Athletics

College Athletics

Playing College Sports at Highly-Selective Academic Schools

  
Playing College Sports - More Attainable Than You Think - Extremely Helpful in Admissions

Playing college sports is a valuable and highly rewarding experience. It allows students to take the path less travelled, broaden their horizons and connections, and elevate their future prospects in numerous ways. Perhaps more importantly, playing college sports can be a substantial factor in leveraging admission into highly-selective academic schools.

In the last few years we have had students from several different sports attend Top 20 academic colleges and universities, in large part because they were recruited athletes and were given one of the coveted “slots” that exist at most schools for student-athletes. Some of these schools include: Princeton, Penn, Yale, Columbia, Vanderbilt, MIT, Georgetown, University of Chicago, Middlebury, Tufts, Hamilton, Claremont McKenna, Emory, Wesleyan, Kenyon, and Washington & Lee.

Be Proactive and Open Minded

When exploring the possibility of playing a sport in college, keep in mind two things:

  1. Maintain an open mind when thinking about the types and locations of schools. Starting with a narrow geographical approach or a bias towards the size of school significantly narrows your opportunities; and
  2. Realize that while every student-athlete starts with the dream of being a major college sports hero, historically only about 1% of our students play D1 college sports. It’s great to aim high athletically, but avoid tunnel vision -- have a fall back. D3 sports are highly competitive, allow for a more normal college life, and involve some of the most highly-selective academic schools in the country. Many of our students are particularly well-suited for D3 because they are excellent athletes, but also excellent students. Being recruited at the D3 level requires students to be proactive -- you need to be the one reaching out and making contact with college coaches - not the other way around. To learn more about the experience of playing D3 sports at top academic colleges, please watch this video below.

Our mission in the Athletics Department, in close cooperation with College Counseling, is to teach our students and their parents how to navigate the recruiting process and to leverage sports into admission into the best possible academic school, consistent with overall student fit.

Process in a Nutshell - Attend the Annual MBA College Athletics Night

Our annual “College Athletics Night” will give you an overview of D1 versus D3 college sports and how we recommend approaching the recruiting process. Following that presentation, MBA staff and coaches will conduct sport-specific team/group meetings with students. After that, we recommend that interested families of 10th and 11th graders contact the Athletics Office to set up an individual meeting. These individual meetings with students and parents are critical because they are specific to your personal circumstances. We will discuss course work, grades, athletic ability, and an action plan specific to your sport and capabilities. We also talk about college recruiting questionnaires, letters to coaches, camps/showcases, and study habits. The earlier you begin this process the less overwhelming it is -- starting early spreads out the process and allows you time to tour more schools and be organized. While some students have started with us as late as fall of their senior year, it is not optimal.
    
If you have any questions, please contact the Athletics Office. We look forward to working with you!
  
  

MBA College Athletes: 2000 - 2024

List of 13 frequently asked questions.

