On the evening of Friday, May 1, the Mishawaka community received devastating news.
Brian Foster, a beloved assistant coach for Marian High School’s boys basketball and track and field programs, was critically injured when his car was struck by a semi-truck on U.S. 30.
Within hours, the outpouring of love and concern from those who know him made one thing abundantly clear: this is a man who has left a lasting mark on everyone he has coached, mentored, and supported over the years.
By Sunday morning, fellow Marian assistant boys basketball coach Matt Sobieralski had received an email from a community member asking if something could be organized to lift Foster and his family in prayer. Sobieralski did not hesitate.
He reached out to everyone connected with the Knights’ basketball program, and by Sunday afternoon, more than 50 people had filled Marian High School’s chapel for an impromptu rosary in Foster’s honor.
Players from the 2025-26 Marian boys basketball team showed up alongside their families.
Athletic director Steve Ravotto, girls volleyball head coach Alisha Fransted, and numerous other Marian coaches were present as well. It was a remarkable gathering, pulled together in a matter of hours, entirely out of love.
At the time of the rosary, Foster was undergoing neck surgery at Memorial Hospital. His wife, Natasha, and daughter, Neveah, remained by his side at the hospital while his son, Brandon, a Marian senior, attended the prayer service.
Brandon sat in the front row and recited every prayer. When he returned to the hospital after the rosary, he shared the good news that his father’s surgery had been successful.
“Seeing everybody’s faces just brightened my day,” Brandon said. “I never expected this many people to come support my father. I didn’t know he had this much of an impact on the community.”
Sobieralski, who led the rosary, spoke about what Foster means to those around him. “Brian has always been there for us, love, support, anything we ever ask, and he never demands anything back,” he said.
“Now is the time to step up and give him that love and support directly back.” Sobieralski added, with a touch of humor that speaks to the kind of fighter Foster is known to be, that if challenged to a game of one-on-one, Foster would climb right out of that hospital bed to compete.
Foster’s story in South Bend basketball runs deep. A 2002 graduate of Riley High School, he was an all-state player who averaged 21 points per game his senior season.
He went on to become a coach in the South Bend area for more than a decade, contributing to Marian’s basketball, cross country, and track and field programs.
He also serves as the head men’s basketball coach at Marian University and Ancilla College, a role that reflects just how central the game of basketball is to his identity and his life’s work.
The Foster family itself is woven into the fabric of Marian athletics. His daughter Neveah is the all-time leading scorer in Knights basketball history with 2,243 points, and she is currently preparing to play at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Brandon was a key contributor to Marian’s 2026 IHSAA 3A boys basketball sectional championship, a title that his father helped the team reach as an assistant coach.
Neveah launched a GoFundMe to help the family with medical bills and lost income during Foster’s recovery, sharing a heartfelt message on Facebook that captured the community’s feelings perfectly. “He is there for everyone,” she wrote, “and now it’s time to be here and support him.”
Brandon left the chapel surrounded by hugs, carrying the warmth of an entire community back to his father’s hospital room.
“Once he gets better,” Brandon said, “he’s going to have the hugest smile on his face.”
