Most wins in program history, 15 players with over 1,000 points scored, 2024-25 Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season champions, 11 trips to postseason tournaments, eight 20+ win seasons, 41 all conference selections, three Freshman of the Year winners, three Defensive Player of the Years, two Sixth Player of the Years and two MAC Player of the Years.

That is just a list of some of the things Ball State women’s basketball head coach Brady Sallee has done in his time with Ball State University.

If you ask him, though, he would most likely say it was not him at all, it was all his players. In fact, I am positive he would.

Answers to questions like that are exactly what make Sallee special. He has built a family culture where everyone in the program is playing for each other. Over the past three seasons, I have been in countless interviews with Sallee and his players, and not one time have I heard someone take all the credit for anything positive.

Game-winning shot? A teammate created that.

Shooting at a high percentage? The teammates found them when open.

Sallee winning coach of the year? He told others it should have been the staff of the year.

The records speak for the culture he has built. You do not win that many games and have all those accomplishments without having everyone from the last person on the bench to the key starter buying in.

Talking about buying in, he kept four seniors at Ball State in the era where any of them could have transferred out.

Seniors Ally Becki, Marie Kiefer and Madelyn Bischoff stayed at Ball State for four complete seasons. Becki has been a starter since day one. She has had the clips, stats, hype and more to easily transfer to a bigger school. But she stuck with Sallee and Ball State.

Kiefer and Bischoff might not have the same stats as Becki does, but their importance to the Ball State women’s basketball program is the main reason they were able to win a MAC regular season title.

And the fourth player of the ‘Core Four,’ he was able to snag in the transfer portal, that being Alex Richard. She has been able to become one of the most efficient players for Ball State and is consistently scoring in double digits.

Being able to retain players speaks to the type of recruiter he is. He knows what players he wants, and although he has admittingly said it does not always work out, it sure has as of late.

The fact that Sallee was able to recruit, coach, keep and win with those four players is a testament to the coach and person he is.

He has also retained associate head coach Audrey McDonand-Spencer for his 13 years at Ball State. If you ask Sallee, she would be just as accountable for any win the Cardinals have as he is.

Although the illustrious trip to the NCAA tournament has evaded Sallee in his time at the helm, the Cardinals are right in the thick of the fight this year.

Sallee is vocal during games and is never afraid to fight for his players on ANY call. He has built a culture of winning, and his players are completely bought in.

Without the wins and records, the culture alone gives reason for people to truly believe that Sallee is an all-time Cardinal.

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.

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