  • Baseball

    2000  Clark Lea - Birmingham-Southern College
    2000  Jay Pettus - Belmont University
    2000  Will Tucker - Belmont University
    2001  Nathan Sensing - Lipscomb University
    2002  Warner Jones - Vanderbilt University
    2002  Jack Turner - United States Naval Academy
    2003  Hunter Hawkins - University of Rochester
    2003  Wesley Langlois - Belmont University
    2004  Michael Fisher - Georgia Institute of Technology
    2004  Brad French - Vanderbilt University
    2004  Scott Pettus - Vanderbilt University
    2005  Brian Harris - Vanderbilt University
    2006  Rascoe Dean - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2006  Stephanos Stroop - Claremont McKenna College
    2007  Morgan Gregory - Carson-Newman University
    2007  Matthew Kimball - Brown University
    2007  Todd Miller - University of Notre Dame
    2007  Scott Schwartz - Emory University
    2007  Andrew Triggs - University of Southern California
    2008  Frank Adelman - Belmont University
    2008  Jon Eisen - Columbia University
    2008  Andrew Harris - Vanderbilt University
    2008  Jon Mishu - Princeton University
    2008  Wilson Nealy - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2009  Hooper Paty - University of Mississippi
    2010  Jackson Roberts - Rhodes College
    2011  Alex Hunt - Western Kentucky University
    2011  Aubrey Witherington - College of the Desert
    2012  Henry Beveridge - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2013  Dallas Gibson - Lipscomb University
    2013  Penn Murfee - Vanderbilt University
    2013  Jack Rhodes - Birmingham-Southern College
    2014  Will Singer - Washington & Lee University
    2014  John Wheeler - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2015  John Tipps - Middlebury College
    2016  Will Allen - Kenyon College
    2016  Cole Cross - Pitzer College
    2017  Jack Anderson - Princeton University
    2017  Turner Johnson - Ohio Wesleyan University
    2018  Ben Coulthard - Rhodes College
    2018  Miller Freeman - Georgetown University
    2018  Brady Slinger - Hamilton College
    2019  Cole Crider - Middlebury College
    2019  Brenden Harris - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
    2019  William Stewart - Claremont McKenna College
    2020  Tripper Capps - Kenyon College
    2020  Sam Kirkpatrick - Belmont University
    2020  Peter Minkoff - University of Chicago
    2020  Brennan Roach - DePauw University
    2021  Dustin Lee - Kenyon College
    2021  Mark Pyburn - Centre College
    2022  Carson Mire - Centre College
    2022  Peyton Phillips - Rhodes College
    2022  Landen Rucker - Washington & Lee University
    2023  Aidan Conley - Emory University
    2023  Colin Kerrigan - Middle Tennessee State University
    2023  Christian Lim - Stanford University
    2023  Will Tyrrell - University of North Carolina - Wilmington
    2024  Charles Sandahl - Centre College
  • Basketball

    2007  Harlan Dodson - Williams College
    2007  David Smith - Emory University
    2010  Holden Mobley - Belmont University
    2011  Whit Thornton - United States Military Academy
    2012  David Howard - University of Evansville
    2013  Kamani Hodges - Clearwater Christian College
    2013  Tom Kaiser - University of Dallas
    2018  Drew Weikert - Vanderbilt University
    2019  Zachary Jackson - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
    2019  Ross Johnson - Rhodes College
    2019  Harrison Taylor - Hampden-Sydney College
    2021  Luke Jackson - DePauw University
    2021  Will Montana - Lee University
    2021  Miles Versa - Kenyon College
    2024  Nick Brunetti - Cumberland University
  • Crew

    2011  Ian Sharbel - United States Naval Academy
    2012  Gray Curtis - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    2013  Robert Papel - Georgetown University
    2020  McGavock Cooper - Harvard University
    2020  Wes Hirschman - Princeton University
    2021  Jed Neal - College of the Holy Cross
    2022  Stephen Meier - College of the Holy Cross
    2024  Hays Lindsey - College of the Holy Cross
    2024  Fielding Staelin - Yale University
  • Cross Country

    2002  Morgan Miller - University of Mississippi
    2005  Brock Baker - University of North Carolina
    2007  Jonathan Usry - Emory University
    2011  Michael Peters - The Ohio State University
    2014  Eric Anderson - Baylor University
    2017  Will Peters - Boston College
    2020  Jack Larish - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2024  Mitchell Chaffin - Centre College
    2024  Will Kiessling - Colgate University
    2024  Samuel Trumble - University of Kansas
  • Football

