Brewster Basketball Expanding with Another Big Step

Brewster Academy’s recent entry into the elite National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) was already big news, and now it’s gotten even bigger. NIBC has officially teamed up with Nike to form the ultimate boys high school basketball super conference, the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic (EYBL Scholastic). 

The first weekend of December 2023, Brewster participated in its first games with the new League. The team, now called Brewster’s National Team, headed to Montverde, Florida for the Sunshine Classic, where they played Sunrise Christian Academy and IMG Academy. The games were televised nationally on ESPN+, a first for Brewster Academy! (The National Team has also been playing non-league games at home, winning the first four of the season, including a mid-November match against Busche Academy. See those photos here.) The EYBL 2023-24 season will feature 84 games, and about 30 of those will be televised live across ESPN platforms. All of Brewster’s EYBL games will be away games, but the National Team will still have non-league games at home this winter, which you can find on Brewster’s online schedule here.

“This is an incredibly proud moment for Brewster Athletics and Brewster Academy,” Director of Athletics Connor Wells said of the new league. “Coach Smith’s development of an elite basketball program has always put more eyes on a great institution and athletics program. Brewster Academy is now even more so in the national spotlight, and couldn’t be more excited about this positive attention for the school.” 

“We are very grateful for this opportunity and humbled to be included with this selective group of elite programs and institutions,” Head Coach Jason Smith said when Brewster first joined NIBC last spring.

For the last three years, the NIBC has been the standard for top-tier high school basketball with a collection of established high schools committed to elite, national basketball competition. The launch of EYBL Scholastic furthers Nike’s deep footprint in the high school space with its long-standing EYBL summer basketball series.

“The partnership between the NIBC and Nike to create EYBL Scholastic represents a convergence of the best high school conference in the nation with the most influential brand in basketball,” said Rashid Ghazi, Commissioner of the NIBC who will serve in the same role with EYBL Scholastic. “Together we plan to create a next-level platform for serious athletes to receive a great education, high-level training, elite competition, and tremendous national exposure while preparing them to excel at the next level.”

The newly formed EYBL Scholastic welcomes four new teams into the fold: Canyon International Academy (Arizona), Link Academy (Missouri), Orangeville Prep (Ontario, Canada.) and Veritas Prep (California). They join Brewster and nine other high school teams. 

All EYBL Scholastic team rosters consist of four-year high school basketball players (post grads are ineligible for play). Brewster’s post grad players are part of the Prep Team, which has notably captured seven National Prep Championships since 2010 and has a 6-1 record this season as November came to an end. Local fans are once again welcome to watch the Prep Team in action at home games in the Smith Center after in-person spectators had to take a break due to COVID. Check out the schedule here.

Be sure to follow all of Brewster’s basketball news at @Brewsteracademyhoops. And for in-depth coverage of Nike EYBL Scholastic, follow @league.ready on Instagram and @LeagueRDY on Twitter. You can also check out Brewster’s National Team and their league competitors on the official site of Nike EYBL Scholastic here.