Eastern Illinois University Athletics

When Brady Sallee took over the Eastern Illinois women’s basketball program in April 2004 he understood the challenge ahead. Since day one Sallee began steering the program in the direction he wanted to take.

 

“Our challenge is to turn Eastern Illinois into a championship caliber program. Once I saw the resources available I thought we can make this happen,” Sallee says. “Whatever happened in the past is not any concern. From April 23, the day I was hired, our attitude has started to change. I want us to keep moving towards that attitude it takes to win championships.”

 

In 2009, Sallee graduated his first EIU recruiting class that together was the driving force behind a program resurgence. In the last two seasons, the Panthers have compiled 43 victories and made back-to-back appearances in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game.

 

The memorable 2009 campaign was highlighted by 24 overall victories and a 20-game home win streak that ranked as high as fourth nationally. Those 24 wins were a program-high in the Division I era (1983-present) and one shy of the school record.

 

Eastern went 14-1 at Lantz Arena in 2008-09, winning its first 13 home games of the season. After entering the year with a seven-game home win streak, the Panthers won a program-record 20 straight games at Lantz before the streak finally came to an end with an overtime loss in late February. Only Connecticut (36), Maryland (31) and Stanford (26) had longer home win streaks when EIU’s was snapped.

 

Eastern went 12-2 over the final six weeks of the season. Both losses were decided in overtime. Unfortunately, EIU’s 24 overall victories were the most among teams that were not invited to a national postseason tournament.

 

The Panthers once again established a number of new records in 2009. Rachel Galligan closed out her stellar career by breaking the program’s single-season and all-time scoring records. She was named First Team All-OVC for the third straight year, becoming the first player in program history to be a three-time First Team All-Conference honoree. She was also selected as a WBCA Region Four All-American finalist. Her all-around excellence as a student-athlete landed her among the 10 finalists nationally for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

 

With five Panthers connecting on at least 15 3-pointers, EIU made 180 as a team to establish a new program record. Eastern’s 2,231 points were the most in the Division I era and the single-season blocked shots record was eclipsed for the second year in a row.

 

Eastern emerged as the best all-around defensive team in the league, ranking tops in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and fewest rebounds allowed per game. With Galligan and Megan Edwards being the individual league-leaders in field goal and 3-point percentage, respectively, the Panthers also topped the conference in both shooting categories.

 

In the classroom, EIU has achieved unprecedented success the last four seasons. Eastern has captured four consecutive OVC Academic Achievement Awards for women’s basketball, posting the highest percentage of players on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll in the conference. The Panthers’ 3.423 team GPA in 2008-09 was ninth best in the country. Among the WBCA Academic Top 25, EIU ranked seventh nationally (with a 3.475 team GPA) in 2007-08 after finishing 10th in the country (3.442 GPA) a year earlier.

 

A second-place finish in the final OVC standings and an appearance in the league tournament championship game highlighted the 2008 breakthrough season. Eastern won 19 games and scored 2,117 points, both high-water marks in the program’s OVC era (1997-present) prior to 2008-09. The Panthers ranked seventh nationally in free throw percentage en route to breaking the program’s single-season records for makes, attempts and percentage. Eastern was also 20th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage.

 

To reach the championship game of the OVC Tournament, EIU knocked off top-seeded Southeast Missouri – the two-time defending tournament champs – in the semifinals, winning 52-40. The Panthers held SEMO to 11 field goals, the fewest ever in an OVC Tournament game. The 40 points, meanwhile, represents EIU’s top defensive effort against a Division I opponent in the program’s OVC era. That victory not only sent the Panthers to their first-ever OVC Tournament title game but also gave EIU at least one victory against every league foe in 2007-08.

 

Eastern’s offensive excellence highlighted the 2007 season. Led by the OVC’s top-scoring tandem (Rachel Galligan and Jessica Huffman), the Panthers were one of the top scoring teams in the nation and posted the program’s first 2,000-point season since 1990. With freshman Ashley Thomas and sophomore Ellen Canale ranking third and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively, four of the team’s top five scorers were underclassmen.