    2000  Sean Holland - Georgia Southern University
    2000  Clark Lea - Vanderbilt University
    2000  Tate Rich - Yale University
    2000  Jonas Rodriguez - Yale University
    2000  Barton Simmons - Yale University
    2001  Ingle Martin - Furman University
    2001  Dominique Morris - Vanderbilt University
    2001  Moses Osemwegie - Vanderbilt University
    2001  Hulsey Smith - Southern Methodist University
    2003  William Bartholomew - Rhodes College
    2003  Sam Garner - University of Mississippi
    2003  Brent Sayles - Tennessee Technological University
    2004  Matthew Jacques - Yale University
    2004  Mike Koban - University of Virginia
    2004  Tom Santi - University of Virginia
    2004  Benson Sloan - Southern Methodist University
    2005  Joe Birdsong - Wake Forest University
    2005  Matt Bubis - Vanderbilt University
    2005  Lewis Dawson - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2005  Bryant Hahnfeldt - Vanderbilt University
    2005  Jay Pilkerton - Yale University
    2006  Rascoe Dean - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2006  Allen Riley - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2008  Ben Bartholomew - University of Tennessee
    2008  Alfonza Knight - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2008  E.J. Vinsang - Furman University
    2008  Nathan Wade - Furman University
    2009  Rylan Browner - University of Arizona
    2009  Reggie Ford - Vanderbilt University
    2009  Wesley Johnson - Vanderbilt University
    2009  Spencer Wise - Middle Tennessee State University
    2010  Brad Bars - Pennsylvania State University
    2010  Kevin Carr - University of Notre Dame
    2010  Andrew Fletcher - University of Mississippi
    2010  Tee Griscom - Furman University
    2010  Fitz Lassing - Vanderbilt University
    2010  Andrew Phillips - Furman University
    2010  William Tanner - University of Kentucky
    2011  Tyler Franks - Miami University
    2011  Andrei Lucaci - Henderson State University
    2011  Phillip Spelman - University of North Carolina
    2012  Blake Bars - University of Michigan
    2012  Jamie Bradshaw - Cornell University
    2013  Jetarii Donald - Mercer University
    2013  Terrence Harris - Tennessee State University
    2013  James Higgins - Dickinson College
    2013  Gary Jackson - Tennessee State University
    2013  Wilson Johnson - Vanderbilt University
    2013  Brandon Key - Morehouse College
    2014  Alex Bars - University of Notre Dame
    2014  D.J. Clark - Campbell University
    2014  Tony Drew - East Tennessee State University
    2014  Travonte Easley - Mercer University
    2014  Bryson Jarrett - Faulkner University
    2014  D.J. Mott - Harvard University
    2014  Grey Reames - Washington & Lee University
    2014  Jashon Robertson - University of Tennessee
    2015  Luke Bullock - University of Pennsylvania
    2015  A.C. Carr - Rhodes College
    2015  Cole Euverard - United States Naval Academy
    2015  T.J. Jefferson - University of Tennessee at Martin
    2015  Mike Lacey - University of Tennessee
    2015  Davis Luster - Southern Methodist University
    2015  Austin Rolfe - Southern Methodist University
    2016  D’On Coofer - Rhodes College
    2016  Phelps Gambill - Auburn University
    2016  Joseph Scowden - Columbia University
    2016  Jordan Wilson - University of California at Los Angeles
    2017  Micah Battle - Rhodes College
    2017  Ty Chandler - University of Tennessee
    2017  Montgomery Owen - Washington & Lee University
    2017  Brett Starr - Vanderbilt University
    2018  Ty Allen - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    2018  Ruff Maddux - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2018  Jackson McFadden - Auburn University
    2018  Gordon Pollock - Middlebury College
    2019  Cole Crider - Middlebury College
    2019  Nick German - Centre College
    2019  Jackson Hannah - University of Nebraska
    2019  Brenden Harris - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
    2019  Jake Herbstreit - Clemson University
    2019  Tye Herbstreit - Clemson University
    2019  Jackson Lampley - University of Tennessee
    2019  Josh Meriwether - Tufts University
    2019  Braden Myers - Wesleyan University
    2020  Ned Freeland - University of Pennsylvania
    2020  Hedges Hayworth - Washington & Lee University
    2020  Jordan Turks - Austin Peay State University
    2021  Sam Banks - Texas Christian University
    2021  Maxwell Battle - Tennessee Technological University
    2021  Lucien Brunetti - University of Tennessee
    2021  Nasir Cook - Princeton University
    2021  Daniel Gaw - Vanderbilt University
    2021  Zak Herbstreit - The Ohio State University
    2021  Patrick Wilk - University of Tennessee
    2022  Grayson Morgan - Vanderbilt University
    2022  Ryan Schmadtke - Washington University
    2023  Ty Bartholomew - Vanderbilt University
    2023  Ty Burd - Vanderbilt University
    2023  Payne Daniel - Vanderbilt University
    2023  Gabe Fisher - Vanderbilt University
    2023  Max Fisher - Trinity University
    2023  Eriq George - Tennessee State University
    2023  Caidan Maddux - Samford University
    2023  Johnothan Moore - Tennessee State University
    2023  Marcel Reed - Texas A&M University
    2023  Claiborne Richards - University of Virginia
    2023  Browning Trainer - Johns Hopkins University
    2023  Tahj Woods - Bethel University
    2023  Alan Young - Tufts University
    2023  Keen Zoller - Washington University
    2024  Luke Beemer - Wake Forest University
    2024  Jake Moore - Princeton University
    2024  Blake Ragsdale - Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Golf

