmine team is proud of their managers.

"I know their job is to be managers and to serve the team and players, but our managers are very different in that they're like us, they're part of the guys in the locker room," Betz said. "It's been really extra special seeing them get the recognition they deserve."

Hutchins is a junior majoring in finance. He's hoping to land a graduate assistant spot at a college.

A GoFundMe was set up with the aim of raising $10,000 to pay for travel costs for the Bellarmine managers. As of Wednesday, more than $8,600 had been raised.

"We are extremely fortunate to have the support that we do from the Bellarmine program as well as the community with the Twitter votes and the GoFundMe donations," Hutchins said. "We appreciate all of that very much."