Washburn men’s basketball coach Brett Ballard is “expected to make a full recovery” after being hurt in a one-car accident Tuesday, Washburn president JuliAnn Mazachek said Saturday night.
Mazachek shared the update in a letter to the Washburn community that included a message from the Ballard family. In it, the family thanked the first responders and medical staff at Stormont Vail Hospital for caring for Brett and said the support from friends, family and the community has meant a great deal.
The family’s statement said: “I am reaching out today to share the uplifting message below from the Ballard family:
“The Ballard family would like to extend our gratitude to the first responders and medical staff at Stormont Vail (Hospital) for caring for Brett. We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support from friends, family and the community. Your prayers are felt and are making a difference.
“After suffering a medical incident, Brett is receiving the care he needs and is expected to make a full recovery. We are truly grateful for all the support shown to our family. The outpouring of love and encouragement for Coach and his family has been deeply meaningful.”
The Kansas Highway Patrol crash log identified the accident location as mile marker 183 on Interstate 470. It said Ballard, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to Stormont Vail Hospital.
WIBW reported that the crash was reported at 8:17 p.m. Tuesday along the Kansas Turnpike on I-470 just west of the Interstate 470-Interstate 70 split. The crash log said Ballard was driving a Ford F-150 truck in the westbound lanes on Interstate 70 “when it left the roadway and went to the left, struck a delineator post, the embankment, and then a bridge pillar.”
Ballard is heading into his 10th season at Washburn. His coaching résumé also includes head coaching stops at Baker University in 2010-11 and 2011-12, along with assistant roles on Danny Manning’s staffs at Wake Forest from 2014 to 2017 and Tulsa from 2012 to 2014. At Kansas, he served as director of basketball operations and video coordinator from 2003 to 2010.
A former Jayhawk himself, Ballard played for Roy Williams during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons. Kansas reached the Final Four in 2002. Ballard appeared in 56 career games, scoring 59 points and handing out 32 assists, while KU went 59-11 overall in his two seasons, with a Sweet Sixteen trip in 2001 and a Final Four run in 2002 in Atlanta.
Kansas enjoyed major success during Ballard’s time on the staff, winning the 2008 national championship, reaching three NCAA Tournament Elite Eights, claiming four Big 12 regular-season titles and taking three conference tournament crowns.
Ballard, who played at Hutchinson High and Hutchinson Junior College, earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2003 and was named an Academic All-Big 12 selection as a senior. He and his wife, Kelly, have three children: sons Kaden and Brooks and daughter Breagan.
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