When she contemplated a major switch midway through high school, Hayley (Wiemer) Bradford weighed the prospects with her parents, and then made an educated decision.
Seventeen years after transferring from Northview to St. Ursula — looking back at how the change worked out academically, athletically, and personally — Bradford can reflect on the wisdom of that choice.
In athletics, the merit in the move can best be measured by a won-lost record: 110-9.
That was the combined two-year overall mark of the St. Ursula volleyball and softball teams after Bradford arrived in the fall of 2003.
The volleyball program, already regarded as a state power with three straight state final-four appearances before Bradford got there, would reach state two more times with her.
The Arrows finished 26-2 after a state semifinal loss in the fall of 2003, then ended 29-0 with a Division I state championship in 2004.
On the softball diamond, as a dominant pitcher and one of Ohio’s best hitters, Bradford led a 27-4 Arrows squad to a D-I state championship in 2004, and then to a 28-3 mark and a repeat trip to state in 2005.
Bradford, 32, was not the top player on the deep and balanced volleyball team, but she was a key contributor on the Arrows’ attack.
She was instrumental in the 2004 semifinals, contributing 19 kills in a thrilling 16-25, 16-25, 39-37, 26-24, 15-7 victory over Cincinnati Seton in a dramatic comeback win that included an epic third set.
Six months earlier, coach Julie Barber’s Arrows had secured a dramatic finals comeback to take their D-I state softball crown.
Bradford struck out 13 batters in a two-hit, 5-0 shutout of Milford in the state semifinals.
In the final, the Arrows fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning against Uniontown Lake. But they rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of their 2-1 victory.
She had also been in the front-row rotation on the St. Ursula volleyball team that lost in the 2003 state semifinal, and was solid in the circle in the Arrows’ 2-0 loss to Harrison in the 2005 state softball semifinals.
In her three career semifinal starts, Bradford pitched 21 innings, allowing just eight hits and one earned run, with 26 strikeouts and one walk.
In her two seasons at St. Ursula, Bradford was twice named Division I first team All-Ohio at pitcher, and was the City League pitcher of the year.
She was 20-2 pitching in her junior year, and as a senior was 23-3 with 319 strikeouts and an 0.21 earned run average, plus batted .442 with a then state-record 12 home runs, and 52 RBIs. When she finished her prep career, Bradford’s 26 home runs ranked No. 1 in Ohio history, and her career 0.20 ERA ranked No. 6 in the state record book.
Bradford was recruited by coach Leigh Ross to Bowling Green State University, and she continued to produce. As a pitcher, and also playing right field or DH, Bradford turned in four solid seasons (2006 to 2009) on Falcons teams that were 102-88 overall (53-31 conference) and placed second in the Mid-American Conference’s East Division three times (2006 to 2008).
Bradford was 53-48 with 557 strikeouts and just 93 walks in 628 career innings pitching, and she had a career .335 batting average, with 32 home runs and 123 RBIs at the plate. She was named first team All-MAC all four years and with a 4.0 grade-point average was named an academic All-American.
In her career, Bradford’s .600 slugging percentage is a BG record. Her 32 homers, 121 walks drawn, and 557 pitching strikeouts rank No. 2 in Falcons history, and her 53 pitching victories rank No. 3 all-time.
Her best single season was 2007, when she led the Falcons with a .413 batting average, hit 11 home runs, had 39 RBIs, and was 17-5 pitching with a 1.45 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 159 innings while walking 11 batters.
Bradford remained at BGSU as an assistant coach in 2010 and 2011, before she and husband Matt took jobs in Arizona — he as a geologist, she as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University. She worked in the athletic department in student-athlete development while earning her master’s degree in higher education.
After six years in Arizona, a period that included the birth of their now 4-year-old daughter, Claire, the Bradfords relocated in 2017 closer to their home region (Matt graduated from Otsego High School and BGSU), settling in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill.
