Georgia on his mind, C-N alum Brenegan turns pro in Tblisi
TBILISI, Georgia – Carson-Newman men’s basketball alum Nick Brenegan has turned pro. The three-point marksman and CSC Academic All-American has signed a professional contract with Tbilisi State University in Georgia’s Superleague.
VIDEO: Nick Brenegan – three point machine
TBILISI, Georgia – Carson-Newman men's basketball alum Nick Brenegan has turned pro. The three-point marksman and CSC Academic All-American has signed a professional contract with Tbilisi State University in Georgia's Superleague.
"It took a little time," head coach Chuck Benson said. "But the right opportunity presented itself at the right time for Nick. That's God's providence. Nobody I've coached at Carson-Newman worked harder and made more sacrifices than Nick. I can't express how happy I am for him to have this opportunity. I'm confident he will have a long and prosperous professional career."
Brenegan becomes the 11th men's basketball player coached by Benson to continue playing basketball at the professional level. He joins, Trey Hubbard and John Zhao as the third from this senior class to turn pro.
Five other Eagles are actively playing professionally –Zhao (rookie – Puerto Rico, Arecibo de Capitanes and Spain, Azulejos Moncayo CB Zaragoza), Trey Hubbard (rookie – Germany, Iserlohn Kangaroos), Bryant Thomas (third year – Latvia, BK Ventspils), Grant Teichmann (sixth year – Australia, Townsville Heat) and Ish Sanders (12th year – Slovenia, Skofja Loka). Antoine Davis (Germany, Canada), Ben Beeker, (Montenegro), Josh Rogers (Israel, England), Charles Clark (Iceland, Brazil) and EJ Bush (Bosnia) have all retired.
Oddly enough, Brenegan's pro club has some SAC flavor. Former Lincoln Memorial star and 2019 SAC Freshman of the Year Courvoisier McCauley averages 16.8 points per game for Lekso Lapanashvili's club.
Brenegan is the only player in school history to hit 90 threes in consecutive seasons. He finished his career second in school history and fourth in SAC history with 287 career threes.
He scored 1,353 points in his college career. Brenegan's 44.4 career shooting mark from deep is the second-best tally in school history.
A CSC Academic All-American, Brenegan earned SAC Player of the Week honors three times in his career, and national player of the week honors once.
Brenegan was named national player of the week on Jan. 9, 2024 following a historic performance against Newberry. The junior guard torched Newberry for 64 points, canning 18-of-27 threes.
He singlehandedly outscored Newberry in the Eagles' 103-51 win. The 64 points reset the Carson-Newman and South Atlantic Conference single-game scoring record held by the Eagles' Charles Clark since 2017. Clark went for 54 against Coker. It marks just the fifth 60-point night in NCAA Division II since 1975 and the 15th if you include Division I. Overall, Brenegan's night is the 15th-highest scoring night in Division II history. The bulk of Brenegan's bonkers night came from range. He broke the NCAA Division I and II records for threes made in a game with 18.
However, he was stupefyingly efficient, going 18-of-27 from deep. He was 21-of-34 from the field overall and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line. Brenegan had 21 points at the break before surging for a massive 43-points in the second half.
The 43-point second half breaks Clarks' record for points in a half. Clark had 36 in the second half in his record-setting performance against Coker. Taking Brenegan's second half by itself, he would still have the sixth-highest single-game scoring mark. He made 12 of his 15 three-point shots in the second half.
The 12 threes would have been the second-most in a single-game in school history. Included in that stretch was a string of 10 consecutive made triples that tied NCAA Division II mark for consecutive threes made in a game. With 21 made field goals, Brenegan also breaks Mike Ogan's 50-year-old record for shots made in a game, set in 1974 with 19 against Lincoln Memorial. His 34 shots attempted breaks WA Wright's mark of 32 on Jan, 20, 1968 against Georgia Southern. His 21 made baskets are the most in league history, tied with Denzail Jones' (Anderson against Newberry on March 3, 2012) league mark.
