More Than a Basketballer: Jack Browder Named SAC Man of the Year
Friday August 14, 2026 – Browder Named 2026 SAC Patrick Britz Man of the Year
After an outstanding 2026 season with the Perry Lakes Hawks—where he was named the Hawks Men’s MVP, selected in the All-NBL1 West First Team and finished as the competition’s leading scorer with an incredible 30.7 points per game—Jack Browder has received another extraordinary honour recognising his excellence on the basketball court, in the classroom and throughout his community.
Jack has been named the 2026 South Atlantic Conference Patrick Britz Man of the Year, becoming the first Carson-Newman University athlete to receive the prestigious award.
The award recognises the academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership of graduating student-athletes across the South Atlantic Conference.
Those four qualities describe Jack perfectly.
During his time with the Hawks, we witnessed his talent, competitiveness and commitment every time he stepped onto the floor. However, it was the person behind the player who made the greatest impression.
Jack embraced our club, his teammates and the wider Hawks community. He carried himself with humility, treated everyone with respect and was always willing to give his time to others. He was an outstanding teammate and role model who represented our club with class.
His latest honour adds to a remarkable list of achievements.
Jack is the only student-athlete in South Atlantic Conference history to win the league’s Presidents’ Award three times. He was also selected to the Academic All-America First Team for the third consecutive year and was named the Division II Men’s Basketball Academic All-American of the Year for the second straight season.
He graduated from Carson-Newman with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in Business Administration and was named the South Atlantic Conference Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for a third consecutive season.
His basketball achievements were equally outstanding.
Jack was named the 2025–26 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, earned First Team All-SAC honours and was selected to the D2CCA All-America First Team. He was also a finalist for the Trevor Hudgins Award, recognising the best four-year career in Small College Basketball.
He completed his college career with:
- 2,098 points
897 rebounds
39 double-doubles
Three Academic All-America First Team selections
Three SAC Presidents’ Awards
Three SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards
During his final college season, Jack averaged 25 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, becoming the only NCAA Division II player to lead his conference in both scoring and rebounding.
These achievements are exceptional, but awards and statistics only tell part of Jack Browder’s story.
Jack is an elite basketballer, an outstanding student and a genuine leader—but, above all else, he is an exceptional human being.
We feel incredibly fortunate that Jack chose to spend the 2026 NBL1 West season with the Perry Lakes Hawks. He leaves a lasting impression on our playing group, our coaches, our supporters and everyone fortunate enough to get to know him.
Congratulations, Jack. These honours could not have gone to a more deserving person.
What a player. What a teammate. What a human.
