WILDCATS

UK's Towles lends help to U of L coach's nephew

Steve Jones
@stevejones_cj
Brady Walz and Patrick Towles.

The sports rivalry between the universities of Louisville and Kentucky is as fierce as it gets, but Cardinals and Wildcats alike are lifting the spirits of young Brady Walz as he takes on an opponent everyone wants him to defeat.

Brady, a freshman at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Ky., was diagnosed in May with leukemia. He's a nephew of U of L women's basketball coach Jeff Walz, whose team Brady roots for with a passion. Brady's friend and former math tutor is UK quarterback Patrick Towles, who keeps in contact and invited Brady to the Cats' recent victory over Vanderbilt.

"We play on Saturdays and stuff, and that's great, and winning is fun," said Towles, a former Mr. Football winner from Highlands. "But that battle that he's fighting is way more important than any battle that we'll fight this year."

The Highlands community will show its support Friday night with an "Orange Out" during its home football game against Cincinnati Elder. Brady's cancer is in remission while he undergoes rigorous chemotherapy treatments that have kept him out of school all year, but he intends to go to the game, his dad said.

Jeff Walz, the third-oldest of four siblings, all of whom are Highlands graduates, and the rest of the family will be there, too, wearing orange in honor of Brady and leukemia awareness. Youngest sibling Jaime Walz-Richey was a great basketball player at Highlands and Western Kentucky and is the girls' coach at the high school.

Brady Walz, with his uncle Jeff Walz and aunt Lauren Walz

"We're real close," Jeff Walz said. "They come down here all the time for our games. They made trips to both Final Fours (in 2009 and '13). … We always do things together. We're really close-knit."

Sports have helped keep Brady's spirits up.

Brady, his parents and two sisters went to Lexington as Towles' guest to watch the Cats' Sept. 27 victory over Vandy. Brady wore a No. 14 jersey that Towles' parents had given him. Towles gave him a pair of his gloves and took Brady back to the Cats' locker room. Former UK and Highlands quarterback Jared Lorenzen has also sent well wishes.

The Cards care, too. U of L men's basketball coach Rick Pitino signed a ball and a piece of the team's 2013 championship floor for Brady. Pitino has invited him to attend practice when he feels up to it.

Brady's father/Jeff's brother, Brian, said he and Brady are eager to attend Louisville's football game against Florida State on Thursday night with tickets a friend gave them.

"It's just neat that in a state that's divided so strongly by two college sports teams, you've got a young man who's battling leukemia who is just as excited to get a pair of gloves from Patrick Towles … as he is to get a signed basketball from Coach Pitino," Jeff Walz said.

"Two universities are helping him fight this battle."

Brady's cancer - Pre-B ALL, or acute lymphoid leukemia - is in remission, and signs are positive that he'll stay OK with an intense treatment schedule. Survival rates are encouraging for this form of cancer, Brian Walz said.

That said, the aggressive chemotherapy has taken a toll since his diagnosis in May, leading to a serious case of pneumonia in August and recent bouts of nausea.

During a good stretch, the family made it to the UK-Vandy game. The Walzes were decked out in blue and white – a unique experience for a family that bleeds the red of Jeff's Cardinals.

Brian Walz sent a picture message to his siblings of his family and Towles wearing UK colors.

Brother Scott replied, "Tell me at least that he has his red boxer shorts on."

Jeff joked, "Remind Brady that Santa Claus wears red and white."

When Towles was a senior in high school, he became Brady's math tutor. Their families lived in the same neighborhood, and Towles would come over to Brady's house to help him with his homework.

Since his diagnosis, Towles has come to see Brady a few times. They play an Xbox college football game with Brady playing as Louisville and Towles playing as Kentucky.

"He's got half my heart there in Northern Kentucky," Towles said.

Brian Walz called Towles "one of the most impressive young men I've met."

"Patrick is a first-class kid," he said. "I don't know what the future holds in football for Patrick, but I guarantee that whatever he does he's going to be successful at it."

Jeff Walz is U of L through and through, but he's become a fan of Kentucky's quarterback, too.

"What Patrick has been able to do for my nephew, I can't say thanks enough because I know what it's meant to him," he said. "You have our Louisville family here that's behind him, and Patrick at Kentucky is behind him.

"You've got two groups that compete at the highest level and want to beat each other that are supporting the same cause right now."

If he can make it out, Brady should be greeted by an outpouring of orange on Friday night.

More than 500 orange T-shirts that say "Team Brady #walzwillwin" have been sold with proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

This time next year, Brady's goal is to be back at Highlands' games - as a player on the team. His dad said all signs suggest his treatment is going well enough that he'll be able to play.

"He's fighting really hard," Towles said. "He's a better fighter than I am, and I'm happy for him."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter @SteveJones_CJ. ​