ARLINGTON, Texas – Brady Shadrick was named the winner of the Stan Bates Award, as announced by the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday afternoon.
 
The annual award was named in honor of former WAC Commissioner Stan Bates and is given to the WAC’s top male and female scholar-athletes. It recognizes athletic, academic and community accomplishments. The award includes a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship.
 
Off the track, Shadrick was very active within the community, volunteering with Miracle League, an inclusive baseball program for children with disabilities, and Cards for Cubs, which sends uplifting messages to children in foster care. He’s supported hazing prevention programs, Fresh Check mental health events with CAPS, and helped collect thousands of food items through canned food drives. He’s also supported clothing drives and volunteered at the Trail or Treat Halloween event, among others.
 
In the classroom, Shadrick graduated with a 3.88 GPA a degree in clinical and applied physiology from UT Arlington in 2025. Shadrick was included on the Academic All-WAC team in both the winter and spring seasons in 2024 and 2025 and was included on the Sun Belt Conference Commissioners List in 2022. Shadrick also received the B.G. Wilson Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award from UT Arlington in 2024, which is presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete who best epitomize the ‘student-first’ and ‘athlete-second’ mantra. He has also been named to the Dean’s List, UTA Student-Athlete Honor Roll, UTA Super Scholar, and earned Texas Trust Credit Union Academic Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Shadrick serves as a Senior Advisor in our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
On the track, Shadrick claimed four first team All-WAC citations in multis events, earning first team honors in the decathlon from 2023-25 while adding a first team heptathlon scroll in 2024. Shadrick added second team accolades in the javelin (2023 and 2025), the heptathlon (2023) and the pole vault (2025).
 

– #BuckEm –

 
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State Volleyball released its 2025 schedule on Thursday, 28^th-year Head Coach Mike Jordan announced. The Aggies will open with an exhibition on Aug. 23 before commencing the regular season on the road with a pair of Aug. 29 bouts. The slate includes 11 total home contests and 16 CUSA matches, concluding on Saturday, Nov. 15 ahead of a potential trip to the CUSA Championship in Miami. 

𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙔 𝘼𝙂𝙂𝙄𝙀 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉!?

The countdown is ON#AggieUp | #NoLimitsOnUs https://t.co/QtWWZg4Ek1 pic.twitter.com/FTyoiqZyAT

— NM State Volleyball (@NMStateVBall) July 10, 2025

The Aggies will open with two preseason events at home in August. Spectators will have their first chance to witness the 2025 roster in action during the Crimson & White scrimmage on Saturday, August 16^th at 1:00 p.m. MT. One week later, Lubbock Christian is set to roll into town for the Aggies’ lone exhibition of the campaign. 
 
The 52^nd regular season in program history is set open from the Golden State, with three matches at the UC San Diego Invitational. NM State will battle Eastern Washington and Northwestern in neutral site bouts on August 29^th before taking on the hosting Tritons the following day. Among the trio of opponents, UCSD held the best record a season ago, finishing 17-13 with 11 victories in Big West play. 
 
At the conclusion of three matches in California, Mike Jordan‘s squad will trek to the Midwest for a weekend at the Saluki Bash. Southern Illinois, the host of the invitational, will be the Aggies’ first opponent of the weekend. Later on Sept. 5, NM State will take on Eastern Illinois in the second half of its doubleheader. A day later, Kansas City will await in a rematch of foes that shared the WAC from 2013-19.
 
Following two weeks away, NM State will return for four matches in the Land of Enchantment. The Aggies’ home opener will take place on Sept. 12-13 in a two-match series against New Haven. The Chargers are primed for their first season of Division I action after joining the Northeastern Conference (NEC) on July 1. 
 

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Crimson & White will then take on their lone intrastate Division I opponent, making a trip north to battle New Mexico in Albuquerque. The next day (Sept. 17), the two sides will clash once more in the Pan American Center in the Aggies’ final non-conference bout in the City of Crosses.
 
Following the week back in familiar territory, NM State will wrap up its non-conference slate with a trip to the Sooner State for the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational. After taking on the hosting Golden Hurricane (Sept. 19), the Aggies will turn around for a matchup with Little Rock later the same day. At the conclusion of their bout with Oral Roberts on the ensuing afternoon, the Aggies will officially head into their third season of CUSA play.
 
The squad will begin its conquest to a third-straight CUSA Championship match with a road series, welcoming Delaware to the league from the east coast. After two matchups with the Blue Hens, the Aggies will take on Sam Houston in their CUSA home opener. Last season, the Bearkats split the regular-season series before falling in four sets to NM State in the CUSA Championship Quarterfinals. 
 
