2021 Bill “Mr. Wildcat” Keightley Award To Be Presented to Tucker Bradley from Meade County High School 

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Fourth Annual Bill “Mr. Wildcat” Keightley Award will be presented to Tucker Bradley from Meade County High School during the 2021 Virtual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 18th.

Nominations were submitted from across the state for this prestigious award which honors a Kentucky high school senior basketball team manager, who exemplifies the essence of “team player”.  Someone who supports their team with passion, dedication and enthusiasm while also performing well off the court, in the classroom and in the community.

Tucker Bradley, a senior at Meade County High School said, “The biggest lesson I’ve learned from managing Meade County’s girls basketball team is the importance of humility and putting other people’s needs before my own. I’ve always grown up as the one playing in the game, so I never truly appreciated the importance of managers until I became one. Through my experience as a manager, I’ve learned that my role is to do anything necessary to keep the team operating at a high level.  This experience will serve me well in the future, when I start off at the bottom in my workplace and have to prove my work-ethic and accountability to fellow employees. My dream is to work as a sports analyst for ESPN and managing the basketball team has given me the opportunity to cut up film and interpret the importance of different statistics on the outcome of the game. In that regard, being a manager now has given me a small glimpse into my future career.”

As well as managing, Tucker has played varsity tennis since 7th grade and won the Region 3 Championship in 2019.  Tucker is very active in several student groups at Meade County including: Students Against Destructive Decisions, Future Business Leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society.  He currently serves as the Student Body Vice President, is a student ambassador at Meade County, is on the Superintendent Advisory Board and participated in the Governor’s Scholar Program.

Outside of school, Tucker can often be found volunteering for the Meade County Public Library or for Radiant Church Kid’s Ministry as part of their Youth Ministry Team.

William “Mr. Wildcat” Bill Keightley played basketball at Kavanaugh High School in Lawrenceburg, KY where he graduated in 1944.  He then attended Eastern Kentucky University until he entered the U.S. Marine Corps to serve his county in World War II.

Mr. Keightley served as the Equipment Manager for the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team from 1962 until his death in 2008.  He served under coaches Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, and Billy Gillespie.  Keightley was part of three NCAA Championship teams and 12 South Eastern Conference Championship teams in his 46 years of tenure.

All sports fans are welcome to view the 2021 Virtual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony.   For questions please email JenniferHunt@kylionseye.org or call 270-999-4887.

The 10th annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Award Ceremony serves as a fundraiser for the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, who has announced Mr. Kentucky Basketball since 1954 and Miss Kentucky Basketball since 1976.  To learn more about KLEF’s mission and our programs and services please visit www.kylionseye.org.