Kansas Jayhawks
Zach Bradford - Track & Field - Kansas Jayhawks
Position Pole Vault
Class Sophomore
Hometown Bloomington, Ill.
High School Bloomington
NIL Opportunities Contact

CAREER RESULTS

Career Highlights
Anschutz Pavilion Facility Record (Pole Vault) – 5.66m (18-6.75 ft.)
2021 Outdoor First Team All-American (Pole Vault)
2021 Big 12 Outdoor Champion (Pole Vault)
2021 Indoor All-American (Pole Vault)
2020 Indoor First Team All-American (Pole Vault)
Indoor School Record (Pole Vault) – 5.81 meters (19-0.75 ft.)
Big 12 Athlete of the Week (2/12/2020)
2019 Outdoor IAAF World Championship Participant
2019 Outdoor First Team All-American (Pole Vault)
Outdoor School Record (Pole Vault) – 5.77 meters (18-11 ft.)
Rock Chalk Park Facility Record (Pole Vault) – 5.77 meters (18-11 ft.) – 4/20/19
2019 Indoor First Team All-America (Pole Vault)
Texas Tech Open Meet Record (Pole Vault) – 5.61m (18-4.75 ft.) – 2/1/19-2/2/19
Anschutz Sports Pavilion Facility Record (Pole Vault) – 5.58m (18-3.75 ft.) – 1/26/19

 

2022 INDOOR (Sr.)

Opened the indoor season at the Bob Timmons Challenge, where he cleared a new Anschutz Pavilion Facility record of 5.66m (18-6.75 ft.)…Vaulted a 5.67m (18-6.75 ft. ) at the KU/KSU/WSU Triangular, where he set a new Anschutz Pavilion Facility for the second time this season…Finished first at Washburn Rust Buster with a vault of 6.65m (18-6.50 ft. )…Broke the facility record at Anschutz Pavilion for the third time this season with a vault of 5.57m (18-10.25 ft. )…At the Frank Savigne Husker Invitational, he placed first with a vault of 5.66m (18-6.75 ft. ) …Traveled to the Arkansas Qualifier, and finished first with a vault of 5.37m (17-7.25 ft.)…Placed first at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a vault of 5.62m (18-5.25 ft.)…Finished up his campaign at the NCAA Championships placed seventh overall with a vault of 5.55m (18-2.5 ft.)

2021 OUTDOOR (So.)

Opened his outdoor campaign with a fourth-place finish at the Texas Relays … The next meet, Bradford vaulted 5.81m (19-0.75 ft.) at the Tom Botts Invitational, which was contested indoors due to weather, breaking the KU indoor school record … At the Michael Johnson Invitational, he placed first with a jump of 5.71m (18-8.75 ft.) … Won his first career Big 12 title at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in Manhattan, clearing 5.73m (18-9.5 ft.), which was contested indoors due to weather … Made his way to the NCAA West Preliminary, where he advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships … At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, he placed fifth overall, earning First Team All-American honors with a clearance of 5.45m (17-10.5 ft.).

2021 INDOOR (Jr.)

Began his season by winning the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular with a top jump of 5.40m (17-8.25 ft.) … Went on to win five of six regular season pole vault competitions, including the Triangular, Jayhawk Classic, Arkansas Qualifier and Iowa State Classic … At the Big 12 Indoor Championship, he places as the runner-up with a top clearance of 5.73m (18-9.5 ft.) … Bradford’s season led him to the NCAA Indoor Championship, where he went on to place third with a leap of 5.70m (18-8.25 ft.), earning First Team All-America honors.

2020 INDOOR (So.)

Opened his season at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular (12/8), where he won the pole vault with a jump of 5.60m (18-4.5 ft.) … Went on to win the Jayhawk Classic by jumping 5.60m (18-4.5 ft.) (1/18) … At the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational (2/7-2/8), he vaulted a school record 5.71m (18-8.75 ft.), winning the event … He went on to break his own school record at the Tyson Invitational (2/14-2/15) by clearing 5.80m (19-0.25 ft.), which makes him the No. 9 performer in NCAA history … At the Big 12 Indoor Championship (2/28-2/29), he placed second with a clearance of 5.77m (18-11 ft.), tying the Big 12 Championship meet record.

