A career defined by the moments: Jacob Brown’s career as a two-sport athlete
Aaron Dulaney, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Lauren Dendy
After spending four years as a multi-sport athlete, graduate student Jacob Brown is preparing for one final season on the court.
As the youngest of five brothers, Brown has never been a stranger to competition. He grew up in nearby Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, watching his older brothers play a variety of sports. Following in their footsteps, he played basketball, baseball and football until high school. He always knew that he loved basketball but eventually dropped baseball and football in exchange for volleyball.
After graduating high school, he felt drawn to North Greenville University because of its proximity to his home and family, the unique atmosphere of a smaller university and the chance to continue as a two-sport athlete.
“The opportunity arose for me to play basketball and volleyball in college, and I took that opportunity, and here I am,” said Brown.
Brown spent his entire undergraduate career as a two-sport athlete. His volleyball career is now over, and he will spend one more season on the basketball team as a graduate player.
Now just days away from the beginning of his final season, Brown said that he is looking forward to returning to competition and seeing the younger athletes grow and progress.
“I’m really excited to get to play against other people right now, because all we’re doing is scrimmaging against each other. I’m really excited to see some of our younger guys develop and how they pan out and find their own roles in the college basketball scheme,” said Brown.
Throughout his career, Brown also had to work hard to balance two sports with his academic life.
“It was a little chaotic while figuring it out. Thankfully, the coaches for both sports were very easy to work with,” said Brown.
During the preseason, he would alternate practice days, so he never had to double up. Once a season began, he would give that sport his full attention until the season was over.
On the volleyball court, he played opposite hitter and amassed 123 career points, including 108 kills and 14 aces. Defensively, he put up 12 blocks and 81 digs.
As a forward on the basketball team, he has spent over 2,000 minutes on the court across 84 games. His offensive contributions include 634 career points, including 231 field goals and 164 free throws. On the boards, he has accumulated 666 total rebounds, averaging nearly eight per game. He has also racked up 144 assists, 28 blocks and 79 steals.
Brown will have the chance to build on these totals in his final chapter as a Trailblazer.
Despite his accomplishments on the court, Brown’s favorite part of his time at NGU was the relationships he built along the way.
“It’s always been the people. That’s the reason I’ve loved this school. It’s always just been the friendships I’ve made with athletes and regular students alike,” said Brown.
He said that looking back, he does not define his career by what happened on the court.
“All the small moments add up into so many little core memories that I have of walking with teammates, or hanging out in the locker room or eating in the caf. I remember wins and losses, but they don’t really mean as much to me as the people I met,” said Brown.
With his collegiate career soon ending, Brown has strong plans for after he graduates. He is recently engaged and will marry his fiancé in May. The couple will move to Fort Mill, South Carolina, where Brown has a job lined up with a fencing company.
