By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – Nearly two weeks after the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford mens’ basketball team concluded their ground-breaking campaign, the awards and accolades are still pouring in, with Jamarion Butler and head coach Jesse DeLoof earning All-Region/District awards.
This past week, Butler’s dominant senior season was recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, becoming the first Panther in program history to make the First Team All-District (District 7). For DeLoof, he earned his second postseason award, being named the Region 7 Coach of the Year per D3hoops.com. However, while these two honors are the freshest cherry on top of their multi-tiered cake, they only hint at what impressive feats Pitt-Bradford managed to accomplish.
After finishing 14-12 in 2023-2024, the Panthers surpassed the previous watermark with a tidal wave. Kicking off the year with eight consecutive victories, Pitt-Bradford would suffer only three losses throughout the rest of the season, becoming the most successful team in school history at 23-3 and capturing an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) regular season title along the way. Entering the postseason, Pitt-Bradford would take down the defending champions, La Roche, before coming away with the programs third-ever AMCC banner after defeating Penn St.-Altoona by a mere two points in the championship game.
While the previous achievements cemented this squad’s place in school history, their next accomplishment would set the bar. Heading into the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2003, the Panthers earned the school’s first-ever tournament win with a victory over TCNJ, again by just two-points.
“We set a lot of new marks for the program this year. We accomplished a lot of our goals and we were fortunate enough to do that and then we just set new goals,” said DeLoof. “It was kind of our mantra throughout the year, we’d break it down to one goal, which was an AMCC championship. Then we accomplished that and were fortunate enough to refocus and reset and focus on another goal, which was to go to the NCAA tournament and win. It was awesome overall but it’s rare that we go into the locker room at the end of the year and think we accomplished our goals.”
Although their season would come to an end the following day, losing in the second round to Hampden-Sydney, 81-75, Pitt-Bradford had raised the standard for the Panthers. And with that, came a swath of accolades.
Through both the regular season and postseason, Butler was the tip of the spear. Averaging an AMCC-leading 20.3 points a game on 49.8 percent from the floor, the senior from Oklahoma City, OK was Pitt-Bradford’s first option. Alongside his scoring, which included five 30-plus-point performances, Butler recorded 7.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals a night, earning the first Pitt-Bradford AMCC Player of the Year Award since 2002-2003 as well as a spot on the AMCC All-Conference First Team.
Also being honored with an All-Conference honor was fellow senior Jesse Laster. The high flying guard from Cleveland, OH posted 11.5 points a night on 47.6 percent from the floor – including a team-leading 20-point game against PS Altoona in the championship game – alongside six rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks a night. For his work on the hardwood, Laster earned a spot on the AMCC All-Conference Third Team.
“I think it’s cool how I’ve seen (Butler and Laster) come. Seeing them grow up and mature over the past two years. They’re both ultimate competitors and just love basketball. It’s the number one priority for them and you can see it in how they compete,” said DeLoof. “They both came here last year and did some good things but we ultimately fell short, but it’s cool to see them really focus in and take another step. They’re different basketball players and different people than they were a year ago and that’s what made it possible for them to achieve for the team and individually.”
Another bright spot on the year was Braylen Salters, who had a breakout freshman year and earned the Panthers’ third All-Conference selection as a part of the Third Team. Scoring both inside and out, the Richmond Heights, OH native could be counted on for waves of points at a time, averaging 16 a night on 47.2 percent shooting and leading Pitt-Bradford in scoring seven times. Helping spread the floor offensively, Salters knocked down a couple of long balls a night, shooting 40.6 percent from long range. With five Panthers graduating this season, Salters could be the foundation for Pitt-Bradford’s success down the line.
“I expected Braylen to be a contributor from day one. I knew that he could but I don’t know if you expect a freshman to be All-Conference,” said DeLoof. “He’s never afraid of the moment and never shies away from competition. The brighter the lights, the more ready he is to play. I think his future is extremely bright and I think the skies are the limit for him. I think it could quickly turn into his team as far as being a leader.”
Braylen Salters evades a defender on his way to the basket during the Panthers’ win over Carlow in early January. As a freshman, Salters earned a spot in the AMCC All-Conference Third Team. | File photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Along with his regional selection, DeLoof also earned some praise, becoming the AMCC Coach of the Year. Taking the reins of a previously one-win team in 2019-2020, DeLoof has seen his vision slowly come to fruition. After missing what would have been his first season due to the pandemic, DeLoof amassed nine wins in 2021-2022, before following it up with 12 and 14 the next two seasons. In his masterclass season, DeLoof’s team produced an AMCC-leading 103.1 points a night – the next team down, Hilbert, scored nearly only 83.6 points a game – on the way to tying the program’s NCAA-best win total and sweeping the regular season and tournament titles for the first time in 23 years. His AMCC Coach of the Year honors come as the first of its kind since the turn of the millennium in 2000-2001.
“I think just having the vision and the goal of accomplishing all this (was the key.) I don’t think this happens by chance. You have to strive for it every day and you have to have these goals in mind,” said DeLoof. “When I took over a one-win team, I said we were going to be in the top 25 and win a conference championship and go to the NCAA tournament. If you don’t strive for that it sometimes doesn’t happen. I always knew we could accomplish it here
“It’s been unbelievable. It’s been like a dream come true. I didn’t get to do it as a player here and I would tell my guys that I’ve been trying to win a conference championship here for like 11, 12 years,” said DeLoof, who graduated from Pitt-Bradford in 2013. “It’s hard to do and for us to do it wasn’t a weight off my shoulders but it was so cool to see a goal of over a decade happen and how it happened. It was like a movie.”
While he isn’t one to rest on his laurels or dive too deeply into the meaning of everything, DeLoof understands the work, decision making and luck that led to a historic turn of events.
“A lot of stuff has to fall in line to have a chance of doing what we did this year. First and foremost, it’s the guys, the returners that we had and the guys we brought in. Then it’s a long journey. Looking back, I just think back to our first practices and implementing the system that we ran and scrimmages and our first game,” said DeLoof. “You look back on all of that and see how far we’ve come. A lot of things have to go your way and at some points, it felt like destiny this year. It just felt like it was our year to do it.”