    2001  Carter Henderson - University of Virginia
    2010  Tyler LeRoy - Furman University
    2015  George Hite - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2015  Geoff Holland - Pitzer College
    2016  Connor Downey - Villanova University
    2017  Max Davis - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2018  Josh Morris - Middle Tennessee State University
    2019  Charlie Buffkin - Samford University
    2020  Jaron Leasure - University of Virginia
    2022  Bradford Cummins - United States Military Academy Prep School
    2024  Will Jackson - University of Dayton
  • Lacrosse

    2001  Adam Brooks - The Ohio State University
    2001  Leighton Liles - University of Delaware
    2001  William Liles - University of Delaware
    2001  Matthew McIntosh - University of North Carolina
    2003  Cyrus Adams - Franklin & Marshall College
    2005  Ryan Burns - University of Virginia
    2006  Terrell McWhirter - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2007  Travis Brannon - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2007  Chris Cahill - Gettysburg College
    2009  Kile Garrett - Mars Hill University
    2010  George Curtis - Middlebury College
    2010  Andrew Holmgren - Centre College
    2011  Clay Adams - Syracuse University
    2011  Ben Charpentier - Bellarmine University
    2011  Connor Pagnani - University of Denver
    2012  Mattison Hamilton - Dickinson College
    2012  Augie Houghton - Colgate University
    2012  William Reames - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2013  Conner Griffin - Furman University
    2013  Frank Vest - Hanover College
    2014  Sammy Bamigboye - Johns Hopkins University
    2015  Stephen Ray - University of Tampa
    2016  Jim Garrett - Mars Hill University
    2017  Gabe Mendoza - Sewanee: The University of the South 
    2018  Fenner Pollock - Washington & Lee University
    2018  Gordon Pollock - Middlebury College
    2019  Peyton Brien - Rhodes College
    2019  Braden Myers - Wesleyan University
    2019  Chris Tarquinio - Rhodes College
    2020  Stephen Avery - University of Denver
    2020  Jack Larish - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2020  Noah Mendoza - The Ohio State University
    2021  Ramsay Cole - Centre College
    2021  Warner Greene - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2021  Luke Mryncza - Virginia Military Institute
    2021  Stokes Myers - Gettysburg College
    2021  Max Speers - Centre College
    2022  Austin English - Virginia Military Institute
    2023  Luke Larish - Transylvania University
    2023  Patrick Tatro - Centre College
  • Shooting Sports

    2012  Timothy Bulso - United States Coast Guard Academy
  • Soccer

    2003  Justin Holland - High Point University
    2004  Jake Lawrence - Hendrix College
    2009  Houston Oldham - University of Richmond
    2013  Henry Lynch - Centre College
    2014  Ben Shankle - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2015  Andrew Conwell - University of Washington
    2016  Will Emerson - Yale University
    2017  Andrew Duffey - Birmingham-Southern College
    2017  William Porter - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2018  Alex Bulgarino - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2019  Henry Hylbert - Cornell University
    2021  Ian Bernatavitz - Gettysburg College
    2021  Eli Kampine - Carnegie Mellon University
    2021  Quinn Kunath - Roanoke College
    2021  Rasheed Sarieh - Trinity College
    2023  Hogan Walker - College of Charleston
  • Swimming & Diving

