Yellow Jacket Grit
March 2, 2026
"Try as hard as you can, as long as you can." — Harrison Dillard '49, four-time Olympic gold medal winner in track and field; only male athlete to ever win Olympic gold medals in both the sprints and high hurdles
That mindset — relentless preparation, disciplined effort, unwavering belief, and grit — has defined BW athletics for generations.
For decades, our student-athletes have competed and dominated on the field, the court, the pool, and the mat. This winter is no exception. Here are some recent examples.
Our Teams
Our Women's Basketball team has made history, becoming the first in school history to earn back-to-back undefeated Ohio Athletic Conference seasons.
Our Men's Wrestling team captured its sixth consecutive OAC Championship and will take 7 student-athletes to the NCAA Tournament in two weeks.
Our Men's Volleyball team has opened the season strong and is currently ranked No. 12 nationally.
Our Student-Athletes
- Sophomore Makenna Mincey earned her second career OAC Diver of the Year Award and topped that accomplishment this past weekend winning the 1M Diving Championship at the NCAA Regional - the first in school history.
- Junior Linebacker Nolan Hartsel capped an exciting football season becoming both an All-American and Academic All-American. Nolan was joined by his teammate Colin Kaufmann on the All-American team.
They excel on and off the field, court, and mat. - BW student-athletes earned a 3.47 GPA for the fall semester, with four women's teams posting GPAs above 3.7 (Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis and Softball).
- 97 Fall Sports Academic All-OAC honorees
- 24 Fall Sports College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections
- 6 Winter Sports Academic All-OAC honorees
- 16 Winter Sports College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections
- Most recently, two student-athletes, Sophie Kirsten (Women's Soccer) and Caden Madigan (Men's Basketball), competed at the CSU Ethics Case Competition representing BW Accounting and won first place beating all 9 other Cleveland area colleges and universities.
Our Coaches
The excellence of our coaches is one of the primary reasons student-athletes choose BW. They recruit not just talent, but character. They build cultures of accountability and belief. They provide the support, structure and mentorship that challenge our students to push beyond what they thought possible — athletically, academically and personally.
Our coaches teach far more than strategy and skill. They model resilience. They cultivate leadership. They demand excellence while ensuring every student-athlete knows they are supported as a whole person. That mentorship — steady, consistent and values-driven — is what transforms potential into performance.
Several BW coaches and coaching staffs were recognized with Conference Coach of the Year honors, a testament to their leadership and unwavering commitment to the student-athlete experience:
- Women's Basketball Head Coach Cheri Harrer was named OAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
- Men's Cross Country earned OAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors (Joe Eby, Julian Johnson-Milan, Kim Gallavin and Josh Fiorentino).
- Men's Wrestling received OAC Coaching Staff of the Year recognition for the fifth straight year (Jamie Gibbs, Jason Zastrow and their full coaching staff).
What stands out is not simply the wins — though we celebrate them proudly. It is the discipline in early-morning practices. The resilience after tough losses. The teamwork built through trust. The quiet leadership that happens when no one is watching.
That is The BW Way. Our student-athletes embody what it means to be Leader-Ready, Career-Ready, and Future-Ready.
They remind us that excellence is never accidental — it is earned.
To our student-athletes, coaches, trainers, staff, and families — thank you for the countless hours of commitment that make this success possible.
Special thanks to Steve Thompson, Director of Athletics and Recreation, for his leadership.
Our athletic program exemplifies Yellow Jacket Grit.
Lee Fisher
President, Baldwin Wallace University