After a season that saw the Westville Yellowjackets make the state tournament before losing to eventual state champion Crossings Christian, Westville returns several key players with the hopes of taking the next step. Among those players is Kegan Bradford, the ‘Jackets senior point guard.

“Kegan’s a four-year starter who makes our offense go and is aggressive on defense which sometimes gets him in foul trouble,” chuckled his coach Ron Dunaway. “He was a big part of our state run last year.”

Though he grew up in a football family, that didn’t stop Kegan from finding his sport.

“I’ve got pictures of me holding a basketball when I was three so I guess it’s always been a calling for me,” said Kegan who also plays soccer for the Yellowjackets.

Although he has siblings that are all into sports, Kegan has followed a college player as a role model since he was young.

“Since I was seven or eight, I’ve watched Jordan McCabe who played at West Virginia and is now at UNLV. He’s always said he was just an unathletic 5-11 guy who wasn’t really underrated, just overlooked. He’s from a small town (in Wisconsin) like me. He’s a good shooter and a good role model and I’ve always looked up to him,” said Kegan.

As a senior Kegan is called upon to be a team leader this year.

“I try to set an example by getting to practice real early to kind of greet everyone and find a way with a smile or gesture to get everyone’s spirits up. I’ve got to show the new guys the ropes because I remember what it was like when I was a freshman. There was a guy before I got there named Caleb Swank who I thought was a good example and my sophomore year Ethan Barton was a good senior leader.”

As he thinks back on his time at Westville there a couple of special moments that come to mind.

“Of course, going to state last year was a big thrill and then I remember a game early on against Vian that we won that meant a lot because they were a strong team and we were the underdogs,” said Bradford who averaged 17 points a game last year.

Kegan is also in student council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in FFA where he shows pigs as well as playing AAU ball in the summer. In addition to getting his team back to state this year, Keagan would also like to play at the next level and has had conversations with Southwestern College in Kansas.