2019 OUTDOOR (Fr.)

Posted a third place finish in the pole vault at the Battle on the Bayou (4/6), clearing 5.38 meters (17-7.75 ft.) … Won the pole vault at the 92nd Kansas Relays (4/17-20), clearing 5.77 meters (18-11 ft.) to set a KU school record, a Rock Chalk Park facility record, the No. 2 mark in the NCAA and the No. 4 mark in the world … Finished second in the pole vault at the National Relay Championships (4/26-4/27), clearing a mark of 5.62 meters (18-5.25 ft.) for a meet record … Placed third overall in the pole vault at the Big 12 Championship (5/10-5/12), vaulting 5.45m (17-10.5 ft.) … Went on to punch a ticket to the NCAA Championships at the NCAA West Preliminary (5/23-5/25) in Sacramento … Earned First Team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (6/5-6/8), placing sixth overall by vaulting 5.70m (18-08.25 ft.) … At the USATF Outdoor Championships (7/27), he placed fourth overall by vaulting 5.71m (18-08.75 ft.), qualifying him for the IAAF World Championships … At the IAAF World Championships (8/28) in Doha, Qatar, he vaulted 5.60m (18-04.50) to place 22nd overall … He was the youngest member of Team USA at the IAAF World Championships.

2019 INDOOR (Fr.)

Finished second in the pole vault in his collegiate debut at the Bob Timmons Challenge (11/30) with a clearance of 5.14 meters (16-10.25 ft.) … Recorded a first place finish at the National Pole Vault Summit (1/19) with a personal-best clearance of 5.50 meters (18-0.5 ft.) which moved him into tied for seventh on the Kansas pole vault performer list … Posted a personal-best mark for the second-straight meet, clearing 5.58 meters (18-3.75 ft.) to break the facility record, tie the No. 7 performance in KU history, become the No. 4 performer in KU history and set a KU freshman record at the Jayhawk Classic (1/25-1/26) … Recorded a personal-best and meet-record breaking mark of 5.61 meters (18-4.75 ft.) in the pole vault at the Texas Tech Open (2/1-2/2), finishing in second place to tie the No. 5 performance and become the No. 4 performer in KU history … Cleared a personal-best mark of 5.63 meters (18-5.5 ft.) to finish in third place at the Tyson Invitational (2/8-2/9), tying the No. 4 performance and become the No. 4 performer in KU history … Finished fourth in the pole vault at the Big 12 Indoor Championship (2/22-2/23), clearing a mark of 5.53 meters (18-1.75 ft.) … Earned First Team All-America honors in the pole vault with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships (3/8-9), tying his career-best mark of 5.63 meters (18-5.5 ft.).

HIGH SCHOOL

Competed in track & field and cross country for head coach John Szabo at Bloomington High School in Bloomington, Illinois … Won a total of eight letters in track & field, cross country and football … Helped his team to indoor and outdoor Big Twelve Conference titles all four years of high school … Aided in a team third-place finish at the Illinois State Championships … Swept the Big Twelve Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault titles all four years of high school and state championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018 … Holds the school and state records in the pole vault in both indoor (18-0.5 ft.) and outdoor (18-2.5 ft.) … Won the 2018 New Balance National indoor championship in the pole vault and was the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships runner-up … Was a three-time New Balance Nationals All-American (2016-18) and was the 2018 USATF/AAU National Champion.

PERSONAL

Son of Jason and Joy Bradford … Has two older brothers, Steven and Adam … Brother, Steven, plays soccer and lacrosse and is a member of the track & field team at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois … Plans to major in sport management.

Track & Field 👟 Jayhawks in Action at USATF Outdoor Championships

Kansas track and field will be represented by 10 Jayhawks at the 2022 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships and the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26.

KU LEADS Billy Mills, KU Seniors Honored at Jayhawk Senior Celebration

Kansas Athletics recognized some of its top current and former student-athletes and presented the 2022 class of 92 graduating seniors their K Rings at the Jayhawk Senior Celebration inside the Kansas Union Monday night.

Track & Field 👟 Bradford, Simms Earn First Team All-America Honors on First Day of NCAA Championships

Kansas track & field’s Zach Bradford and Clayton Simms earned first team All-America honors on day one of the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday.

Track & Field 👟 Jayhawks Set for NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham

Kansas track & field will be represented by three Jayhawks at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama March 11-12, as junior Zach Bradford (pole vault), freshman Clayton Simms (pole vault) and junior Rylee Anderson (high jump) compete amongst the top athletes in the country.

Track & Field 👟 Trio of Jayhawks Qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships

The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s track & field and cross country committee announced the 2022 NCAA Indoor track & field championship participants on Tuesday, which includes three Jayhawks who will compete in the Championship meet March 11-12 in Birmingham, Ala.

Track & Field 👟 Bradford Wins Pole Vault Title on Day One of the Big 12 Championship

Kansas junior Zach Bradford won his first career Big 12 indoor title on day one of the Big 12 track & field Championship in Ames, Iowa, as the Jayhawks earned 10 podium appearances on Friday.

Track & Field 👟 Bradford, Johnson Break Facility Records at Jayhawk Classic on Friday

In Kansas’ final home indoor meet of the 2021-22 season, Anschutz Sports Pavilion saw two facility records fall with Zach Bradford breaking the men’s pole vault facility record and Avryl Johnson breaking the women’s 1,000 meters facility record on Friday.