Bradley University Athletics

Two Sign NLI to Join Bradley Basketball

Men's Basketball 11/9/2016 8:00:00 AM

The Bradley men's basketball program signed a pair of highly-coveted players from Missouri to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday – the first day of the early signing period. Elijah Childs (Kansas City, Mo.) and Ryan Stipanovich (St. Louis, Mo.) are both set to join the Braves program, beginning with the 2017-18 season.

"What stands out the most to me is that Ryan and Elijah are our kind of guys," said Bradley head coach Brian Wardle. "They are the perfect fit to continue and further our culture in the right way. We love their internal makeup and they both have their best basketball days ahead of them. They are both hard working and versatile players that we look forward to working with for the coming years."

A highly active and athletic 6-foot-7 forward from Kansas City, Missouri, Childs has earned three letters at Lee's Summit West High School, while also playing for the Kansas City Run GMC AAU program. During his time with the Titans, Childs has collected all-state, all-conference and all-district accolades, while averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game as junior.

Stipanovich, a skilled 6-foot-7 guard/forward from St. Louis, Missouri, is a member of the De Smet Jesuit High School program, as well as playing for the St. Louis Gateway AAU team. Named a team captain with the Spartans as a junior, he is a two-time all-conference and all-district honoree. During his sophomore campaign, Stipanovich averaged 17 points and four rebounds per game, while posting 14 points and four rebounds per game as a junior.

The Braves open the 2016-17 regular season on Friday with a home contest against Illinois Springfield. Tipoff at Carver Arena is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen live on ESPN3.

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