On the rebound

LAMONI — Every college student deals with some adversity along the way.

Academic challenges, juggling jobs and class work, doubts about a declared major. It’s rarely an easy road.

Creston native Kaden Briggs has reached a masters level ability to cope with setbacks as he hits the final stretch of his time at Graceland University. Briggs, a 2021 graduate of Creston High School, will likely return next fall to complete his final semester.

If everything had gone smoothly, Briggs probably would have been walking across the stage in May to receive his degree in sports management and business management. But a near-fatal auto accident in December 2023, just as he was transitioning from basketball player to student assistant/manager, occurred during finals week in his junior year.

As he completed physical rehabilitation in recovering from multiple surgeries after the accident, Briggs began training in earnest again and found a new passion — professional wrestling.

Pro wrestler

Known as “The Revolutionary Kaden Briggs,” the 6-4, 250-pound former athlete has shown potential to be an entertaining character in the ring, making his debut last month in Tama after a 15-week training program at The Forge: Pro Wrestling Academy in Marshalltown. He recalled watching WWE SmackDowns and Monday Night RAW shows with his brother when they were young.

“I enjoy it,” Briggs said. “I see it as the new basketball for me. I’ve dedicated myself to working in the gym and getting bigger. The people at the academy like my frame, and the fact that I’ve been an athlete. There’s a lot of athleticism involved. I’m a totally different person in the ring. In real life I’m a friendly, positive guy. My (ring) character is kind of an angry guy, kind of an anti-establishment vibe. If you get people to like you that’s good, or if they hate you that’s good. The worst thing for a wrestler is getting no reaction.”

Acknowledging that outcomes are regularly predetermined, Briggs placed second at the Eminent Wrestling Alliance 15-man Battle Royale on Feb. 1 in Tama.

“I think they (the crowd) was behind me, and that’s what can affect how things go for you in future shows,” Briggs said. “I was scheduled for my first singles match on March 9 in Tama again, but Eminent Wrestling Alliance is going through some restructuring now so that’s on hold. I can’t wait to get in there again.”

Commuting to the 15-week training program in Marshalltown while being a full-time student was just one of the challenges Briggs has faced since graduating from high school four years ago. It’s been a journey of twists and turns.

After Briggs averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds his senior season at Creston, earning second team All-Hawkeye Ten honors, he ultimately signed a scholarship to play basketball at Graceland after also considering Grand View University.

Creston connection

Briggs played on Graceland’s junior varsity for two seasons. As a sophomore, former Southwestern Community College national champion coach Todd Lorensen joined the coaching staff as an assistant. One year later Lorensen became head coach, and is guiding the Yellowjackets into this year’s NAIA national tournament Friday against Northwestern College after finishing second in the Heart of America Conference.

It was a reunion of sorts for Briggs and Lorensen, and just as Briggs was deciding to redshirt for a year to decide if he still had the passion, he talked to Lorensen about staying on as a student manager. In that role, he could also be a student assistant coach with his unique background as a player in the system.

“I remembered Kaden from the youth camps in Creston, him being around,” Lorensen said. “When I arrived on campus there was some familiarity. When the head coach resigned to take an opportunity in Michigan, I was promoted to head coach and Kaden reached out to me to stay involved in our program.”

Briggs was excited to see Lorensen join Graceland’s staff. He was a middle school student when Lorensen’s SWCC teams won the national tournament title in 2017 with a 37-1 record, and placed third a year later at 29-8. The next year Lorensen became head coach at Buena Vista University.

“I remember going to some of those SWCC games, watching guys like Broderick Thomas,” Briggs said of the SWCC national champion star who went on to play in the NBA and G-League. “I knew of coach Lo’s successes and that he could help our program.”

Midway through his first season as a manager in the program, which allowed him to retain his scholarship, Briggs was involved in an accident on Highway 34 between Creston and Afton in December just as it was time to take final exams.

“I fish-tailed to not hit somebody, hit the back of his car and lost control,” Briggs said. “I was going highway speed and went right into a utility pole off the side of the road. The seat belt saved me. I remember somebody pulling me out of my car just as I was about to pass out. I had a fractured knee, I shattered my right hip, and had a lot of cartilage ripped from all of the bone fragments. I got a sprained neck that hasn’t fully healed yet, but my hip is good.”

Lorensen told him to take off the second semester as student assistant for basketball as he focused on recovering and getting back on track academically.

This season he returned and took on more duties than he first imagined. In another twist of fate, Graceland assistant coach and JV coach Matt Colston joined the staff at Southwestern Community College. When another assistant left for a different job, sophomore Austin Schulte transitioned from player to student assistant coach, to get a head start on his profession.

Role reversal

When Schulte arrived on campus last year, Briggs was the first person he met as they were neighbors in student housing and both associated with the basketball program. At that time, it was Briggs showing Schulte the ropes of navigating through academic and athletic life on campus.

Now, suddenly Schulte was in a higher position as a coaching staff member and leaned on his buddy from Creston to help.

“Kaden helped me a lot when I first got here, so it was great that when the door opened for me to be JV coach and varsity assistant, Kaden was able to help me,” Schulte said. “We worked on practice plans for the JV side. He was able to work with the post players and work them out. We had 25 guys on the roster for JV this year, so it was nice to have him when we split guys up and scrimmaged.”

Briggs said he took on a big brother role with the young JV players.

“I could tell the guys that I was once in their shoes, to keep working and eventually their time will come,” Briggs said. “Austin made sure I was involved. I loved it. Basketball was a big part of my life all the way back to middle school and all the years on the AAU circuit. It’s been a passion. I thought I had lost that passion when I decided to stop playing, but it’s still there.”

Through it all, Briggs has gleaned valuable lessons and rekindled a passion for his new endeavor in the ring. Whatever lies ahead, he will undoubtedly have a unique approach to meet any challenges and surprises thrown his way.

After all, he is “The Revolutionary Kaden Briggs.”