Eastern Washington University Athletics

Hayford on Brandon: “Drew is one of thepremier rebounding guards on the West Coast. He is a capable scorerand is our on-the-floor leader.”

2014-15: He was selected by Lindy’sMagazine as a preseason All-Big Sky selection (second team)and as the league’s most versatile player. He was also on thepreseason All-Big Sky team selected by College Sports Madness(second team).

2013-14: After leading the Big Sky Conference inassists with an average of 5.1 per game, Brandon was selected as asecond team All-Big Sky Conference selection by College SportsMadness. He was the only player in the league to rank in the top 30in scoring (10.4), as well as the top eight in both rebounding(6.4) and assists (5.1). He also had a league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of +2.1 after starting 29 of 30games in his debut season in NCAA Division I. The transfer fromSierra College in California ranked 49th in NCAA Division I inassists. With the exception of seven minutes versus Idaho State(3/6/14), Eastern played 2 1/2 games in the crucial stages of theseason without the starting point guard, who missed the NorthDakota (3/1/14) game with a hand injury suffered against NorthernColorado (2/27/14). He played 32 minutes in EWU’s seasonfinale against Weber State (3/8/14), but was limited by the heavilyprotected hand. In a home sweep in mid-February, Brandon had 18assists and just two turnovers in 75 minutes in EWU’s homesweep over Sacramento State (2/13/14) and Northern Arizona(2/15/14) – including performances of nine assists and oneturnover in each game. As a result, Brandon was named by CollegeSports Madness as not only its Big Sky Conference Player of theWeek, but its Mid-Major Player of the Week. He finished with fivedouble-doubles, including a near-miss of a triple-double with 15points, 10 assists and nine rebounds versus Montana State (1/11/14)in a 77-72 win. He had a double double-double during one homestandin the 2013-14 season -- he had 11 points and 13 rebounds versusNorth Dakota (1/30/14), then had 15 points and 12 assists in a94-90 overtime victory over Northern Colorado (2/1/14). His 12assists were a career high, and rank as the fourth-most in schoolhistory (the record is 18). He followed that with his fifth doublefigure rebounding game with 10 at Montana State (2/6/14), then hada career-high 19 points at Montana (2/8/14) two nights later. Heequaled what is now the 16th-most assists in school history with 10assists against Walla Walla (11/19/13) and MSU. He finished with 13points, 14 rebounds and six assists versus Washington (11/17/13) injust his second D-I game. He was the lone newcomer to EWU’sopening night starting lineup. He finished in double figures inscoring 18 times, five times in rebounding and three times inassists. He led Eastern in assists in 23 games, and also led EWU inrebounding eight times and steals on 10 occasions.

JC: Played two seasons at Sierra College inRocklin, Calif. In his sophomore season, Brandon was a first teamAll-Big 8 Conference selection and earned honorable mentionAll-State accolades. He finished the year averaging 15.5 points,7.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Brandon wasnamed the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association(CCCAA) and California Community College Sports InformationAssociation Male Athlete of the Month for January. In seven gamesin January, he averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 assists, 7.1 rebounds, and3.9 steals per game. On Jan. 25 against American River College,Brandon scored 38 points, pulled in nine boards, handed out nineassists, and had four steals. He scored 11 of Sierra’s final13 points in the 77-66 victory. Said Wolverine Head Coach JohnFusano: “Maybe only one other time in all my years ofcoaching, have I seen an individual performance like Drew hadagainst ARC. ARC came in poised to beat us and Drew made sure thatdidn’t happen.” Sierra went on to finish 19-8 overalland 10-4 in the Big 8 Conference . The Wolverines were ranked inthe top 10 among all California junior colleges, and lost 64-60 toWest Valley in the second round of the CCCAA Playoffs. As afreshman, he earned honorable mention All-Big 8 honors.

HS: Graduated from Santiago High School in 2010. Heplayed two years of varsity basketball for head coach DavidHumphries. As a senior he averaged 16.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9steals and 1.1 assists per game in helping the team finish 13-15.He scored 20 or more points nine times in his senior season as heearned first team all-league honors.

Personal: Parents are Gregory and Janet Brandon.Interdisciplinary studies major.

SINGLE-GAME HIGHS:
Points: 19, at Montana -- 02/08/14
Rebounds: 14, at Washington -- 11/17/13
Assists: 12, Northern Colorado -- 2/1/14
Steals: 5, Pacific University -- 11/10/13
Blocks: 1, 5 times
FG made: 7, at Montana -- 02/08/14 ; Pacific University --11/10/13
FG attempts: 16, at Washington -- 11/17/13
3FG made: 4, at Idaho State -- 1/4/2014
3FG attempts: 9, at Idaho State -- 1/4/2014
FT made: 8, at Southern Utah -- 2/22/14
FT attempts: 10, at Southern Utah -- 2/22/14