14th-year head coach Scott Blum is poised to continue the Lady Lancers’ upward climb to regional and national success.
Blum, the program’s all-time winningest coach, has revamped the women’s basketball team over his tenure. Prior to his arrival, the Lady Lancers averaged less than two league wins per year. But under Blum’s leadership, Grace have consistently hit double-digit wins in the ultra-competitive Crossroads League.
The Lady Lancers are enjoying the best seasons in program history under Blum's leadership. Playing in a loaded Crossroads League in 2013-14, Grace achieved their highest league finish (fourth) and best league record (12-6). Grace tied that league finish (fourth) in 2016-17 despite starting a true freshman point guard.
Blum’s successful recruiting has caused major revisions to the team’s record books. Of the 10 all-time leading scorers in Grace’s history, five of the players were recruited by Blum, including All-American guard Juaneice Jackson (1,893 points, No. 1 all-time) and All-American forward Allison Kauffman (1,784 points, No. 2 all-time; 945 rebounds, No. 2).
In 2011-12 Blum's Lady Lancers accomplished their first winning season since 1991-92, and they recorded their first 20-win season when they posted a 20-15 record.
During much of the course of the 2011-12 campaign, Grace also appeared in the NAIA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll -- another first for the Lady Lancers.
In 2010-11, Blum led Grace to its first .500-season since 1992. As a result, he was named the NCCAA All-Region Coach of the Year in 2011.
Blum has also led the Lady Lancers to eight appearances in the NCCAA National Championships, including a team-best third-place finish in 2012.
Blum has a very special spot in the history of Grace Basketball as a player, as well. As a starting guard in the early 1990s, he was an NAIA All-American and NCCAA Player of the Year. He was also a major component in the men’s basketball team’s national championship in 1992 under Coach Jim Kessler.
In high school, Blum scored 1,576 career points at Oregon-Davis and became the only player to have his number retired in school history. He then played two seasons at NCAA Div. I Valparaiso University before transferring to Grace for his final two seasons, where he led the Lancers to a 59-11 record. Blum graduated from Grace in 1993.
While his playing pedigree is exemplary, Blum has also shown he knows how to work the sideline as well. In his first stint as an interim head coach at Indiana Wesleyan University in 1995, Blum led the men's team to the NCCAA National Championship. He also spent four years as the men's head coach at Trinity International in Chicago and at Lakewood Park Christian School in Auburn, Ind. He also spent two years as an assistant coach for Grace’s men’s basketball team.
Blum and his wife Michelle have three boys: Tanner, Connor, and Asher. He is also a professor in the physical education department at Grace.
