As Jordan Brathwaite looks ahead to his basketball and academic career at Yale University, he sees two Catholic schools as playing a pivotal role in his preparation.
“What I learned with my Catholic education was invaluable,” said the Mount St. Joseph senior, who recently committed to an academic scholarship to the New Haven, Conn., university. “Both Catholic schools I attended helped me flourish, and taught me about communities and the importance of incorporating values into everyday life.”
Brathwaite, a resident of Fulton in Howard County, spent his first three years of high school at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic High School in Olney.
He decided to transfer to Mount St. Joseph in Irvington because he wanted to play his senior season with one of his best friends and AAU teammates, Tyonne Farrell. He also said he was eager to play in the Baltimore Catholic League and for storied Mount St. Joseph Coach Pat Clatchey.
He flourished after the move, helping lead the Gaels this past winter to a 36-4 record and MIAA tournament and BCL regular-season titles. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound combination guard averaged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists per game, earning first-team All-BCL honors and MIAA Player of the Year. He also was named the BCL Player of the Year and The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Player of the Year.
He has been no slouch academically, either, earning a 4.2 grade point average while taking a heavy load of advanced placement courses.
The five-star recruit drew interest from the coaching staffs at Stanford, Harvard, Brown, Bucknell, Drexel and Towson to name a few.
“He’s the total package, a high-character kid,” said Clatchey, who has coached the Gaels to more than 800 victories in his 32 seasons, sending dozens of players to Division I programs and several to the NBA. “His game and ability will translate very well at the next level. He’s very athletic and competitive.
“We’ve been a very successful program and had a pretty good team, but he just took us to another level,” Clatchey said.
Julius Prezelski, who teaches personal finance at Mount St. Joseph, said Brathwaite is on top of his game in the classroom as well.
“He’s just a top-notch student, probably in the top 1 percent of the class,” said Prezleski, a 27-year veteran of the Irvington school. “He’s a very respectful young man. He’s curious and has a great personality.
“He’s very mature for his age,” said Prezelski, whose wife, Amy, taught Brathwaite during his freshman year at Good Counsel. “He comes to class and he’s always on top of his game, asking the right questions. I have no doubt he will excel at Yale.”
Brathwaite chose Yale for its academic prowess and his comfort with its coaching staff, which recently garnered a great deal of national attention when the Bulldogs stunned heavily favored Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
One of the biggest upsets in the history of March Madness was no surprise to Brathwaite, however.
“I knew they weren’t a Cinderella story,” he said. “They have the confidence that they can play with anyone. The Ivy League is no slouch league. It has some great teams. If they expand the NCAA Tournament, I could see it becoming a two-bid league.”
Brathwaite’s parents, Paul and Sonya, are both Duke University graduates who own a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. His brother, Matthew, is a sophomore at Duke, studying to become a lawyer.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that education was foremost on his mind when he made his college choice.
“A degree is worth more than any athletic accomplishments,” Brathwaite said. “The coaching staff told me when I went on my visit to Yale that it’s not a four-year plan, it’s a 40-year plan. There’s so much more to life after basketball.”
He plans to major in political science with an eye toward politics or law school.
“One thing I like about the Ivy League: It’s OK to be smart and play basketball,” said Brathwaite, who decided to concentrate on basketball when he was in the fifth grade after playing baseball, soccer and basketball as a youngster.
“I like the competitiveness of basketball and everything that comes with it,” he said. “I’m so blessed to be able to continue with it at the next level.”
He will carry plenty from his one year at Mount St. Joseph with him to that next level.
“That’s the mission of the school,” Clatchey said. “Always has been and always will be. The school prepares young men to be successful in life and reach out and be of service to others.”
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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