By Chrissy Segrest
Elm Staff Writer
Benjamin Young, a junior business major and biology minor, found his home in the Washington College men’s basketball team after having traveled a long road of various colleges and universities to get here.
Originally a Mount Saint Mary’s University recruit, Young was injured and de-committed before the start of his freshman season in 2016.
He enrolled in Stevenson University for a lone semester, before attending Anne Arundel Community College in Annapolis. At the beginning of his sophomore year, he found himself at Centennial Conference opponent McDaniel College, where he stayed for a full year.
At McDaniel, he played in 18 contests, with six of them being starts. He averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds a game.
“I found myself more at home at WC and felt very welcomed by the students and the professors,” he said. “Great atmosphere, great people, [and] a great school. I told coach [Goodman] I’d be attending and that I wouldn’t be looking to transfer anywhere else.”
With the end of the season approaching, Young has played in 20 of 25 contests for the Shoremen. Young is tenth on the team for free-throws, with a percentage at 57.9 percent, a category the team has struggled with all season.
“When we started this year our main goal was to change the culture. The program here hadn’t been that successful in the past, and we arrived to turn things around,” Young said. “After breaking several records our team has achieved a playoff bid, and will be hosting the first playoff game on Tuesday night, which hasn’t happened in 13 years. Next year the goal is to keep that up and progress even further.”
With the hopes in receiving an NCAA bid, the only way the team will get there is through being great teammates to each other.
“One of the best qualities about Young is how great of a teammate he is,” junior Austin Allen said. “He’s always there to pick you up. When you’re having a rough game, he’s your personal hype man. When you’re having the best game of your career, he’s there to ride the high with you. I’m glad he picked WC.”
Young will graduate in the spring of 2020, along with teammates Allen, Alec Lewis, and team captains Dallas Marshall and Josh Porteous.