As was the case in the 2024 postseason, Mike Jordan‘s bunch will turn its attention from Sam Houston to UTEP. In the last Battle of I-10 installment, NM State came back from a 2-1 deficit, taking each of the final two sets in the thrilling CUSA Championship semifinals over the hosting Miners. The Crimson & White will aim to have similar success against their rivals in two matches on Oct. 10-11 from the friendly confines of the Pan American Center. 
 
Six days later, Missouri State will host a two-match set in the Show-Me State. The second of two additions to CUSA will serve as the site for the Aggies’ Oct. 17-18 contests, as Mike Jordan‘s bunch looks to topple the program with the ninth-most victories in Division I history (1,287).
 

In a rematch of last year’s thrilling five-set regular-season finale, Middle Tennessee will be the next squad to visit Las Cruces. The Aggies will welcome the Blue Raiders in their penultimate home series of the season on Oct. 24-25, looking to improve on what currently stands as a 13-3 CUSA record in front of the Crimson & White faithful.
 
Following a two-day trip to LA Tech across Halloween Night and Nov. 1, the group will return home one final time, where they will close out the regular season. Kennesaw State is set to serve as the Aggie opposition for Senior Day, which will be held during the second match of the series on Nov. 15.
 

For the first time as members of Conference USA, NM State will not face each opponent in the regular season, due to the addition of Delaware and Missouri State to the league. The Aggies are not slated to match up against WKU, the six-time reigning league champion. FIU, the host of the CUSA Championship, is also not on the 2025 Crimson & White schedule, along with Liberty.
 
The Conference USA Championship will be held in FIU’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center from Friday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 23. The top eight teams from CUSA will qualify for the three-round, single-elimination tournament. The champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Thursday, Dec. 4. 
 
2025 NM State Volleyball Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 16 – Crimson & White Scrimmage (1:00 PM)
Saturday, Aug. 23 – Lubbock Christian (12:00 PM) [EXHIBITION]
Friday, Aug. 29 – vs. Eastern Washington (12:00 PM MT)^
Friday, Aug. 29 – vs. Northwestern (4:00 PM MT)^
Saturday, Aug. 30 – at UC San Diego (4:00 PM MT)^

Friday, Sept. 5 – at Southern Illinois (9:00 AM MT)&

Friday, Sept. 5 – vs. Eastern Illinois (3:00 PM MT)&

Saturday, Sept. 6 – vs. Kansas City (10:00 AM MT)&
Friday, Sept. 12 – New Haven (6:00 PM)
Saturday, Sept. 13 – New Haven (6:00 PM)
Tuesday, Sept. 16 – at New Mexico (5:00 PM)
Wednesday, Sept. 17 – New Mexico (6:00 PM)
Friday, Sept. 19 – at Tulsa (10:00 AM MT)#
Friday, Sept. 19 – vs. Little Rock (3:00 PM MT)#
Saturday, Sept. 20 – vs. Oral Roberts (10:00 AM MT)#
Friday, Sept. 26 – at Delaware (4:00 PM MT)*
Saturday, Sept. 27 – at Delaware (10:00 AM MT)*
Friday, Oct. 3 – Sam Houston (6:00 PM)*
Saturday, Oct. 4 – Sam Houston (12:00 PM)*
Friday, Oct. 10 – UTEP (6:00 PM)*
Saturday, Oct. 11 – UTEP (1:00 PM)*
Friday, Oct. 17 – at Missouri State (5:00 PM MT)*
Saturday, Oct. 18 – at Missouri State (12:00 PM MT)*
Friday, Oct. 24 – Middle Tennessee (6:00 PM)*
Saturday, Oct. 25 – Middle Tennessee (1:00 PM)*
Friday, Oct. 31 – at LA Tech (1:00 PM MT)*
Saturday, Nov. 1 – at LA Tech (11:00 AM MT)*
Thursday, Nov. 6 – at Jacksonville State (5:00 PM MT)*
Friday, Nov. 7 – at Jacksonville State (1:00 PM MT)*
Friday, Nov. 14 – Kennesaw State (6:00 PM)*
Saturday, Nov. 15 – Kennesaw State (1:00 PM)*
Friday, Nov. 21 – Sunday, Nov. 23: Conference USA Championship (Miami, Fla.)
Thursday, Dec. 4 – Saturday, Dec. 21: NCAA Tournament (sites TBD)
 
* – Conference USA match
^ – UC San Diego Invitational (San Diego, Calif.) 

& – Saluki Bash (Carbondale, Ill.)
# – Tulsa Volleyball Invitational (Tulsa, Okla.)
Home matches in BOLD
 
For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.
 

