Brandon Friesen has had a tremendous impact on the Briercrest College basketball team as he enters into his fourth season in Caronport.  He started his career under former coach, Gene Wolverton, as a sought after “big man” who was athletic and possessed a great work ethic and attitude.  Often the gentle giant off the court, you witness his true strength as he battles with other players under the hoop and races them up the floor in his patented long stride.  In the 2011-2012 season he was the only player to start every game, and after backing up Gradyn Childerhose who was the CCAA Player of the Year in the 2012-2013 season, Brandon will carry the load on the inside this year.

Though Brandon attended high school at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, he now calls Abbotsford, BC his home along with his new bride, Meghan, who you’ll see on the Briercrest women’s basketball team.   He is diligently working towards his BA in Business Administration, and the effort he puts into all that he does will pay off in whatever he puts his mind to.

Brandon explains what brought him to Briercrest, “I wanted to come to a Bible college and learn more about God and play college basketball.” 

He has some favourite moments as a student-athlete as he explains. “My favorite moment in dorms at Briercrest would be when I lived on Whit 3 and we won the Briercrest Olympics. It was just so much fun doing all the games and of course celebrating a big win for Whit 3.  Another favourite moment would be going to ACAC playoffs and coming third the 2012-2013 season.”  But most importantly in Brandon’s words, “meeting my beautiful wife.”

Brandon goes on to explain about what is special about his team here at Briercrest. “We are all brothers. I believe that because we are brothers in Christ and we all live on campus it really helps create a brotherhood on the team.  I have never been apart of such close teams as I am here at Briercrest. “

Brandon’s goals as a student and as an athlete are: “As an athlete at Briercrest my goal is to win an ACAC championship as well as a CCAA National Championship.  As a student my goal is to graduate with a BA Business Administration degree next year. In both athletics and school my goal is that I give my best effort. “

“My biggest strength is my work ethic. I had to work hard to make the Briercrest team and I continue to work hard every off-season, practice, and game no matter what my role is on the team. I work hard so that I can give my best to teammates and coach.” 

Coach Rod Adrian completely agrees, “I am so fortunate to have a man like Brandon on the team.  His consistency over the years that I have coached him has been amazing as highlighted by his work ethic, attitude, character, and coachability.  He is a dream to coach and works hard to make others around him better.  Each year he has shown tremendous improvement and I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for Brandon and the team.  He is one of our leaders and we look to our “big man” for strength.”

What does life hold for Brandon after Briercrest?  In his words, “If nothing was holding me back I would travel the world for the rest of my life. There are so many interesting places in the world that I would like to visit.”

For now we look forward to watching him dominate on the court this season.