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A beloved Kansas faculty basketball coach and former Jayhawks standout is within the hospital with severe accidents after a freeway crash Tuesday evening.
Washburn College head coach Brett Ballard, 46, was behind the wheel of his 2024 Ford F-150 when the crash occurred.
Based on the Kansas Freeway Patrol, Ballard was touring westbound on Interstate 470 in Topeka simply after 8:15 p.m. when his pickup truck veered off the left aspect of the roadway.
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Brett Ballard of Kansas walks off the court docket as Maryland gamers have fun within the background after the semifinal spherical of the NCAA Males’s Last 4 on the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., on March 30, 2002. Maryland defeated Kansas 97-88 and superior to the championship recreation. (Getty Pictures)
The truck struck a delineator submit, traveled right into a steep embankment, after which collided with a concrete bridge pillar. The influence left the automobile closely broken. Ballard was the one particular person contained in the truck. First responders transported the injured coach to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka for therapy. Authorities confirmed he was sporting his seatbelt on the time of the crash.
Washburn College President JuliAnn Mazachek requested the close-knit neighborhood to maintain Ballard and his household of their ideas.
“We’re deeply saddened to share that Coach Brett Ballard was significantly injured in a automobile accident final night,” Mazachek mentioned in a press release. “Our hearts are with Coach Ballard, his household, the boys’s basketball program and all who’re affected throughout this troublesome time.”
Ballard has lengthy been one of the vital recognizable figures in Kansas basketball. The Hutchinson native performed guard for the Kansas Jayhawks from 2000 to 2002 below Corridor of Fame coach Roy Williams earlier than spending seven seasons as an assistant on Invoice Self’s teaching employees.
A Kansas cheerleader waves the college flag because the group enters the court docket earlier than the beginning of the sport in the course of the NCAA males’s basketball match on the Kohl Heart in Madison, Wis., on March 24, 2002. Kansas beat Oregon 104-86 to advance to the Last 4 in Atlanta, Ga. (Getty Pictures)
Head coach Roy Williams celebrates as Kansas gamers reduce down the online after beating Oregon in the course of the NCAA males’s basketball match on the Kohl Heart in Madison, Wis. The Jayhawks gained 104-86 to advance to the Last 4 in Atlanta, Ga. (Getty Pictures)
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For the previous 9 seasons, Ballard has led the Washburn Ichabods, constructing certainly one of Division II’s most constant applications.
Ballard has compiled a 198-81 general report whereas guiding Washburn to a number of NCAA Match appearances and serving to set up the Ichabods as a perennial contender within the MIAA.
Earlier than taking up at Washburn, Ballard additionally gained head teaching expertise at Baker College, the place he led the Wildcats to a Coronary heart of America Athletic Convention regular-season championship and an NAIA nationwide match look.
Ballard’s success at each cease has made him a revered determine all through the state’s basketball neighborhood. As phrase of the crash unfold, supporters throughout Kansas and past shared messages of encouragement whereas hoping for optimistic information relating to his restoration.
Authorities haven’t launched extra particulars about what brought about the crash, and the investigation stays ongoing.
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