Griffith Senior High School

GRIFFITH — As a little kid, Andrew Braddy would lean against the fence of the high school baseball field decked out in Griffith gear as he admired the varsity players. When Braddy was old enough to represent the Panthers, he cherished every moment he spent on the baseball field. Former Griffith head baseball coach Brian Jennings said Braddy was always one of the first players to grab a rake or pull the tarp regardless of how much playing time he received. "He didn't get a ton of playing time. He was in a tough spot, but never complained," Jennings recalled of the 2019 graduate. "He was voted a captain when he wasn't a starter. That's the kind of respect he got." Andrew Braddy, Griffith Andrew Braddy bats for Griffith while in high school. Braddy, a 2019 Griffith graduate, has been hired as the varsity head baseball coach for the Panthers. Provided by Andrew Braddy Braddy began learning the coaching side of Griffith's baseball program last season as the head JV coach. After the JV team was suspended halfway through the season due to low numbers, Braddy served as an assistant to Amir Wright. When Wright exited this past summer, Braddy was given the opportunity to run the program — a dream he'd wished for since his youth. "The Town of Griffith, the baseball program and the kids are close to my heart and always will be," Braddy said. "This is what my goal was. I just didn't think I'd be running it this soon." After graduating from Griffith, Braddy attended Ball State to pursue a journalism degree to become a sports radio analyst. If journalism didn't work out, he promised himself he'd work toward his childhood goal of becoming a teacher and coach. Braddy soon realized he could make a different impact throughout his life as a teacher and switched his major to education. It was a "no brainer" to return to Griffith once he graduated last December. This past summer the school system offered Braddy a position as the middle school physical education teacher. He also runs the middle school football program under varsity head coach Phil Mason. "I feel like it's been beneficial," Braddy said about coaching middle school football. "The way he (Mason) runs the program, I'm taking everything in. If you don't meet his standards, you won't be in his program." Braddy said Mason has shown him how to enforce accountability, hard work and a team-first mentality. By implementing these steps next spring, Braddy hopes to revive the culture that surrounded Griffith baseball prior to Jennings' exit in 2022 after 24 years at the helm. Griffith won 14 sectional titles, five conference titles and was the 2001 Class 3A state runner-up under Jennings. The Panthers have struggled since Jennings' departure finishing below .500 the past two seasons. "When you're in the position to stabilize a program, it's not too often you find a guy whose been in the program," said Jennings, the assistant principal at Griffith. "He wanted to be here." As sports teams at Griffith work to "restore the roar," Jennings said Braddy will be a large part of the school's success in coming years. "I'm very excited to get started and hit the ground running," he said. "I'm going to work hard to get Griffith's baseball program back to where it was. They want a good football team to watch in the fall, and a solid baseball team to watch in the spring."