Katelyn McLean | Sports Editor

Whitworth baseball is mourning the death of former assistant coach Chris Gradoville, who, through his two seasons with the team, left a lasting impact on the coaches and players with whom he interacted.  

            Gradoville was shot and killed in Omaha, Nebraska on Thursday, Sept. 30 at the age of 37, according to KREM 2, a local Spokane news outlet. Gradoville was about to perform maintenance on a rental home when he was killed by the renter.

            “I was just in complete surprise [and] shock, just given how sudden it was and the nature of how it happened,” current head coach CJ Perry said.

         Pitcher Hunter Dryden knew Gradoville through his high-school coach and received a phone call from his parents, telling him the news.

            “[My high school coach] called my parents, told my parents about it and told them, ‘Hey, can you tell Hunter for me before he hears it somewhere else?’,” Dryden said.

            Due to this close connection with Gradoville and his community, Dryden ended up with the heavy task of telling his other teammates what had happened.

            “Later that day, I went to the field, and somebody else had heard. Then when I started talking about it, I had to tell a couple people because they were confused,” Dryden said. “That’s when it set in that he was gone.”

            Gradoville was a volunteer assistant coach starting in December 2018 through May 2019 before Perry brought him back for the 2019-2020 season. He coached during fall ball and workouts in 2019 and in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the pandemic.

            Although he only coached at Whitworth for two seasons, Gradoville made a lasting impression on players and coaches alike.

            “He was just an incredible example of what it means to be a coach and a role model, and to be a guide for young men,” Perry said.

            Both Perry and Dryden remember how intentional he was in connecting with and investing in people.

            “I don’t even know if you can put exact words with it but he kind of just made everybody a better player, better person. [He] made sure that you knew you had him if you needed him,” Dryden said.

            “He’s just the type of guy that, wherever he was at, invested in that place by giving his time to people,” Perry said. “Whether that was with our guys, getting out before practice an hour early to hit with guys—if he had an hour, he’d give it to the players.”

            For Dryden, Gradoville was key in the decision-making process that led him to playing baseball at Whitworth.

            “He just helped me choose where I wanted to go, but it made me feel a lot better that way,” Dryden said.

            The legacy Gradoville leaves behind at Whitworth and beyond is one of caring and investing deeply in the people you meet and leaving a community better than you found it.

            “There was a time where we were in the offseason, and he flew back to Iowa for two weeks to help a family friend with the harvest, because somebody was sick or injured,” Perry said. “He just cancelled everything that he had for two weeks, took two weeks off of work, flew back to Iowa and just worked a combine for two weeks. So, I think his legacy was just helping those who needed help.”

            Aside from the incredible legacy Gradoville left, he also brought joy to those around him with humor and became the subject of many a funny story.

            Dryden’s favorite funny story was one he heard at Gradoville’s Spokane candlelight vigil, held shortly after his death.

            Gradoville was golfing and got so frustrated with a bad shot that he tossed his golf club into the water at a Spokane Valley golf course. About a month later, when he was golfing back in Nebraska, he made another bad shot.

            “He overshot the green, and he was all mad. [His fellow players] were like, ‘Well, what club did you use?’ He said what club he used, and they were like ‘Oh, why didn’t you use your six iron?’ He said, ‘Because it’s in the creek in Spokane Valley,” Dryden recounted with a laugh.

            Perry fondly remembers a recruiting trip in August 2019 when all the hotels were booked except for a really old-school one that became the only option. Gradoville and Perry walked into the room, only to find that not only was it incredibly small, but awaiting them were bunk beds.

            “Chris was a big dude. He was 6’2”,6’3” and 230 pounds. So I get on the top of the bunk bed and he’s on the bottom of the bunk, but he is like overflowing. You know, it’s too small for him,” Perry said with a laugh. “His first recruiting trip on the road and we’re just in this strange hotel room, two grown men sleeping in bunk beds.”

            Gradoville will be sorely missed but fondly remembered for his love of life and investment in those he knew, as well as for his sense of humor and ability to bring joy into the lives of others.