Ball State women’s basketball head coach Brady Sallee has said everything the Cardinals do is all a part of a larger team.
That larger team is Ball State University and Muncie, but it is also the Pride of Mid-America pep band, Code Red and the cheerleaders.
All three groups have been the Cardinals since the beginning of the season, to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Senior cheerleaders Aliya Statler and Abby May have been a part of the cheer squad for four seasons, and Terrence Young has been a part of the group for three years.
Statler said the difference in being alongside the women’s basketball team compared to other sports is the complete support and love from the players and Sallee.
“I feel like in past years when we've traveled, like when we went to [football] bowl games, it was completely different, because we were almost expected to go,” Statler said. “But now, we are wanted.”
…Brady [Sallee] has been the only coach to come up to us and be like, ‘Hey, we appreciate you being here. You being here helps us be a better team,’” Statler said. “[It’s] like he's taking us in with open arms, almost as if we were on his team. We're all one big team.”
Code Red
Seniors Ashley Read and Jenna Wade have been in Code Red all four years of college, and Brianna Moye has been dancing with the group for three years.
Code Red is in the middle of prepping for its national competition on April 9. While preparing for a national competition, they have also been alongside the women’s team the whole season.
Read said the passion of the Ball State community for the women’s basketball team has felt different during the 2024-25 season.
“Every time we would go to a women's game, there'd be so much support from our student section and the parents,” Read said. “There was so much excitement around the women's basketball team and its players. That was something that motivated me.”
Read said she has loved to support and be at all the Cardinals games, and the NCAA Tournament is almost a culmination of previous years, but at the biggest stage. Moye said it has been a crazy experience to be with the team all season, go to Cleveland and watch them win the MAC and be able to support them in the NCAA Tournament.
“We dance for so many different sports, but I think the women's team has a really special place in our heart,” Read said.
The Pride of Mid-America pep band
Senior Ireland Albin is in her third year with the Pride of Mid-America pep band. She said being in the band is important for her because she can support the University. Senior Gideon Horning is not a band major but has been a part of the pep band for four years. He plays the drums for the band and is a Zoology major.
Horning said the visibility of supporting teams while playing for fans and students drew him into wanting to reach out and join the pep band.
“Being able to be in marching band and the pep band has just been a great way for me to continue to be able to play music, even though I'm not a music student,” Horning said.
Horning said it is refreshing to see how much women’s basketball embraces the band. He said a lot of members feel some teams do not embrace them as much as the band members think they should.
“They feel left out, like ‘What's the point of you being here?’ Being able to have a team that actually embraces us and thanks for being there and makes us feel seen and supports us as we support them. It's just rewarding,” Horning said.
Alongside speaking to the cheerleaders and Code Red, Sallee also spoke to the band after winning the MAC Tournament.
“He came up to us at the championship in Cleveland and gave us little pep talk of how much he enjoys us,” Albin said. “It really does make us feel like we are wanted instead of not wanted like a usual band.”
Ball State Cheerleaders
Statler and the other cheer seniors are in the midst of their final semester of college. She and Young said being able to travel has given them many memories. One memory in particular for the pair was the MAC Championship.
Statler said her heart was pumping wildly. She was waiting for the buzzer to go off. She was waiting to storm the court and celebrate with the team and could feel the excitement. Young remembers the comeback after halftime, and has a sense of pride in knowing they created energy for the Cardinals.
“Even talking about it gives me goosebumps,” Statler said.
May said the support within the Ball State women’s basketball program reinforces that the cheer squad has an impact on games.
“It's absolutely surreal,” May said. “It sucks knowing that the season has to end on a loss, but it's so cool to experience the NCAA [Tournament].”
Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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