##NM State##

Team USA boasts four Trojans on the men’s roster and four on the women’s roster, including current USC student-athletes Emily Ausmus, Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker for the USA women. On the men’s side, current USC goalie Bernardo Herzer is repping the USA for the first time at a major senior level competition, while his USC teammate Andrej Grgurevic got the call-up for the Australian men. Herzer will have three fellow Trojans in the water with him as well, with Jake Ehrhardt also making his World Championships debut with the USA alongside Olympic bronze medalists Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic.

In addition of the trio of current Trojans, the USA women also have Trojan grad and two-time Olympian Amanda Longan capped up in goal, while the Aussie men have two USC alumni on board in 2024 Olympians Jacob Mercep and goalie Nic Porter. Also on the men’s side three-time Olympian and NCAA champion Kostas Genidounias remains in action for Greece. The women’s bracket also boasts two decorated USC alumnae in recent grad and two-time Olympian Tilly Kearns for Australia and four-time Olympian Anni Espar going strong for Spain.

To follow the action in Singapore, visit the 2025 World Aquatics Championships web site.

 

The Master’s University women’s volleyball team, the defending GSAC champion, which finished the season ranked No. 25 in the NAIA last year, has released its fall 2025 schedule.

Once again the season starts with the Hope Summer Slam and CSM Labor Day Classic tournaments, in which the Lady Mustangs will compete against other Top 25 teams. This will be followed by a 16-match conference schedule.

“We are beyond excited for what’s on the schedule for this upcoming fall,” said first-year TMU Head Coach McKenna Hafner. “Last year we were given the opportunity to travel to a couple of high-level tournaments and face off against some ranked teams from out of our area. These matches were confidence builders for us as we realized the program has what it takes to consistently compete at the highest level of NAIA women’s volleyball, and provided a roadmap for where we needed to improve to be able to do that. We wanted to replicate that experience as much as possible this year.”

The Hope Summer Slam tournament, played at Hope International in Fullerton, will include a match against Southern Oregon on Aug. 23, one of the top four teams in the country last season.

“Not every program gets the opportunity to compete against a team that finished in the semi-finals of the NAIA national tournament the previous year,” Hafner said. “So our match against Southern Oregon is particularly exciting. I know our girls are eager for the challenge.”

With both Soka University of America and La Sierra University joining the GSAC this year, the conference will be back up to 10 schools, with five in California and five in Arizona. However, Soka will not field a women’s volleyball team, so TMU will face each of the other eight schools twice, both home and away, to make the 16-match conference schedule.

“As far GSAC play goes, there are a lot of unknowns at this point,” Hafner said. “Adding new programs and changing coaching personnel always shakes things up. We are excited to see what the other GSAC programs will look like and it’s exciting to add an extra layer of challenge with the uncertainty of what that looks like. Our team will have to show up to every match open-minded, adaptable and ready to compete because nothing will be a given.”

To see the complete schedule, click HERE.

Related

LOS ANGELES — Professional beach volleyball is returning to the Los Angeles area – this time, inside one of its newest sporting cathedrals.

The Association of Volleyball Professionals tour will stop at the Intuit Dome, home of the Clippers, for its Week 5 action Friday and Saturday night. The touring league, stacked with Olympians and pioneers of the sport, will compete inside the Inglewood arena for the first time.

The Intuit Dome is the latest addition to L.A.’s pro sports infrastructure, and many players are eager to bring beach volleyball’s energy indoors. While the sport typically spikes in attention during Olympic years – ranked as the sixth most-watched sport during the Games – its leap to a major L.A. venue signals growth and offers fans a chance to see it up close in a high-profile setting.

“If fans come out and watch the event,” said Geena Urango of San Diego Smash, “those who haven’t been to one before would realize just how special and entertaining beach volleyball is.”

Urango has a unique relationship with the sport and the city. In 2007, she became the first beach volleyball recruit at USC, laying the foundation for a powerhouse that would go on to win six NCAA titles.

She’s still competing 17 years later.

Both members of the L.A. Launch women’s duo – Terese Cannon (2015-19) and Megan Kraft (2021-24) – followed in Urango’s footsteps at USC. The age gap disappears, they say, when they meet on the sand.

“It’s amazing that she’s still playing at such a high level,” Cannon said. “I sometimes forget she was the first one to play at USC Beach, because she still seems so fresh to the sport. But I know she’s a veteran and a legend.”

Urango is one of many big names in the league.

Phil Dalhausser, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist and four-time Olympian, will retire after the 2025 season. The AVP regards him as perhaps the most dominant player in the sport’s history.

Kelly Cheng, another USC alum (2014-17), competed in the past two Olympics and now plays for Miami Mayhem alongside 2016 Olympian Chaim Schalk.

San Diego Smash’s Chase Budinger joined the AVP after seven seasons in the NBA. He and partner Miles Evans competed for Team USA in 2024.

