Browder three-peats as SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman senior forward Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference’s Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year for a third consecutive season, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
VIDEO: Jack Browder Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman senior forward Jack Browder (Kingsport, Tenn.) has been named the South Atlantic Conference's Men's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year for a third consecutive season, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Browder joins Mars Hill's Jerome Ramsey as the only players in league history to win the award three times. Browder becomes the ninth SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year from C-N men's basketball. He and Colin Martin are the only repeat winners from C-N. Carson-Newman's nine scholar athlete honorees are the most in league history. Mars Hill and Newberry have both had five players recognized.
"I'm not surprised," C-N head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson said. "That dude is one smart fella. I'm thrilled for Jack, he's diligent in his studies and always gives more than expected in all facets of life, whether that's on the basketball court, in the classroom or the community. I love getting to interact with him on a daily basis and am so thankful he's an Eagle."
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service, and leadership.
"Growing up, my mom really instilled in me the importance of education," Browder said. "I've continued to carry that over through college and always try my best both in the classroom and on the basketball court."
The Kingsport, Tennessee native graduated with a 4.0 grade point average while studying business administration. Browder has collected a variety of academic accolades over his four seasons with the Eagles. He is a four-time Carson-Newman Dean's List Member, a four-time Platinum Eagle Scholar, a four-time Hope Scholar, a four-time Presidential Scholar and a three-time CSC Academic All-District team member. He is a two-time first-team Academic All-America honoree, a two-time winner of the SAC Presidents' Award and a two-time honorees as the D2CCA Regional Scholar Athlete of the Year. He has been recognized the last two seasons at the SAC men's basketball championships in Rock Hill as the Elite 23 winner, as the student athlete competing at the finals site with the highest GPA.
On the court, Browder was a D2CCA All-America first team selection this year.
Browder becomes the program's fifth All-American in its NCAA era and its first since Charles Clark in 2017-18. Browder is the 14th All-American for the program overall.
He is the first Eagle to garner first-team recognition in the NCAA era.
Browder was the SAC's Player of the Year in 2025-26 and a first-team All-SAC selection. Browder joins Charles Clark (2016-17), Antoine Davis (2012-13) and Kyle Gribble (2002-03) as Eagles to earn the league's player of the year accolade. He is the third coached by head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson.
In addition to Browder's Player of the Year honor, he also earns all-league honors for the third time in his career and his second on the first team.
Browder is also on the watch list for Small College Basketball's Bevo Francis Award, given to the top player in all Small College Basketball, as well as the Trevor Hudgins Award, which goes to the best four-year player in Small College Basketball.
Jack Browder finished his career with 2,098 career points. He is fourth all-time in both Carson-Newman and SAC scoring history. Browder is fifth among active NCAA Division II players in career scoring and 15th among all players in all divisions.
With 897 career rebounds, Browder is fourth among active Division II players in career rebounds. Browder, plus Hall of Famers Mike Ogan and Tommy Everette are the only three members of the 1,500/700 club in Carson-Newman history. Browder is the only player in the NCAA era to do that.
Browder is one of three active players in college basketball with 2,000 career points and 800 career rebounds. Carl Cleveland at Young Harris (The Southeast Region Player of the Year) and Gonzaga's Graham Ike are the only others in the NCAA. Browder's 897 rebounds are the fifth-most in school history and sixth in SAC history.
With 39 career double-doubles, Browder already has career mark for Carson-Newman for all-time double-doubles (at least in the NCAA era where we have game-by-game stats). He has the most double-doubles among active NCAA Division II players. He has the eighth-most double-doubles amongst players in all divisions. Browder's 14 double-doubles this year lead the SAC and are fourth nationally.
Browder is the only player in NCAA Division II to lead his league in scoring and rebounding. Browder is also the only player in the country in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding. Browder is third in scoring at 25.0 points per game and 17th in rebounding at 9.6 boards per game.
Browder has 725 points this season. The most by an Eagle in a single-season in the NCAA-era and the seventh-highest scoring total in league history. Browder is averaging 25.0 points per game this season. He and Mike Ogan are the only players in Carson-Newman history to average 25 a game over the course of a season. Browder and Mars Hill's Sammy Emile are the only two to do it in SAC history.
He has set the SAC single-game record for free throws made in a game without missing. Connecting on all 21 of his foul shots on senior day in an overtime loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.
With 241 made free throws this season, he is both the SAC and school record holder for free thows made in a season.
Browder has been recognized as the league's player of the week three times this season.
He had five, 30-point games this year, including a 46-piece against Mars Hill. He produced the fourth-highest single-game scoring effort in school history and the ninth-best night in South Atlantic Conference history. The 40-point point night is the eighth all-time in C-N history. He scored 20 points in the first half before dropping 26 after halftime. Going 17-of-17 at the free throw line broke Tommy Everette's 59-year old school record for the most free throw attempts in a game without missing. A record which stood for one game before he broke it agaisnt Lenoir-Rhyne.
Browder scored 115 points in his last three games, the highest three-game stretch in school history in front of the 110 points Charles Clark scored around his then-school record 54-point game his junior year against Coker in 2016-17.