Hayley works at College of DuPage, the largest junior college in Illinois. She is the school’s Academic Athletic Eligibility and Student Records Coordinator in the athletic department.
Among other duties, she is in charge of athletic eligibility, compliance, and support services for the 350 student-athletes who compete in sports at DuPage, which has over 30,000 students enrolled at the main Glen Ellyn, Ill., campus, or the school’s five satellite campuses.
Matt has a corporate position in the geology field, and the couple are expecting their second daughter May 28.
BEGINNINGS: “My first sport was tee-ball,” Bradford said. “My mom [Shelly] tells me I really took it seriously when I was 4 years old. I don’t know that I really remember it, but my dad [Jan] tells me I hit off a tee and hit a house across the street. Then we had to find a new place to hit.”
“I played a little bit of everything. Softball and tee-ball and soccer, and then I added basketball and volleyball starting in middle school. My parents did a good job of trying to expose me to a lot of different activities.”
CROSSROADS: “I went to Northview my freshman and sophomore year,” Bradford said, “then I transferred to St. Ursula for my junior and senior year. The main reason was the atmosphere at St. Ursula. There were a lot of girls there who I had played club sports with. They raved about their experiences at St. Ursula. I had kind of grown up with some of those girls in the travel sports.
“I had a lot of support from my parents, because it was a really hard time deciding to make that change. That was decision was made in 2002, and here we are 18 years later, and the teammates I had on the volleyball and softball programs are still my closest friends and supporters to this day.”
VOLLEYBALL: “St. Ursula volleyball had a successful past, a very strong program with some really talented players that went on to play Division-I volleyball in college,” Bradford said. “But, to win the state championship finally in our senior year in 2004 with the group we won it with was just so remarkable.
“It was never about one person or one approach to win. It was always about the fact that we were very deep across the board, and we had a lot of different people who could attack and you could go to in a pressure situation. That really helped us, because I think we were relentless. You couldn’t have a game plan against us to shut down one person and be successful. We had so many hitters, and people flying all over the place in the back row. Our setters were very consistent. To finally do it with that group was very special.”
SOFTBALL: “We knew before the [2004] postseason that our coach, Julie Barber, was going to relocate to Columbus for her husband’s job,” Bradford said. “So, we knew that was the last time we would have coach Barber. We not only wanted to keep winning to extend our season, but also for coach Barber. She was another phenomenal coach that I was so lucky to play for.
“People didn’t expect that team to win the state championship because St. Ursula was more known for other sports like volleyball. What stands out was establishing St. Ursula as more than just a volleyball school. That was exciting to do. We didn’t have the pressure of having an expectation to go the states and win. I was really lucky again because that team was so close.
BOWLING GREEN: “I am so proud to have chosen Bowling Green and stayed close to home for college,” Bradford said. “I was fortunate to be in northwest Ohio at an institution that allowed me to maximize not only in softball but as a student. My professors and my advisers and my coaches really sparked my passion for education and drove me to what I’m doing for my career.
“Bowling Green was a great fit for me because of the family atmosphere and being a very competitive program in the Mid-American Conference. Another great thing about Bowling Green is that I met my husband there. We met through mutual friends my sophomore year. We got engaged in 2009 and married in 2010. It’ll be 10 years in June.”
CURRENT PATH: “I still played pickup volleyball and co-ed softball, but right now I’m 36 weeks pregnant, so that’s out for now,” Bradford said. “I really miss the competitive challenge that playing softball and volleyball gives you.
“I’m very proud to be a mom, to be a wife, and to give my daughter life lessons that she’ll use the rest of her life. Although I miss my playing days dearly, I’m so happy that I have the friendships I have from those times. The work ethic and leadership I learned from playing competitive sports still stick with me to this day.
“I truly love where I’m at in my life right now. I have an identity that isn’t focused on being on the field or on the court. Being a mom, and working at a college where I can impact students. I’m really focused on my family right now.”
First Published May 1, 2020, 10:00 p.m.