While these athletes made their names in Olympic arenas, this weekend offers a rare chance to see them compete live, at home.

“It’s the sport that only comes into people’s purview every four years,” said UCLA alum and L.A. Launch player Hagen Smith. “Everybody loves it, but now there’s more opportunity to see all those Olympic athletes. You can just latch on to some amazing new personalities, amazing athletes – and I mean, how can you beat a beach sport? Plus, it’s at Intuit, which makes it even more sick.”

The AVP runs on a team-based format with eight city-backed franchises: L.A. Launch, Miami Mayhem, San Diego Smash, Palm Beach Passion, Brooklyn Blaze, Austin Aces, New York Nitro, and Dallas Dream.

Each tour stop includes four matchups per team contest – two men’s and two women’s – with all results contributing to the team score and standings.

The format encourages continuity and chemistry. Each team travels with consistent men’s and women’s pairs, building bonds that stretch beyond the court.

“You guys are going through this together,” Smith said. “I have so many friends on the tour. When you step on the court, we’re competitors – no friends out there. But off the court, we’re all family.”

This week, Smith and the Launch return “home.”

Through four weekends, L.A. leads the league standings. Now, they’ll look to defend that top spot in front of friends and family on one of the city’s brightest stages.

“It’s so exciting to play in L.A.,” Kraft said. “It’s especially cool because we’re part of the L.A. Launch this year, so we’re able to represent the city and make it our home event. We’ll have some good people in the stands. I invited all my former teammates, friends and family. Hopefully, we get a good crowd at Intuit.”

AVP League Week 5

When: 5 p.m. Friday; 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood

How to watch: Friday (6-7 p.m. YouTube @avpbeach; 7-9 p.m. CBS Sports Network; 9-10 p.m. YouTube @avpbeach); Saturday (5-7 p.m. The CW Network; 7-9 p.m. YouTube @avpbeach)

Originally Published: July 10, 2025 at 9:39 AM PDT

McCurdy, from Philadelphia, is described as a dedicated, detailed head coach who seeks effort on and off the court. 

Mike McCurdy hadn’t yet formalized his basketball training company when he began working with a seven-year-old Autistic boy in Philadelphia. The boy’s mother was looking for a coach to do basic skills training and felt comfortable working with McCurdy. 

Over the past three years, McCurdy worked with the boy, and each session saw the boy’s growth on the court. More importantly, the child was enjoying the game.

“The response and the reward you get from seeing a person grow and what happens after drives me as a coach,” McCurdy said. “You see the look on their face, the work they put in, it’s so rewarding. You can’t fully put words to it. It’s being inspired by a dedication to watching them grow themselves.”

McCurdy, of Northeast Philadelphia, will become the Women’s Basketball, Women’s Volleyball and Men’s Volleyball head coach for Manor College starting in the Fall 2025 semester. 

“Mike is so dedicated to his craft that his hiring was a no-brainer for me,” John Dempster, Manor College Athletic Director, said. “Coach McCurdy is a great recruiter and will have this team up and running in no time. I’m really looking forward to watching our programs grow.” 

McCurdy isn’t a stranger to Manor College. He graduated from Franklin Towne Charter High School and currently works as a health Teacher at MaST Community Charter School II in Northeast Philadelphia. 

McCurdy was first introduced to Manor through Men’s Basketball Head Coach Leo Mahon, who saw McCurdy during a summer camp and liked McCurdy’s attention to detail. The two clicked over coaching. 

“There’s no way he’s putting in the hours he does if he doesn’t love it,” McCurdy said of Mahon. “He loves the process of coaching. He’s a great mentor to me.” 

McCurdy sums up his coaching style as someone who rewards effort – “give and take.” 

“Whatever you give me, I expect you to reciprocate with your effort on the court,” McCurdy said. “I am not going to micromanage your game. I’m going to let you go out there and be comfortable playing your game as long as you’re giving me that effort on the court.”

McCurdy’s volleyball experience begins with playing the sport as a child. He stopped playing after breaking his arm in sixth grade, but continued to manage teams in the years since. 

“I love volleyball because it can’t be won with one person,” McCurdy said. “One person can take over, but to finish it, it takes six players on the court. I’m trying to find the closest knit group and make them a family. You need to trust that your teammate has your back.” 

McCurdy describes playing at Manor College as a place where one can work hard and gain opportunities.  

“You’re going to get the opportunity to play and what you do with that time is up to you,” McCurdy said. “When I go there, I see it. At Manor, you have to work hard, but Manor will give you the opportunity.”

Read More:

Manor College Debuts Women’s Flag Football, Men’s Volleyball for 25-26 Academic Year

Manor College Offers Free Resources to Former Crozer Health Employees

Meet the Voices of Manor College’s 2025 Graduating Class

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