BUTTE — When Cadence Graham's family made the move from her hometown of Belt to Butte after her dad, Jeff, was hired as head coach of Montana Tech's women's basketball program in 2022, she was initially far from enthusiastic.
"At first I hated it, I was so mad that I had to come here," she said. "And then it started to feel like home. Like I feel like I've lived here my entire life. I do miss Belt at times but it's definitely been such a good move for our family and I'm really glad that it happened."
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The Mining City grew on her, and Graham — who finished her junior basketball season with Butte High in March with an even 1100 career points — will remain in town after high school. She signed with the Orediggers this past week and will join her dad's team in 2027.
Tech is coming off arguably its best season in program history and a campaign that saw them win the Frontier Conference postseason tournament for the first time since 1984 and then win a national tournament game for the first time ever.
Graham joins Helena Capital's Madi Emmert as the Orediggers' first two Class of 2027 signees.
"It was tough not coaching her in high school and leaving Belt," said Jeff. "She's in great hands here (at Butte High). Selfishly we wanted her to come to Tech and be able to play."
Graham chose Tech over offers from MSU-Northern and Montana State Billings, but it took more than just the prospect of playing for her dad to convince her that she wanted to suit up for the Orediggers.
"I want to be like Brooke," said Graham, referring to Butte Central product Brooke Badovinac, who scored the game-winning 3-pointer for Tech in the Frontier tournament championship against top-seeded Dakota State in March. "That hometown here. She hit the game-winning shot to win the conference tournament. That's a cool thing. You win it for your hometown. That's something I want to be.
"It's just amazing what's being built and what's at Montana Tech, so I'm really excited."
