Rockland, Maine – The Pro Basketball Association announced on Wednesday that the Mid Coast Sternmen had been awarded a franchise for the 2021 PBA season. Team owner Brad Galley has been in the banking industry for 15 years and runs a very successful AAU program called Mid Coast Elite with 8 teams. Galley played College Basketball at Husson University which was at the time a Nationally ranked NAIA D2 school, graduating with a BA in business administration. Galley spent 3 Years as an assistant coach (2006-2009) coaching at the University of Maine at Machias running the strength and conditioning program and working with the bigs also working in basketball operations. Galley is also the President of the local youth football program and has run that for the last six years. Brad and his wife Danielle have three sons and reside in Owls Head, a bedroom community just outside of Rockland.
The Mid Coast Sternmen will play in the Pro Basketball Association’s Northeast division joining teams such as the Rochester Razorsharks who are an 8x Champion at the minor league level. The Buffalo Blaze also play in the Northeast along with Akron Aviators, New York Generals, and Buckhannon Bears (West Virginia). The PBA is currently in discussions with several other organizations in the New England and Upstate New York areas. The league has plans for 36 teams this Season Nationally and has divisions around the Country including: Midwest, Southeast, South, and Northwest and has positioned itself to be the highest level of Professional Basketball in the United States after the NBA and NBA G-League.
The Mid Coast Sternmen will bring Professional basketball to the MidCoast region of Maine and will be coached by Jim Graffam. For those in the region they may recall Coach Graffam was the Assistant Coach for the USBL’s Portland Wave in Portland, Maine in 1999. Every player on the roster spent time overseas professionally after the Spring-Summer USBL and one player played in the NBA. Portland is about an hour South from the Mid Coast area. After the USBL, Graffam was Head Men’s Basketball Coach at University of Maine – Fort Kent where they were 22-8 and qualified for the New England final 4. Later, he also took over the Women’s program and also the role of Athletic Director ultimately directing the program to a Sunrise Conference Championship appearance. Graffam went on to Head Coach and AD at Green Mountain College and College of St. Joseph in Vermont. All told Graffam has had three teams inducted into the Hall of Fame, coached 7 All-Americans and over 80 All-Conference players in his tenure.
“When you do this long enough you have the pleasure of meeting some really great people. Some with the basketball background and you work with them on the business aspects. Some have a business background and surround themselves with the basketball know how. Brad Galley checks every box there is. A successful College Basketball player and Coach. Runs 8 AAU programs and a football program in the area. A business banker that personally knows and works with some really great people in the Mid Coast region. The former USBL and Collegiate Coach is a big piece to the puzzle and they both have deep ties to this Community. These guys are exactly what I look for when talking to potential franchise owners. I am so excited for Brad, his wife Danielle, their boys, Coach Jim… Wow slam dunk for Maine and for the Pro Basketball Association. Let’s go Sternmen!” PBA Commisisoner – Chris Terrell
The Pro Basketball Association will host a Pro Combine and Draft in two locations this year. March 27th at Fast Break Sports in Rochester, New York and April 3rd at the MAC in Lewisville, Texas. This is an INVITE only event. Players and/or their representation is encouraged to email profile and video to [email protected] to be considered for invitation.
For more information on the Mid Coast Sternmen and the Pro Basketball Association, visit us on social platforms @probasketballassociation and online at www.PBAplayers.com
