Bradley-Bourbonnais
| Bradley-Bourbonnais Boilermakers | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Bradley, Illinois | |
| Coaches | Mike Dorsam |
| Program Status | active |
| School Size | 1951 |
| NAQT Page | link |
Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School is a public high school in Bradley, Illinois just outside of Kankakee and the south suburbs of Chicago. It competes in Class AA, the "large school" division, of the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) State Championship Series. The Boilermakers also compete in the Southwestern Suburban Conference.
The Boilermakers are one of the older programs in Illinois Scholastic Bowl. The history of the program pre-dates back to the mid-1970's, when future IHSSBCA Hall of Fame Coach Gene Kruse created the team. During Kruse's tenure, Bradley-Bourbonnais was a force around local & state tournaments throughout the 1990's, culminating in two State championship appearances finishing 2nd in 1992 & 1994. One of its top players from that era, Greg Lindsay, played for Illinois, tried to write a Quiz Bowl article for Playboy, and is rumored to have beaten IBM's Watson at Jeopardy! Kruse & the Boilermakers were also key in organizing the South Inter-Conference Association (SICA), which would later become the Southwestern Suburban Conference. Kruse retired in 1995. Bradley-Bourbonnais continued their success into the mid-2000's under the leadership of Barb Amster, regularly challenging for Conference & Sectional titles. Amster was inducted into the IHSSBCA Hall of Fame in 2021. Giving the school the distinction of being one of the few to boast multiple Hall of Fame coaches.
The program has experienced a recent resurgence, winning a regional in 2025, its first regional championship since 2017, and competing in the 2025 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament for the first time in school history. In the 2025-26 season, the Boilermakers won their second straight regional title and emerged victorious in a highly competitive sectional to earn their first trip to the IHSA State Finals since 2010. They also won the Red Division championship of the Southwest Suburban Conference and qualified A and B teams for the NAQT HSNCT and the PACE National Scholastic Championship.
Notable Team Accomplishments
- IHSA State Tournament: 1994 - 2nd Place (2A), 1992 - 2nd Place (2A)
- IHSA Sectional titles: 2026-2A, 2010-2A, 2005-2A, 2004-2A, 1996-2A, 1994-2A, 1992-2A, 1987-2A
- IHSA Regional titles: (12) 2026-2A, 2025-2A, 2017-2A, 2013-2A, 2010-2A, 2009-2A, 2008-2A, 2007-2A, 2006-2A, 2005-2A, 2004-2A, 2003-2A
- Masonic State Qualifiers: 2013-AA, 2012-AA, 2008, 2004, 1998
- Southwest Suburban Conference Champions: 2014, 2013, 2006
Individual Awards
IHSSBCA All-Sectional Honorees
- 2026: Xavier Schultz (2A)
- 2025: Gavin Quinlan (2A)
- 2024: Gavin Quinlan (2A)
- 2023: Brandon Corona (2A)
- 2022: Dakota Gordon (2A)
- 2016: Nick Blanchette (2A)
- 2015: Robert Pearl (2A)
- 2014: Mitchell Almquist, Grant Cox (2A)
- 2013: Joshua Steele, Zach Themer (2A)
- 2012: Robert Rosene, Zach Themer (2A)
- 2011: Erik Lubben, Suraj Batish (2A)
- 2010: Jacob Barker, Molly Minas (2A)
- 2009: Ajay Haryan, Brian Ginn (2A)
- 2008: Jacob Blair, Ajay Haryani (2A)
- 2007: Thomas Basset, Jacob Blair (2A)
- 2006: Jimmy Hammond, Nikki Winn (2A)
- 2005: Tim Notton (2A)
- 2004: Amy Minas (2A)
- 2003: Amy Minas (2A)
- 2002: Daniel Bassett (2A)
IHSSBCA All-State Honorees
- 2026: Xavier Schultz (Second Team) Class 2A
- 2008: Jacob Blair (Second Team) Class 2A
- 2004: Amy Minas (First Team) Class 2A
- 2003: Amy Minas (Second Team) Class 2A