Introducing the Sadler twins, Landon and Lucas

By Matt Tait     May 10, 2016

Nick Krug
Kansas forward Landen Lucas pulls away an offensive rebound from West Virginia forward Elijah Macon (45) and guard Tarik Phillip during the second half, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

His rapid improvement and big time production during the 2015-16 college basketball season endeared Kansas basketball fans to junior forward Landen Lucas in a major way.

But for two new parents who used to call Lawrence home, the admiration of the KU big man did not end when the final horn sounded after each game or the season ended in late March.

Ian and Meredith Sadler, who now live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Monday welcomed twin boys into the world. Their names? Landon Beau Sadler and Lucas Joseph Sadler.

Yep. You read that right. Introducing the Sadler twins, Landon and Lucas.

The Sadlers certainly are not the first couple to name their children in honor of Kansas basketball, but this is taking things to another level. And, as it turns out, actually required a bit of creativity on Ian’s part to make it happen.

Contributed photos
Meredith and Ian Sadler, of Tulsa, on Monday welcomed twin boys into the world and named them Landon (bottom right) and Lucas (top right), partially in honor of KU men's basketball forward Landen Lucas.

He calls the story “Strategic Coincidence” and credits his super fan status and time spent working in the KU athletic department for the selection of the boys’ names.

“When we found out we were pregnant, Meredith, a growing Jayhawk fan, knew where my thoughts were going,” Ian began. “She immediately told me I was not allowed to name our baby anything KU related, even though thoughts of Pierce, Tyrel, Jacque and other very suitable names quickly came to mind. Bill Self Sadler had a nice ring to it.”

As the pregnancy went on and doctors informed the Sadlers they were having identical twin boys, Ian turned things up a notch and began referring to his unborn sons as Markieff and Marcus.

“She quickly shut that down,” he noted.

From there, fate stepped in and Ian caught his break.

“A few weeks later, Meredith mentioned the name Landon, and how she really loved it. I told her I would agree to Landon if she allowed me to pick the second name. I suggested Luke, but his official name would be Lucas. She agreed. About a month later, after constantly referring to Babies A & B as Landon & Lucas, we were watching KU take on West Virginia, and, somewhere in the middle of his 16 rebounds, my wife popped me in the shoulder, and said, ‘Landen Lucas, huh?’

“She already loved the names, and with the minor spelling difference, here we are. I promised her not too many people would catch on.”

One person who did catch on was Lucas himself. When reached by the Journal-World between a Tuesday workout and studying for final exams, Lucas immediately broke into laughter upon hearing about the Sadler twins, who were born at 32 weeks and currently reside in the NICU wing at St. Francis in Tulsa.

“That’s awesome,” said Lucas, who will graduate Sunday. “Those kinds of stories are cool to hear, and it’s pretty amazing just how big and committed our fans are and how in love with Kansas basketball people are. It’s cool. That’s the kind of stuff you hear about when you’re looking at schools and you just want to be a small part of it and I’m happy to be a part of that story. Maybe someday I can even meet the kids. We gotta make that happen.”

Lucas said the Sadler connection was his first encounter with actually knowing a Jayhawk whom fans had honored in such a manner.

“I’ve heard of dogs and cats and stuff, but naming kids, that’s pretty cool,” he said. “And I like the story behind it too because he found a way to kind of sneak it in there without going overboard. They could go through life and nobody will really know unless you dig a little deeper. That’s pretty funny.”

PREV POST

KU’s Rychagova freshman of year

NEXT POST

48890Introducing the Sadler twins, Landon and Lucas

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.