Between May 2024 and December 2025, Eureka College sports teams have welcomed 7 new assistant coaches who are not new to the college. These coaches are alumni who have returned to Eureka with power positions in hopes of enhancing the connection between coaches and players.  

The sports that represent alumni coaches at Eureka College include Men’s Basketball, Men’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Wrestling, and Baseball. A lot of the returning alumni spent their senior years as student coaches, starting their journey of coaching while still being a full-time student. 

Assistant coach and alumnus Jackson Creasy wrestled and graduated from Eureka College in December 2025 with a Sports Management Major. Creasy spent his final semester at Eureka as a student coach for the men’s and women’s wrestling teams. 

Creasy had always had plans of sticking around to help with incoming students after graduating, but the assistant title wasn’t mentioned until he was officially graduating.  

Creasy explains, “I try to take a different approach towards friends and former teammates compared to new students, but overall I still have to treat everyone equally and hold them to the same standards.” 

Adapting to the new role was hard when it came down to the time consumption of the position, but once he realized it was a very similar schedule to when he competed, it all started to work out smoother.  

Creasy transferred to Eureka from Lincoln College in the fall semester of 2022, along with many other Lincoln wrestlers. This built his relationship even stronger with Head Coach Eric Biehl. Being used to the routine and expectations, the only change was his responsibilities and roles in the room. 

Men’s volleyball assistant coach Frannie Heckman played Volleyball for Eureka College and graduated in December 2025 with a Major in Kinesiology and Psychology and a Minor in Spanish. Heckman plans to become a clinical sports psychologist after completing all of her schooling. She explains via email, “I knew from a really early age that I wanted to be involved in sports for the rest of my life.” 

Heckman was competing in her final season during the fall semester of 2025. This is when Head Men’s Volleyball Coach Noah Ray brought the idea of her returning as an assistant coach. In October 2025, she officially said yes to the position. Heckman spent the remainder of her academic career at Eureka College as a student coach for the Men’s team. 

Coaching former teammates wasn’t a struggle for Heckman since most of the men were new students and recruits. Heckman does explain that overall, “I knew it would be a bit difficult to navigate coaching them because we are so close in age, but I set a boundary pretty quickly, just making sure I was their coach and not their peer.” 

Heckman has had previous coaching experiences at all ages and has been around Volleyball her entire life. “The biggest adaptations for me had to do with the differences between the men’s and the women’s game.” Heckman had to quickly adapt to the changes and understand that there were aspects to the sport that weren’t the same. 

Another alumn who returned as a coach after graduating was Ryan Bredeson. Bredeson played baseball and graduated from Eureka College in May 2024 with a Major in Business and Minor in Accounting. Via email, he states, “I chose a business degree to have ample opportunities in my life after college.” 

During Bredeson’s junior season, he tore his labrum, which prevented him from playing his senior year. Instead of leaving the game early, Bredeson decided to join the coaching staff alongside Head Coach Noah Suarez as a Student Assistant. After officially graduating, he was offered a full-time assistant position. 

The objective is always the same with Assistant Coach Bredeson: TO WIN! Bredeson explains, “Coaching my friends and former teammates was probably the toughest part of my job.” The trust was already built with the friends and former teammates, which was the only major difference in coaching them versus coaching the new students. 

“It was pretty seamless for me to adapt to a new role, as I have already been a coach at multiple different ages.” Bredeson has always had a major passion for coaching, as he not only loves the job but the responsibilities attached to it as well. The biggest lesson he has learned as a young coach is to ask a lot of questions and be willing to learn in every way. 

Alumni coaches share a unique relationship with the school and athletic program, but face obstacles along the way giving it a balanced feeling. In an article by ABC news we gain insight to the strengths and weaknesses of alumni coaches: “Some alumni coaches attribute this trend to one of their strengths: having already demonstrated an ability to represent the university well as a student-athlete … That isn’t to say there aren’t obstacles. The allure of returning home is countered by increased expectations, both from inside and outside the locker room.” 

“Since I’ve pursued the route of coaching, I can use my degree to help the students understand expectations, especially at Eureka College,” Creasy said. This exemplifies how expectations are still met, but different styles of obstacles arise in a different position. 

Bredeson firmly believes, “Some coaches may feel extra pressure when coaching at their alma mater due to the desire to represent the school well. It brings in emotions that you would not feel for another program because of the shared history that you and the school have. I think passion is one of the most important qualities in a coach, and many times when a coach represents their alma mater, they are the most passionate person for the job.” 

UC San Diego talks about the return of alumni coaches and faculty members, and gives insight to the work behind bringing the former students back. “As for what brings them back, it’s the caliber of our students and faculty, an experimental culture that supports out-of-the-box thinking, and a willingness to break the traditional boundaries between various fields of study.” 

“From the coaching perspective, there is a huge sense of pride in being able to come back and coach your alma mater… From the school’s perspective, it keeps alumni engaged and connected after graduation,” Bredson said. 

“This statement is one of the reasons why our team is built up of some really great players, but more importantly, really great humans. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a staff and have such a great mentor in Coach Noah. It’s awesome for me to be able to share my own unique experiences at Eureka, whether that be on the academic or athletic side of the college,” Heckman said. 

The out-of-the-box thinking and breaking of traditional boundaries is a huge reason Eureka is a one-of-a-kind institution. The alumni coaches represent passion, engagement, and respect for the school and their teams.