AMES – Since the 2014 season, the Iowa State football team has honored and remembered former assistant coach Curtis Bray with a current defensive lineman in the program wearing the No. 58 jersey for the Cyclones.
The number is a tribute to Bray, the former ISU defensive line coach who passed away in 2014 from a pulmonary embolism. Bray’s presence is still felt inside the Bergstrom Football Complex and each season a new Cyclone is picked to wear the number he wore during his outstanding collegiate career at Pittsburgh from 1988-92. Bray was on the Cyclone coaching staff for five seasons (2009-13).
Senior defensive lineman Isaiah Lee, a key cog on the unit, will continue the legacy this season. The Chicago, Illinois, native is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors for his efforts on the field in 2020.
“It’s an absolute honor to be awarded the opportunity to wear #58 in honor of Coach Bray,” Lee said. “This is an honor that means a lot to the defensive line room in our program and I am extremely proud to be awarded the number this fall.”
This year, as part of this honor, the newly established Curtis Bray Memorial Scholarship will be given in Lee’s name to one student on campus. This year’s recipient is Breana Strelnieks, a student in the Ivy College of Business.
Chuck Bray, Curtis’ brother, played a major part in the establishment of the scholarship.
“The Bray family is incredibly grateful to Iowa State University for establishing the Curtis Bray Memorial Scholarship to provide financial support to undergraduate students,” Chuck Bray said. “We thank all members of the Cyclone community who continue to contribute to the scholarship’s success, including those who contribute financially to the scholarship. This incredible community includes Coach Campbell and the entire coaching staff and trainers, the athletics department, the administration, fans and most importantly the players.
“Wearing the No. 58 has become an honor representing the very best traditions of ISU football and we are thrilled that a scholarship will annually be provided to an ISU student as further tribute to Coach Curtis Bray and the many incredible ISU athletes who have worn the No. 58 jersey, those who wear the uniform, and all of those who exemplify ISU values.”
Cyclones to wear No. 58 in honor of Coach Bray
2014 – Cory Morrissey
2015 – Mitchell Meyers
2016 – Mitchell Meyers
2017 – J.D. Waggoner
2018 – Spencer Benton
2019 – Ray Lima
2020 – Eyioma Uwazurike
2021 – Eyioma Uwazurike
2022 – Isaiah Lee
