Brad Stangel, one of the most decorated athletes in Monroe High School history, has continued his successes since he graduated in 1996.

After his days suiting up as a Cheesemaker, he’s won two college basketball national championships under Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville, coached at UW-Platteville and Edgewood College and won the 2019 Indiana boys basketball state championship coaching at Andrean High School in Merrillville.

He’s married and is raising three daughters.

“I think participating in athletics is the reason I have the careers that I do,” said Brad, who works at BSN SPORTS Sales Pro in Valparaiso, Indiana, selling sporting goods to area universities and high schools.

Brad said he first got into sports as a youngster in Monroe. His father, Reid, was the Green County Family YMCA director, which allowed Brad and his brothers — Bryan and Brett — ample opportunities to try out various sports growing up.

“I remember always wanting to be around sports as a kid. Growing up at the YMCA where my dad directed when I was a kid, I knew I loved sports and wanted to always be associated with them in any aspect,” Brad said.

He played football, baseball and basketball in all high school, and then played four years of basketball in college, with another year spent on the baseball field. Looking back, though, Brad said one sport at MHS stuck out more than the others.

“I remember Friday night football games the most, even though my career has been basketball, there was nothing more special to me in high school than Friday night football games,” Brad said.

As a freshman, Brad was an outsider on the varsity football team. Not many underclassmen found playing time in the three decades of the Pat Martin era, but as a ninth-grader, Brad made varsity as a kicker in 1992 when the Cheesemakers won their third-straight state championship. 

During Brad’s time on gridiron, Monroe went 47-2, and he is the only quarterback in program history to start in back-to-back state championships — MHS won in 1994, but finished runner up the next season. He was also an all-state kicker in 1994, a two-time all-conference kicker, a two-time all-area kicker by the Wisconsin State Journal, and a two-time honorable mention all-area (WSJ) and all-conference quarterback. He held Monroe’s record for most points scored in a kicking career that lasted 13 years.

“Playing football cannot be replicated outside of organized setting and when I was in high school, there was not a better place to be playing high school football in Wisconsin than Monroe High School,” Stangel said.

Stangel earned four letters in football, four in basketball and three in baseball — 11 total.

“Play as many sports as you can. Participate in as many activities outside of school activities as you can,” Stangel said he would tell kids today. “I played in the band and was in the school’s musical. Each activity is an opportunity to learn new things and meet different people. Do not specialize when are you young. Give yourself a chance to be well-rounded athletes and you may find that you are better or have more fun playing a different sport. Your abilities and strengths will change over time and playing multiple sports will give you more opportunities to find your passion and what sport best fits your ability. Never let anyone put limits on your ability and stay off social media as much as you can.”

Stangel was all-conference and all-state in all three sports. In basketball, he played 88 games for the Cheesemakers and finished as the second-leading scorer all-time in school history with 1,533 points. He then parlayed that skill on the hardwood to the next level, where he won two NCAA Division III titles under Ryan at Platteville in 1998 and 1999. Stangel served as the team captain in 2001. He played one season of baseball.

It was during this time that Brad felt a tug from his future self.

“During my college basketball career, I became interested in the coaching/teaching part of the game,” Stangel said. He went on to become a student assistant coach at UW-Platteville, then took a position at Edgewood College, where he would earn his Master’s Degree and meet his future wife, Jamie, who was a member of the women’s basketball coaching staff. Stangel went back to Platteville and became the associate head men’s basketball coach.

Sports and athletics have had a profound impact on Stangel in a multitude of ways. 

“The friendships along the way are always special, and participating in sports have laid the foundation to some of the best friendships I have had in my life,” Stangel said. “My wife is a former college basketball player and we met after a sporting event. Jamie is a Chicago Bears fan, so we forgive her for that, but sports also has given us a common interest. I do not remember all the games, or the winner and losers of those games, but I won’t forget the time in the locker rooms and bus trips with my friends.”

Learning to work with teammates is essential when entering the workplace as an adult, Stangel said. “You will find that you must work with others to accomplish goals.”

Setting goals is important in the workplace as well as the field of play, Stangel said. “In every successful business and company I have been a part of, there have been attainable goals set for their employees. I find that it is not much different than the goals my high school coaches set for our teams.”

Athletics, Stangel said, teaches athletes how to hand disappointment, whether it is a difficult class in school, difficulties on the job or in personal life, “you can reference how you overcame the disappointment with situations you had in athletics.”

The Stangels currently live in northwestern Indiana, just a short drive from Chicago and Gary. They have three daughters: Addison, 6, Anna, 4, and Amelia, 1. The family left the friendly confines of southwestern Wisconsin when Jamie got a job at Valparaiso University, her alma mater. 

Brad never lost the itch to coach, and in 2016, he took over as head coach at Andrean High School in Merrillville, where his wife played in high school. She graduated as the all-time leader in scoring and assists for the girls’ program. On the boys’ side, which Brad was taking over, former college basketball star, college coach and ESPN analyst Dan Dakich is an alumnus from the 1980s.

In just his third year, Stangel led the 59ers to their first state championship. He was picked as the Coach of the Year by both the Northwest Indiana Times and the Chicago Tribune. In fact, the school, founded in 1959 and nicknamed the 59ers with an address of 5959 Broadway, scored 59 points in the win. Through four seasons, Andrean has a record of 69-37 under Stangel.

“I have lived in different parts of the Midwest and when I am asked where I grew up and I tell them Monroe, I will usually get a response about some visiting Monroe at Cheese Days or one of the great athletic programs Monroe has had,” Stangel said.

He cherishes his memories of his time growing up in Monroe, and said that he could feel the support of the entire community while growing up.

“The support the community gave all their high school sports team was special and is not common in all other communities. I think the Monroe community has great pride in their community and athletics,” Stangel said. “It was always my honor to represent the community through sports.”