Jerrelle Benimon

Classroom

Solid student that’s on track to graduate in January.

Character

Jerrelle is extremely mature and driven for his age. He is a reliable person who truly cares about his future. Although the Towson men’s basketball team does not select individuals to be captains, there is little doubt that he’d be the first one chosen by his teammates and coaches. As a transfer student-athlete, Jerrelle had to sit out the 2011-12 season in which Towson went 1-31. Despite all of the losing, Jerrelle was extremely upbeat and vocal in pushing his teammates and not letting them give up. He constantly worked on his game despite not being able to compete and he helped his teammates continue to improve as well. During the 2012-13 season, Jerrelle was finally able to play and because of all of his hard work on his own game and with his teammates, Towson set the record for largest single season turnaround in NCAA history by winning 18 games. Additionally, Jerrelle is someone that has never gotten into any type of trouble and has extremely high aspirations after graduation. His commitment to improving his game despite already being a tremendous athlete is something truly special to watch.

Community

The Towson men’s basketball team is very active in the community and Jerrelle has attended numerous community service functions. Most notably, Jerrelle has been active in Towson’s Autism Awareness functions. Tiger men’s basketball head coach Pat Skerry has a child with Autism so it’s a cause near and dear to everyone on the team. Benimon has participated in three “Fun Runs for Autism Awareness” and the team held an Autism Awareness night during a game last year in which the team wore blue (the color of autism awareness) warmup shirts that had the autism awareness logo on it.

Competition

In 2013, Jerrelle was named a Honorable Mention AP All-American, the 2013 CAA Player of the Year, a Lou Henson All-American and a Lou Henson Award finalist for nation’s top mid-major player. Additionally, he was a member of the NABC All-District First Team, the All-CAA First Team, the CAA All-Defensive Team and an ECAC Division I All-Star. Jerrelle ranked second in the NCAA with 20 double-doubles and third in the nation in rebounding (11.2 rpg). He led Towson and ranked third in the CAA by averaging 17.1 points per game. He also led the Tigers and ranked Top 5 in the CAA in field goal percentage (53.5%), blocks per game (1.9) and minutes per game (36.0). Jerrelle set a new Towson Division I single-season rebounding record with 346 boards. During his first year in a Tiger uniform, Jerrelle started all 31 games and was a major factor in the Tigers boasting the largest single-season turnaround in NCAA history by posting an 18-13 record a year after going 1-31. Jerrelle showed his range by shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc and he also unselfishness and play-making ability for others by leading the Tigers with 79 assists.