GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University has named Tandy Bradford as its new head women’s basketball coach announced Josh Ealy, Vice President for Athletics.
Bradford becomes the 18th head coach in program history and succeeds Michaela Hash, who served as interim coach for the final eight games of the 2025-26 season.
Bradford brings a strong resume with her to the Greeneville campus and has over 30 years of coaching experience at the NCAA, NAIA, junior college, high school and AAU levels.
She served as the women’s head basketball coach at Lourdes University for the past five seasons. She inherited a 5-14 team at the Sylvania, Ohio school and grew the program into a winner which posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns including this year’s 22-8 squad. The Gray Wolves finished third in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference while advancing to the WHAC Tournament semifinals.
She led Lourdes to a WHAC Tournament title in 2025 as the Gray Wolves advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history. The team finished 22-11 overall and 16-8 in conference play.
During her time at Lourdes, she mentored 11 All-Conference honorees, while also boasting 27 WHAC All-Academic Team members as her teams consistently posted a GPA over 3.50.
“We are excited to welcome Tandy Bradford to the Tusculum family and to have her lead our women’s basketball program into its next chapter. Tandy is a proven program builder and a person of tremendous character who understands what it takes to establish and sustain a winning culture,” said Ealy.
“Throughout her career, she has elevated programs through strong recruiting, player development, accountability, and a deep commitment to the overall success of student-athletes. What stood out most during our search was her clear vision for Tusculum women’s basketball and her passion for helping student-athletes grow academically, athletically, and personally. She respects the proud tradition of this program and we are confident her leadership, vision, and track record will position TU women’s basketball for long-term success.”
Bradford arrived at Lourdes after spending six seasons as the head coach at St. Ursula Academy, where she led the Arrows to their first winning season in 14 years. She led St. Ursula to a top-three finish in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference each of her last two seasons while guiding the program to their first postseason win in 10 years.
From 2016-2019, Bradford also co-owned and was the director for the Glass City Athletics Fury Basketball Organization. She ran a successful 22-team and skill development program in Northwest Ohio. Beginning in 2019, Bradford served as the assistant coach for the Toledo Threat, a women’s professional basketball team.
The Hutchinson, Kansas native began her coaching career at NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1998 where she spent five seasons, two years as an assistant coach and the last three as head coach. While at Kentucky Wesleyan, she served as senior woman’s administrator and supervised the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She also coached the Panthers women’s golf team for two seasons. In 2002, she was named the Regional Female Coach of the Year.
Following Kentucky Wesleyan, she served on the coaching staff at NCAA Division I University of Toledo where she was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2003-2005. In her two seasons there, she helped the Rockets to a pair of top-four finishes in the Mid-America Conference.
She moved onto the Georgia Tech staff for two years where the Yellow Jackets posted a 37-27 record. In 2006-07, she helped the Ramblin’ Wreck to a 22-12 season as Tech advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We are very excited about joining the TU Community. Being able to come in and lead a talented group of women, hungry to be their best, is a privilege,” said Bradford. “I am grateful they are welcoming the opportunity to collaborate with the staff in representing the best of what Pioneer basketball can be. We are excited about the future, adding teammates to the program and playing the game at a high level.”
“Our goals for TU women’s basketball are to have a program that reflects the Pioneer mission in how we compete at a high level, how we give our best in the classroom, and how we serve those around us,” Bradford added. “We want our players to aspire to graduate knowing they will lead in their career fields, and they will have developed winning habits that will carry them in life.”
She began her collegiate playing career with two years at Highland Community College before transferring to Thomas More College for her final two seasons. While at Highland CC, she was a two-sport athlete where she lettered in basketball and volleyball. At Thomas More, she served as team captain and earned the Most Improved Player Award as a senior on the basketball team. She graduated from Thomas More in 1997 with a degree in English and secondary education.
She is married to Josh Bradford, who currently serves as the associate director of athletics and head baseball coach at Lourdes University. He played professionally for seven seasons after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 1996 MLB Draft. He spent four years in the Blue Jays’ organization reach the AAA level in 1999 before moving to the Northern League, concluding his playing career in independent baseball.
They have one son, Blake, who is in his senior season on the University of West Georgia baseball team.
“I am grateful to Josh Ealy, for believing in the team and our vision for the program. Also grateful to Coach Jamy Bechler. They have been exceptional in this process at setting a tone for our student-athletes.” Bradford said. “To my colleagues at Lourdes who have been supportive in what we have accomplished there. I am very fortunate to have amazing peers at Lourdes, the WHAC and in women’s basketball. They all have poured out so much love and support to me through this process. At the top of the list is my family. They always support my career, our team, and the university in a way that makes a person feel more than blessed.”
A press conference will be held in the near future to formerly introduce Coach Bradford to the Tusculum community.
