Ulrich, Graham, Lapadot named coaches for 2023 IndyStar girls’ Indiana All-Stars
State championship coach Kristi Ulrich of Penn has been named head coach for the 2023 Indiana girls’ All-Stars, games director Mike Broughton announced Thursday (Feb. 15).
Ulrich will be assisted by Triton Central coach Bryan Graham and Garrett coach Bob Lapadot.
Players chosen to the 2023 girls’ All-Stars will play three games in June — one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.
Ulrich has compiled a 312-50 record in 14 seasons at Penn, including a Class 4A state championship in 2016 and a 16-7 mark in her team’s recently completed season. Her tenure with the Kingsmen includes 11 sectional trophies, six regional titles, three semi-state crowns and state runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2014. Her teams also have captured 10 Northern Indiana Conference crowns.
A 1999 graduate of Mishawaka, Ulrich played basketball at Bethel College in Mishawaka and helped the Pilots to Christian College national championships in 2000 and 2003.
Ulrich served as a girls’ basketball assistant coach for four seasons at Mishawaka and two years at Penn before being named the Penn head coach in the spring of 2009. Ulrich was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2014 and served as the 2014 head coach of the 2014 girls’ Junior All-Stars.
Graham has posted a 299-65 record with eight sectional titles and two regional crowns in 15 seasons as coach at Triton Central. His Tigers — 18-5 in 2022-23 — also have won 12 Shelby County Tournament championships and 11 conference titles (two Mid-Hoosier Conference; nine Indiana Crossroads Conference). He also coached in the 2017 Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic.
Prior to leading the Triton Central girls, Graham coached one year of fifth-grade boys’ basketball, two years of JV baseball, 10 years of middle school football and nine years of JV boys’ basketball. He also was the Triton Central varsity girls’ soccer coach for four years, was an athletic department assistant for about eight years and has been the Tigers’ athletic director for the since 2015.
Graham is a 1995 graduate of Franklin Central High School, where he played basketball for the Flashes and coach Mark James. He went on to Indiana University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1999. He later earned a master’s degree in curriculum, instruction and assessment from Walden University in 2010. He is in his 24th year as a teacher, coach and administrator at Triton Central.
Lapadot is 193-91 in 12 years as the Garrett coach, including a 14-12 ledger with a sectional title in recently completed season. His Railroaders have won three sectionals, one regional, four conference titles (two Allen County Athletic Conference, two Northeast Corner Conference) and posted an undefeated regular season at 20-0 in 2013-14. He was the KPC Media Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2021, an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2022 and served as head coach of the 2022 girls’ Junior All-Stars.
A 1993 graduate of Garrett, Lapadot was a 10-sport letterman in football, basketball and baseball. He excelled in baseball, twice being named team MVP, four times all-conference and all-area. As a senior, he was selected area Player of the Year and chosen for the Indiana All-Stars Home Run Derby.
He matriculated to IPFW, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1998. While in college, he returned to Garrett as a girls’ basketball assistant coach and just completed his 28th season in the program. He served as the Railroaders’ varsity assistant for 16 seasons before becoming the head coach in 2011-12. Lapadot also was the Railroaders’ head track coach for eight years, advancing athletes to the State Finals in five of those seasons. He currently is in his 22nd year of teaching eighth-grade social studies at Garrett Middle School.
The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 7 at a site to be announced. The first game against Kentucky will be June 9 at the Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro, Ky. The final game against Kentucky will be June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana boys’ All-Stars.
Rosters for the 2023 Indiana girls’ All-Stars, boys’ All-Stars, girls’ Junior All-Stars and boys’ Junior All-Stars will be announced later.
The Indiana Junior All-Stars will play two girl-boy doubleheaders this year — June 4 against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Jeffersonville and June 7 against the Indiana seniors at a site to be announced.
New to the 2023 All-Star program is a Futures Games doubleheader, both on June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. These games, for girls at noon and boys at 2:00 p.m., each will feature two Indiana teams in a North-South format. Rosters for the girls’ Futures Game were announced separately today. Rosters for the boys’ Futures Game will be announced later.
The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana boys’ All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls’ portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996. The All-Star senior girls have played Kentucky every year since 1976, except 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star senior boys have played Kentucky in all but three years since 1940 — 1943 (World War II), 1944 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).
The Indiana Senior girls lead 52-40 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior girls lead 41-10 in games against the Indiana Junior girls. The Indiana Junior girls lead 10-1 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 103-44 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 41-10 in games against the Indiana Junior boys. The Indiana Junior boys lead 7-4 in their series with Kentucky.
The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is the title sponsor.
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