By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
Bryson Cardinal is a young man who understands where he is and where he wants to be.
The recent Guerin Catholic graduate and basketball star for the Golden Eagles is now a Butler Bulldog. Cardinal began practicing with the team on June 2 and already fitting in with the famous Butler Way.
Cardinal’s association with the Bulldogs goes back to when he was very young. “There’s a picture of me on Butler’s court when I was probably 8 years old for a friend’s birthday party, forever ago,” he said.
In the years since that party, Cardinal grew into a remarkable high-school player. He was part of the Guerin Catholic team that finished as Class 3A state runner-up in 2023, helped the Golden Eagles to a regional title in 2024 and to another sectional title in 2025. He finished his high-school career with 1,054 points, averaged 19.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game his senior year and was named to the IBCA Supreme 15 senior team.
With accomplishments like that, Cardinal was getting notice from colleges. He talked with Butler coach Thad Matta last fall about potentially coming to Butler and kept in touch with Matta during the school year.
“This spring, he told me he had some Division I offers and just wasn’t sure what to do,” said Matta. Cardinal thought getting a Butler education might be the way to go, “so that’s how he came on the radar,” said Matta.
Once Cardinal had committed to Butler, Matta began his development into a college athlete.
“He set out a plan for me for what he wanted to do and how he wanted to develop me, and that was something I really appreciated,” said Cardinal. “He saw me as not a finished product and he wants to develop me, he wants me to grow. I really, really like the basketball heritage and the love of the game that the Butler fans provide. Hinkle’s such a historic place. It really drew me in.”
“He’s a young man that obviously played really, really hard,” said Matta. “I thought he had a good understanding of the game and how to play. He seemed like a winner and a great teammate. Those are the things I’ve noticed the most.”
Cardinal, who stands 6-foot-7, has already made progress during the first few weeks of practicing with the team.
“I’ve really developed my shot,” said Cardinal. “In the first three weeks, I’ve already gained five pounds of muscle.”
While he’s off to a good start, Cardinal is aware that he has a long way to go. He made the decision to redshirt his freshman year, although he is eligible to play in the first 10 games of the season. Cardinal said he wants to save a year of eligibility and have the ability to get better.
“It was my personal decision, just because I know I’m not physically ready and physically at the point where I need to be to play,” said Cardinal. “If you watch a practice, you’ll see that as well.”
Cardinal is part of a group of five freshmen on the incoming Butler team, and five transfer students have joined the program as well.
“We got a lot of new pieces and it’s really awesome to see where this team’s going to go, because I saw us when we were at zero and when we’re up and we’re playing really well,” said Cardinal. “It’s going to be awesome to see all the hard work we’ve put in to become what we are.”
“We got so many new guys,” said Matta. “We’re literally still putting it all together. Right now, we’re a work in progress. In terms of the dynamics of our team, he first in perfectly as a teammate. I’m looking forward not only to his growth, but our entire team’s growth.”
Cardinal plans to major in business marketing and hopes to finish that degree in around three years, then get a minor in pre-law before heading to law school.