DALLAS – Sam Houston senior Brady Christensen has been named to the Conference USA All-Academic team, per a release from league officials on Friday. 

Christensen is in his second year with the Bearkats, coming to SHSU after years at both Iowa Western CC and San Jacinto College. He played in 36 games in 2024, and has been a primary fixture in the Bearkat lineup in 2025.  

He currently is hitting .259 and is tied for the team lead with nine home runs and four triples, while also adding 11 doubles and 33 RBI. 

In the classroom he has excelled as well, holding a 3.36 overall GPA while majoring in General Business. He is a 2-time recipient of the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 and made the Dean’s List at SHSU in the Spring of 2025. 

Christensen is expected to graduate in December 2025 with a BBA in Business Administration before pursuing a Master of Business Administration beginning in the Spring semester of 2026. 

Team Assignments: 

• Baseball, Women’s Ice Hockey, Volleyball

Education:

• Master of Education:  Exercise Science and Sports Studies – Springfield College, 2009
• Bachelor of Science:  Exercise Science and Health Promotion – University of New England, 2005

Certifications:

• CSCS/RSCC
• FMS Level 2 Professional & FCS
• USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
• Precision Nutrition Pn1
• American Red Cross CPR/First Aid/AED

Coach DeMarco joined the UConn staff in 2012.  He currently oversees all aspects of training for the Baseball, Women’s Ice Hockey, and Women’s Volleyball. Prior to his current team assignments, Joel assisted with Football and oversaw training for the Men’s & Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Tennis and Golf teams.  He has coached student-athletes to 2 AAC Conference Championships with Women’s Track & Field, a Men’s Track and Field AAC Outdoor Championship, as well as the 2021 Big East Regular Season and Conference Baseball Championship.  He has also coached 5 All-Americans, 17 MLB draft picks, and 11 NFL draft picks.

In addition to Joel’s commitment to his teams, he oversees the daily operations of the Husky Fuel Station, facility operations and development of interns

Prior to UConn, Joel served as the first full-time Strength & Conditioning Coach at Trinity College, overseeing all aspects of the program including design and implementation of training programs for all 29 varsity teams. He was the driving force behind the Trinity weight room design as well as raised funds to provide additional equipment in their training facility. In his time at Trinity he was part of the 2012 Women’s Lacrosse National Championship, the 2009 NESCAC Baseball Championships/NCAA New England Regionals/Advancement to the College World Series, 2012 NESCAC Baseball Championships, 5 conference championships, 20 conference players of the year and 19 All-Americans. 

In addition to full-time appointments, Joel spent three summers with the Buffalo Bills assisting the full-time strength staff with all aspects of training camp. In addition to his time with the Bills, Joel interned at Williams College, Western New England College, Athletic Evolution, Springfield College and UMass Amherst.  He also served as the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Western New England College overseeing the day-to-day operations including practice, competition and recruiting.  In his season with the team they set a school record 22 wins and were the 2007 ECAC New England Champions. 

A native of North Adams, MA, Joel earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Performance from the University of New England and his Master of Education in Exercise Science and Sports Studies from Springfield College. He was a varsity letter winner in the sport of Basketball for the University of New England.

Joel resides in Vernon, CT with his wife Kara and daughters Malia and Evelyn.

The Space Program, a New York-based team of indie producers, describes itself as a collective. The way things work is that the three-person team collaborates on all projects — with one person taking lead and the others assuming supporting roles, depending on the film.

“We have been able to become a safety net for each other and for the films and the filmmakers,” explained Gus Deardoff, who runs the company along with Lizzie Shapiro and Lexi Tannenholtz. “It means there’s always someone available, which helps because filmmakers really need instantaneous contact with their producers at all times, and sometimes you get spread very thin. This way, we have several lines of defense.”

The company, which has worked on the feature debuts of Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) and Emma Seligman (“Shiva Baby”), takes a particular interest in first-time filmmakers.

“We love working with people that we want to be able to grow with,” said Tannenholtz. “We pick directors who we know are going to be making a lot of movies over the course of their careers.”

One such filmmaker is Charlie Polinger, whose first film, “The Plague,” will premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year. It tells the story of a group of preadolescent boys who bully and torment each other at a water polo camp.

“It’s a violent sport,” said Shapiro. “The above-water game, you need to follow the rules, but the below- water game, you can scratch and kick and pull at each other. Charlie thought that was a perfect metaphor for the way boys can behave.”

The eerie film, which the Space Program team liken to the work of Todd Field, but required a global search to find the right setting and the necessary incentives.

“I budgeted that movie in New York, New Jersey, Vancouver, Toronto, Ireland, Budapest, Sophia, Bulgaria and Bucharest,” said Shapiro. “We were on the hunt for a big pool.”

They ultimately landed in Romania. Early buzz on the film is strong and Polinger has already lined up a new project, A24’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with Sydney Sweeney tapped for the lead role. As for the Space Program, they have a busy dance card. Up next is “Pure,” the latest film from writer and director Catherine Schetina (“The Bear”), which will star Zoey Deutch. It’s about a young woman who begins to rot from the inside out as her life threatens to unravel at her sister’s wedding. It’s just the kind of quirky, unique, out-of-the-box story that the Space Program was formed to support.

“Maybe we are not the people who do your ‘Star Wars’ with you, but after you’ve made your ‘Star Wars’ and you’d like to make a more personal movie again, we are the people that you really want to collaborate with,” said Deardoff.

Part of that means that the Space Program will keep rolling the money it makes on different productions into the next one, hustling to keep projects moving forward in a business where films frequently fall apart at the last minute.

“Every movie is different, and every movie needs something different,” said Tannenholtz. “And what success means for each movie is different across the board. So we have to approach everything with an individualized strategy. For indie movies, it’s not one size fits all.”

CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

FINALS

At Birmingham

DIVISION I

#1 Taft d. #2 Carson, 25-10, 25-20, 25-17

DIVISION III

#1 East Valley d. #7 Maywood CES, 3-0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Birmingham

OPEN DIVISION

#3 El Camino Real vs. #1 Venice, 6 p.m.

DIVISION II

#1 Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences vs. #2 Mendez, 3:15 p.m.

DIVISION IV

#10 Port of Los Angeles vs. #8 Hamilton, 12:30 p.m.

DIVISION V

#3 Harbor Teacher vs. #1 Wilson, 10 a.m.

AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific University’s women’s volleyball team has officially released its 2025 schedule, featuring 27 regular season matches, a pair of high-profile tournaments, and 14 contests at the Felix Event Center. The Cougars will look to build on a strong tradition of competitiveness in the PacWest Conference as they begin their campaign on September 4th.

The season kicks off with the APU/CUI Tournament, hosted at home in Azusa, where the Cougars will face Montana State Billings, Texas Woman’s, Regis, and Western Oregon. Following that, the squad heads into a tough Biola-hosted tournament featuring top regional opponents like Cal State Dominguez Hills and Texas Permian Basin.

“This year’s schedule gives us a great mix of early challenges and key home matches,” said Head Coach Chris Keife. “We’re excited to compete in front of our fans and take our program to new heights.”

A key stretch includes the team’s annual trip to Hawai’i in early October and pivotal conference battles against rivals Biola, Point Loma, and Concordia. The season wraps up at home on November 15 against Dominican.

Below is the complete schedule for the 2025 season:

2025 APU Women’s Volleyball Schedule

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Stay Connected

Follow APU Women’s Volleyball all season long at athletics.apu.edu and on social media @APUCougars for live coverage, match updates, and behind-the-scenes content.

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