Since 2016, Jeff Hans and his Thomas More women’s basketball team have brought back three national college titles to Crestview Hills. That’s on top of finishing as a national runner-up a year ago.
That’s four times to the Final Four – oops, sorry, only the NCAA can say “Final Four” – so make that two times to the NCAA Division III Final Four and two more to the NAIA’s Fab Four.
Not bad when you consider that hoops program of some fame 90 miles to the south of here, the one where the basketball coach makes nearly $9 million a year. hasn’t made it to a Final Four since 2015. And hasn’t brought back a national title since 2012.
Then there’s Justin Ray, whose men’s basketball team finished with a TMU record 31-5 in just its third year as a scholarship program, losing by a point in the national semifinals with its second-leading scorer out, and could be the favorite to open next season at No. 1 if All-American Ryan Batte, a redshirt junior, chooses to return.
What would make that awfully interesting around here is preseason No. 1 could also be the same starting point for the TMU women come next November. Think about that: Northern Kentucky — and TMU — could have both No. 1 national picks next year.
Yes, Kentucky basketball fans, it is possible. And why the heck not? TMU’s Saints almost finished that way this year and could return more of their firepower than any of their top rivals.
Think that’s not a big deal? Well, we’re talking about an NAIA with 252 schools in some 40 states, with an historic men’s tournament that goes back 83 years, with a women’s championship game this year that drew 3,000 fans to the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, outdrawing the combined NCAA Division II and Division III women’s championship games, which drew less than 1,900 total.
No wonder they were feeling pretty good about themselves at Wednesday night’s celebration at the Connor Convocation Center where hundreds of fans, friends, faculty, staff, and students turned out to welcome the Saints home.
Dr. Joseph L. Chillo, TMU president, got things going but not before AD Terry Connor dropped this quick line about Hans: “Best coach in the country at any level,” he said of National Coach of the Year Hans who is now 9-1 in his two years in the NAIA Tournament.
The best thing about being the TMU president at one of these deals is you can say the words “student-athlete” as often as you like and you don’t have to gulp when you say it. You’re talking about exactly that. With all its success, TMU is not exactly anyone’s idea of a hoops factory. These college kids really are students first.
Although not to be outdone by his AD, Chillo praised both of his coaches: “the two best in the country,” he called Hans and Ray. Although Ray got the message. “I’ll try to keep it brief,” he said, “so we can get to the celebrity – Jeff Hans.”
But he didn’t. And that was a good thing. “You guys are the favorite team I’ve ever coached,” the 14-year college coach Ray told his NCAA semifinalists and Mid-South champs. He explained. “Not for the Final Four run but because there’s not a selfish bone in any of them . . . We’ve got some good dudes.”
And that includes the Scout Team: “completely selfless,” Ray called the practice players as he introduced them. It was a theme that continued.
“Not all our goals were met but most of them were,” said Batte, “who has turned himself into an All-American,” Ray said of the Cincinnati Oak Hills alum.
“We all love each other, we all care for each other,” Batte said, “love you guys.”
Before Hans spoke, they played a highlight video of the 32-4 TMU women. The ability to use their off hand dribbling and shooting, to play fast and find the open Saint, and — are you listening down Lexington way — hit the open three, was obvious. And they were as fun to watch on video as they were the first time live. By the way, the Saints hit 34.9 percent of their three-point attempts. That Lexington team: 34.7 percent.
“We don’t get the individual honors other teams who win national championships do,” Hans said. “Who cares? . . . They said it would take a while (to go from non-scholarship NCAA Div. III three years ago) . . . well, we were national runner-up in 2021 and national champs in 2022 . . . the wins and losses are great but to have these memories is what it’s all about.”
But to put those memories into more than just words, the player who got the biggest sendoff was senior Heaven Evans, from Cincinnati’s DePaul Cristo Rey HS, the last player recruited for TMU’s non-scholarship program who hung in there through the transition to a national title.
Grad student Alexah Chrisman, the MVP of the NAIA Tournament, spoke for the TMU women. “We had a lot of fun doing it,” she said, “to end your career as national champion, it’s incredible.”
Indeed, what’s happening in Crestview Hills is a bit “incredible.” In some ways the 1,200-full-time-undergrad TMU is close to the profile of the 252 NAIA schools, 82 percent of whom are private with 65 percent religious. The average NAIA undergrad student body is 1,400 with a median athletics budget of $3.98 million.
TMU might be at the lower end of that budget number but with 700 athletics-related students and 29 sports (including the band, cheerleaders and dance team) against an NAIA average of 17 sports and 308 student-athletes, the Saints band can keep on playing their song as they did more than once Wednesday.
“When the Saints Go Marching In” they’re talking about last year, this year, and next year the way this program is making things happen.
And best of all, making it happen with local student-athletes – 12 of 15 for both teams including seven from Northern Kentucky for the women, five for the men.