 

Huffman broke nine EIU freshman records and followed in Galligan’s footsteps by winning OVC Freshman of the Year honors.

 

Sallee’s 2006 team relied heavily on the contributions of freshmen yet still rewrote the EIU record book. The Panthers were the only Division I team in the nation that featured three freshmen who had started 25-plus games. Edwards and Canale started every game in their inaugural seasons as Panthers while Galligan (25 starts) took home OVC Freshman of the Year honors. She became the first player to win an individual award in the program’s OVC era.

 

Galligan’s single-season record 61 blocked shots, which ranked her sixth nationally among freshmen, were the primary reason why EIU also set a new single-season team record for blocks.

 

The Panthers played their best in December and January, posting a 9-7 record. Eastern matched its best-ever OVC start (4-1) and won six straight home games during the first two months.

 

Sallee’s tenure at Eastern started strong in the closing months of 2004. The Panthers posted a 7-4 nonconference record, the best mark by an EIU team since joining the OVC.

 

Eastern also won each of its five non-conference home games and finished with a winning record at Lantz Arena for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign. The Panthers made 172 3-pointers in 2005. And for the first time in school history, four different EIU players made 30-plus 3-pointers.

 

Sallee is the OVC’s Women’s Basketball Coaches Association DI Conference Captain and represents the league’s coaches as it relates to legislative issues and continued growth of the game. As a member of the USA Today/ESPN Board of Coaches from 2007-09, he voted in the weekly Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

 

The sixth head coach in EIU history, Sallee was previously the recruiting coordinator at three NCAA Division I programs, bringing in high-caliber players each time to assist the turnaround.

 

Prior to being hired at EIU, he spent two years as the top assistant at East Carolina, helping the Pirates to a 26-30 record. That was a significant improvement after winning just six games in 2002, the year before Sallee joined a new coaching staff. His first recruiting class ranked among the nation’s Top 50 according to the All-Star Girls Report. In 2004, ECU finished at .500 and narrowly missed out on a WNIT berth.

 

For seven years he helped transform Kent State into a perennial Mid-American Conference contender, winning five regular-season championships and three tournament titles. The Golden Flashes participated in the NCAA Tournament four of his seven years, and posted a combined record of 155-56.

 

Sallee also spent two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Idaho State. Two Bengal players earned Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year honors – one eventually becoming the Big Sky Player of the Year – and a third was All-Big Sky her freshman year.

 

His proven track record as a recruiter and standout coach with Midwest ties seemed like a perfect fit with Eastern Illinois.

 

The 39-year-old head coach also wants to give EIU a reputation.

 

“People will know Eastern Illinois for how hard we play, whether it’s working hard in a press, half-court defense or during practice. That is what I want to hang our hat on when others talk about Eastern women’s basketball,” Sallee says. “In addition, I want our program known as a class organization. I want our players to be positive role models in the community and on campus.”

 

Not only does Sallee stress discipline on the court, he requires it in the classroom as well.

 

“My players will expect success. They will be held accountable for their classroom success, their work ethic and their social responsibilities. The players that will help lead the program back into the national spotlight will have the self discipline to excel in the classroom, in the Charleston community and on the basketball floor.”

 

A native of Lexington, Ky., Sallee graduated from Thomas More College in 1993, receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He earned a baseball scholarship and was a four-year starting pitcher for Thomas More. Sallee finished his senior year with an 8-1 record and was voted the team’s Pitcher of the Year.

 

While at Thomas More he served as a student assistant with the women’s basketball team. He recruited one player who eventually became the school’s all-time leading scorer and ranked among the NCAA Division III Top 20 scorers all four years she was at Thomas More.

He and his wife Mandy have two daughters, Avery and Taryn.