All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
Cameron Brady slicing and dicing opponents on the MNU basketball court
(Courtesy: MidAmerica Nazarene University Athletics/BVM Sports)

Cameron Brady slicing and dicing opponents on the MNU basketball court

OLATHE, Kan. — Cameron Brady has had an unlikely journey to NAIA school MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU). He grew up as a tall kid with red hair in small-town Utah. When Brady was in middle school, he moved with his family to the big city of Salt Lake City. He excelled on the basketball court for Cottonwood High School and was approached by college coaches to play at the next level.

Brady had a few post-high school options outside of basketball. He could take a two-year mission trip as is customary for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also looked into going into the military. Instead, he decided to push off playing college basketball and do his mission.

Brady ran into some obstacles before he embarked on his mission. He learned that he had a severe case of iron deficiency anemia. It was so severe that he could not play college basketball, join the military or do a mission trip.

Brady had to change his diet and take iron supplements. As a result, his health started to improve gradually, and he started feeling and sleeping better. He said that his change in diet has dramatically improved his life. He was eventually medically approved to go on a mission trip and was sent to Brazil.

He is quick to admit that it was a hard adjustment when he moved to Brazil. The climate was much hotter and he needed to learn Portuguese. After about four months, he could read, write and speak in Portuguese and had adjusted to the hot climate. He also learned that he needed to apply a lot of sun screen to protect his paler exterior.

Brady speaks quite highly of his mission experience.

“I would not be where I am today without going on my mission,” he said. I also asked Brady if it was worth potentially not playing college basketball for his mission, and he responded, “It was definitely worth it.”

Brady’s desire to play college basketball did not dissipate during his two-year mission trip. When he returned to the States, he attended some basketball camps in an effort to get exposed to college basketball programs. Coach Rocky Lamar at MNU noticed the 6-foot-7 forward and offered him a scholarship.

The then 22-year-old Brady made the move to Kansas with his wife, Sydney, to play basketball for Coach Lamar in the 2018-19 season. In his freshman season, he played sparingly and averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. However, his role became much more significant in his sophomore season. He improved a lot and averaged 6.1 points and 2.5 rebounds.

Brady improved mightily going into his junior year. He became one of the offense’s main contributors and averaged 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. He is now an academic senior and is poised to have a massive season for the MNU Pioneers.

He has very ambitious post-college plans. We should plan on calling him Dr. Brady in the not-so-near future. He strives to go to medical school but wants to take a gap year first. When I inquired about what he would like to do in his gap year, he told me that he is going to get a master’s degree in healthcare administration and management.

Brady has big plans, and who knows, he might even be my doctor in a few years.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.