Cade Upshaw is entering his third season as the lead Assistant Coach for the MACU men's basketball team and his fourth season overall for 2023-24.
In the 2022-23 season, the Evangels closed out the campaign with an 11-17 overall record and finished with an 8-14 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
In his first season back in 2021-22, Upshaw helped lead the Evangels to a 20-13 overall record as the program earned its fourth straight bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. Over the course of the season, the Evangels tallied three wins against NAIA Top 10 opponents, including a 78-72 win at No. 6 LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 1, a 92-84 overtime victory over No. 8 Bethel (Kan.) on Nov. 6 and a 92-84 win at No. 9 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Nov. 6. Upshaw helped mentor NCCAA Second Team All-American and All-Sooner Athletic Conference Isaiah Hammons, who broke MACU's NAIA Era single-season free throw makes (168) and attempts (228) records.
Upshaw served one season as the Assistant Coach for MACU's Sooner Athletic Conference rival, Southwestern Christian during the 2020-21 season alongside former MACU Assistant Coach Brandon Rollins. Upshaw helped lead the Eagles to a 6-11 record and a 4-6 mark in SAC play to finish seventh in the league standings.
Upshaw also served as the team's recruiting coordinator and organized individual workouts and film study as well organizing team fundraisers and study halls.
Prior to SCU, Upshaw served as a Student-Assistant Coach for the Evangels during the 2019-20 season, helping guide MACU to its best season ever since joining the SAC and NAIA in 2007. That season, the Evangels won their second Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title, going 19-1 in conference play and 30-2 overall.
In his first season with MACU, Upshaw had the opportunity to mentor NAIA and NCCAA All-American Ashord Golden as well as All-SAC Second Team honoree Cedric Wright, who have both went on to play professionally overseas since completing their playing careers with the Evangels.
Before moving into coaching, Upshaw competed for two seasons on the MACU men's basketball team. Between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns, Upshaw played in 67 games, averaging 5.5 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting, 39.2 percent from three and 85.5 percent from the free throw line. Upshaw also ripped down 104 rebounds and dished out 81 assists in those two seasons.
Upshaw was a key member of the 2018-19 squad that qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament, upending No. 1 seed Tougaloo (Ala.) 73-64 in the opening round on Mar. 21, 2019.
In a 104-85 victory against Oklahoma Panhandle State at the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 17, 2018, Upshaw scored a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including going 5-for-6 from behind the arc.
Before transferring to MACU, Upshaw was a two-year starter for Northern Oklahoma College-Enid, where he earned NJCAA Region II All-Region honors while leading the Mavericks to the Sweet 16 in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament.
Upshaw earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Business from Mid-America Christian in May 2019.