    2010  Pat Killian - Yale University
    2012  Adam Cornett - University of Tennessee
    2012  Maclin Davis - University of Southern California
    2012  Nathan Stinson - United States Naval Academy
    2013  Tate Ramsden - Dartmouth College
    2014  Wes Duke - Emory University
    2014  Andrew Dupuis - Case Western Reserve University
    2015  Chatham Dobbs - University of Arizona
    2016  Wilson Norris - Centre College
    2017  Hudson Dobbs - University of Arizona
    2018  Ford Ray - Southern Methodist University
    2020  George Mabry - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2021  Jack Flanagan - University of Tennessee
    2023  Oliver Pilkinton - Harvard University
    2023  Owen Reese - Washington & Lee University
    2024  Todd Dong - Carnegie Mellon University
    2024  Gabe Lett - University of Evansville
    2024  Jay Schlosser - University of Arizona
    2024  Jack Teasley - Emory University
  • Tennis

    2000  Bryan Fisher - Louisiana State University
    2001  Zac Hood - University of Miami
    2004  Matthew Naftilan - Johns Hopkins University
    2004  Ted Tywang - Georgetown University
    2005  Charlie Boyd - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2007  Adam Baker - Vanderbilt University
    2010  Roger Briggs - Vanderbilt University
    2010  Naveen Chadalavada - Washington University
    2011  Davis Thrailkill - Kenyon College
    2012  Palmer Campbell - Middlebury College
    2013  Andrew Graham - Wofford College
    2013  Aaron Jumonville - Austin Peay State University
    2014  Kalyan Chadalavada - Pomona College
    2017  George Harwell - Vanderbilt University
    2018  Matthew Bulow - Centre College
    2019  Hugh Graham - Sewanee: The University of the South
    2020  Richard Cummins - University of Virginia
    2020  Brian Graves - Centre College
    2020  Sims Lance - Pitzer College
    2021  Baylor Sai - University of Pennsylvania
    2022  Anson Anderson - Hamilton College
    2022  Hunter Johnson - Rhodes College
  • Track & Field

    2000  Mark McDonald - University of Virginia
    2002  Will Denbo - University of Southern California
    2002  Morgan Miller - University of Mississippi
    2003  Cannon Kinnard - United States Military Academy
    2005  Brock Baker - University of North Carolina
    2006  Billy Billington - Washington & Lee University
    2008  Ben Bartholomew - University of Tennessee
    2008  Christian Waddey - University of Virginia
    2009  Patrick Crum - University of Tennessee
    2010  Shep Patterson - Rice University
    2010  Ryan Venable - High Point University
    2011  Hampton Farr - Tulane University
    2012  Will Narramore - High Point University
    2012  Bryan Oslin - Princeton University
    2014  Eric Anderson - Baylor University
    2015  Trevor Patton - American University
    2016  Sam Curry - Morehouse College
    2016  Will Eskew - University of North Carolina
    2016  Oronde Pendergrass - Rhodes College
    2017  Will Peters - Boston College
    2019  John Curry - Morehouse College
    2019  Sam Dugan - Washington & Lee University
    2021  Sam Banks - Texas Christian University
    2022  Sam Nissen - Tufts University
    2022  Takis Patikas - Auburn University
    2023  Nathaniel Nelson - United States Military Academy
    2023  Joshua Roberts - Coastal Carolina University
    2024  Mitchell Chaffin - Centre College
    2024  Jack Perry - Belmont University
    2024  Samuel Trumble - University of Kansas
  • Wrestling

    2001  Phillip Simpson - United States Military Academy
    2002  Patrick Simpson - United States Military Academy
    2003  Blake Luttrell - United States Air Force Academy
    2003  Ian Thornhill - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
    2004  William Simpson - United States Military Academy
    2006  Justin Hall - Lehigh University
    2007  John Michael Simpson - United States Military Academy Prep School
    2012  Cayce Ortale - Columbia University
    2018  Joseph Tarquine - Washington & Lee University
    2018  Bryce Wittman - Ohio Wesleyan University
    2019  Dominic Fisher - United States Merchant Marine Academy

Montgomery Bell Academy

4001 Harding Road
Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 298-5514