Bio

JACOB BRANDL, a former Region IX player with North Platte, is in his fourth year coaching MCC.

In his first year coaching the Indians, Brandl led MCC to a 14-11 season mark and for the first time since 1997 the MCC Men’s basketball played in the Region IX Tournament Championship game. MCC has gone 11-20 over the past two seasons.

Last season MCC tied Western Nebraska for second place in the Region IX South standings, but ended up falling to the third seed because of a tiebreaker (the Cougars swept MCC during the regular season.). MCC went 6-6 in Region IX South play and 11-19 overall. The team lost the opening-round home contest to Otero Junior College. MCC started the Region IX South schedule 1-4 but went 5-2 in February.

Simon Akena (Stockholm, Sweden) was named first-team all Region-IX as well as first team all-Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference. Freshman Noah Boyed (Castries, St. Lucia) was honorable mention Region IX and tabbed for the all-NCCAC team. Martel Evans (Omaha) was an honorable mention pick for the Nebraska Conference team.

Boyed led all Region IX south players in rebounds, averaging 8.5 per game, and also topped all players in blocked shots with 46 He averaged 10.9 points per game. Evans played in 25 games, averaging 9.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game. He shot 44.3 percent from the field.

Here is a look at MCC since Brandl became head coach.

YEAR           W-L          WINNING %

2022-23       11-20              .354

2021-22       11-20              .354    

2020-21       14-11             .560

TOTAL        36-51             (.414)

Prior to moving to McCook, Brandl spent eight years at Dakota Wesleyan University in South Dakota, serving as the program’s associate head coach in 2019-2020. He was responsible for all players’ eligibility with the NAIA clearinghouse, responsible for all recruit correspondence and databases and recruited players from all areas including 77 student athletes during his final six years there. He also served as lead scout for all opponents and game planning, and player development for a team that has made the NAIA national tournament in six straight seasons. In Mitchell he was part of a coaching staff that has took their team to the national championship game and to the national tournament multiple times during his time there. 

THIRTEEN OF BRANDL’S FORMER MCC PLAYERS have moved on to four-year programs or are now playing professionally.

Two players from last year’s team extended their college careers and are moving on. Simon Akena will play at Utah Valley and freshman William Humer (Sollentuna, Sweden) is playing at San Jose State. He averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and shot 49.4 percent from the field last season, his only year with MCC.

Seven players from the 2021-2022 squad moved on to four-year programs including:

     Julian Lual (Calgary, Alberta), NCAA-D1 Arkansas State.

     Beni Fungula (Stockholm, Sweden), University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, a NCAA-D2.

     DaMiene Boles Jr. (Dayton, Ohio), NCAA-D2 California State University in San Bernardino.

     Martin Poznanovic (Uzice, Serbia), NCAA-D2 Chadron State.

     Ezichi Kalu (Lagos, Nigeria), NCAA-D2 New Mexico Highlands

     D'Andre Dennis (Charlotte, N.C.), Dakota Wesleyan University, an NAIA school in Mitchell, S.D.

     Yusef Washington, (Atlanta, Ga.), NAIA Dakota Wesleyan.

Four players from the 2020-2021 season also moved on including:

     William Lee, to NCAA-D2 Palm Beach Atlantic where he has been a two-year starter and voted newcomer of the year and second team all-conference

     Cory Kaplan, to NAIA Kansas Wesleyan, where he was a two-year starter averaging double figures and back-to-back national tournament appearances.

     Cortland Blake went to NAIA Southwest Assemblies of God University as a two-year starter, first team all-conference, NAIA All -American honorable mention. Led team in scoring last year as team went to the NAIA national tournament.

     Marcus Tobin signed a professional contract with the Shiga Lakers of the Japanese Professional League and now currently plays for the Chiba Jets of the same league.

BRANDL, WHO GRADUATED from North Platte St. Pat’s High School in 2006, was named the North Platte Telegraph Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year. He went on to play at North Platte Community College in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

After receiving his Associate of Arts Degree in 2008 he went to Dana College in Blair and later attended Midland University in Fremont where he received a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education as well as a field endorsement in social science and coaching.

As a college player at North Platte and Dana, he scored 966 career points, including 221 career 3-point field goals. He started 30 straight games for the Knights and then 59 straight for Dana College. After attending Dana College he went on to Dakota Wesleyan from 2012-2014 where he received his master’s degree in Education Policy and Administration.

Jacob and wife Ashley live in McCook.

In addition to his duties as basketball coach Brandl serves as MCC’s Career Coach in the Learning Commons. His wife works at MNB Insurance.