Mike McBride, Head Men’s Basketball coach and Senior Associate Athletic Director, resigns after 11 years at Holy Cross College to pursue other opportunities. Tyler Braidic, Assistant Men’s Basketball coach, has been named Interim Head Basketball coach and will continue in that role until a national search is completed.
McBride leaves the College after an impressive coaching career with over 170 victories. He is the all-time wins leader at Holy Cross and led the Saints to its first-ever NAIA National Tournament and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championship in 2020. For his efforts, he was recognized as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
McBride guided Holy Cross to its first CCAC regular-season crown in the 2019-2020 season. He directed the Saints to back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. Holy Cross advanced to the Sweet-16 of the 2019-2020 National Tournament before it was cancelled due to Covid-19. That year, men’s basketball ranked first in the nation in scoring defense allowed (63.7 points per game), fifth in total rebounds per game (30.7), and ninth in defensive FG percentage (40.8%). The Saints ended the season ranked No.10 in the final NAIA national poll. Coach McBride was awarded the 2019-2020 CCAC Coach of the Year.
Under coach McBride, the Saints have had 28 CCAC All-Academic team members, three NAIA All-Americans, and 23 CCAC All-Conference Players. Tom Robbins, Director of Athletics and Head Women’s Basketball coach, said, “we are grateful for all that Coach Mike McBride has done for Saints Athletics. He has tirelessly given of his time and talent to form student-athletes on and off the court. His success while at the College demonstrates his knowledge and passion for basketball. Coach McBride will forever be a part of the Saints basketball legacy.”