Brad Korn’s Redhawks Program

SEMO Ascending in the OVC

(St. Louis, MO) – Southeast Missouri is becoming an Ohio Valley Conference power. Brad Korn’s Redhawks have won two championships in the past three years and last season led the OVC in attendance.

Freshly armed with a five-year contract extension, Korn has nine returning players from last year’s regular season championship squad. The Redhawks were the tournament champs in 2023. An injury-filled 2023-24 season resulted in the only season that wasn’t an improvement over the previous one during Korn’s first five years.

For all the success, Korn’s Redhawks have enjoyed, there is a hunger for more. Since the NCAA changed the eligibility requirements for the National Invitation Tournament, SEMO was kept from postseason play.

The last time conference champions automatically qualified for the NIT, the 2023 Morehead State Eagles defeated the Clemson in the tournament’s opening round.

Korn’s Redhawks Deserve Better

While the Redhawks were OVC champions last season, most of Korn’s offseason conversations with media members have focused on his team’s loss at the OVC tournament.

SEMO won the program’s first-ever OVC regular season title and won the most Division 1 games in 25 years. Korn’s pride in his team’s accomplishments is matched by his frustration with the evaluations of others and the NCAA’s changes to the NIT.

 

Korn’s program is on the rise and the building blocks all seem to be in the right place. The former Southern Illinois Saluki previously coached at his alma mater, Missouri State and twice at Kansas State. He knows how successful programs are run.

He’s proud of the progress his team’s yearly improvement.

 

SEMO’s 15-5 OVC finish gave the Redhawks a two-game margin for the regular season title.

This Year’s Roster

Five members of last year’s team return after playing nearly every game. Second-team all-OVC forward Brendan Terry returns after averaging 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. Guard B.J. Ward (8.4 ppg) made 51 triples and recorded 30 steals.  Sixth man Braxton Stacker missed six, early season games, but the 6’5 wing averaged nearly nine points per game and made nearly 42 percent of his long distance attempts.

Guard Troy Cole Jr, and seven-footers Elliot Lowndes and David Idada all appeared in every Redhawk contest.

Korn’s Redhawks are a team that has grown and is growing together.

 

Two area freshmen and three experienced transfers round out the players anticipated to play. Rookie Trace Sadler gives them a third seven-footer and his high school teammate, P.J. Farmer appears to have a ready-made OVC game.

Louisana Tech transfer Landren Blocker and Stetson newcomer Blaize Sagna are veterans with D1 experience. Korn says Blocker is the most athletic player he has ever coached. Luke Almodovar was a prolific NAIA scoring guard.

Korn is excited about his newcomers, particularly those refurbishing the backcourt that was devastated by portal losses.

 

The sixth-year coach believes his team can compete for the OVC’s top spot again this season. This gritty, defensive-minded team is longer and more athletic than the one that was third in the nation in three-point defense and won their conference games by nearly eight points per game.

Head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts to listen to our entire interview. We discuss Korn’s recent speaking engagement at a sports, prayer breakfast and the things he’s learned during his first five seasons in Cape Girardeau.

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