Daily Pilot High School Male Athlete of the Week: All-around game made Brandon Browning a focal point for CdM
A number of seniors on the Corona del Mar High boys’ volleyball team have been playing the sport together since they entered middle school.
In their sixth year together, outside hitter Brandon Browning and setter Patrick Paragas have formed quite a connection.
When Paragas looks back on their time together, he remembers a time when Browning’s ticket to getting onto the court was not via the forceful swings of his right arm.
“He wasn’t always the biggest guy, but I think it was ninth grade that he got a growth spurt, so he was lucky to be able to get that attacking part of it,” Paragas said. “I think his mindset from the beginning was to be a great passer and be able to play defense.”
Although he grew to 6 feet 4, Browning still does not consider himself to be a physical player. While the Sea Kings get the spectacular play from their high-flying opposite Kevin Kobrine, Browning’s steadiness has proven to be invaluable.
The USC commit did not lose his foundation when he became a more proficient attacker.
“Ever since I started playing volleyball, all the coaches say that if you pass, they’ll find a way to put you on the court,” Browning said. “I feel like … passing is the most important. I always put that in the front of my mind that passing was what was going to get me on the court. It was my best attribute, so I got better at what I was better at. I tried to obviously get all of my other skills better, but I think that’s what makes me stand out as a volleyball player.”
Before long, Browning earned national recognition.
I don’t think there has been a day in practice this year where he hasn’t come in and given 100%.
— Corona del Mar High coach Steve Conti
In his sophomore year, he was named to the USA Volleyball Boys’ Youth National Team. The team won a silver medal in the 2016 NORCECA U19 Continental Championship in Havana, Cuba. That allowed the national team to qualify for the 2017 FIVB U19 World Championship in Bahrain, where Browning served as the starting outside hitter.
National team experience may have helped to motivate Browning heading into his final year of high school. It is an indicator that his years as an amateur could be just the beginning.
“The thing that I’m most proud about with Brandon is that he has worked his hardest his senior year here,” Sea Kings coach Steve Conti said. “Some kids that have been on varsity or maybe started at a younger age as he has, sometimes, it’s easy to take things for granted. This has probably been the year that he has worked the hardest. He’s worked the hardest in the weight room. I don’t think there has been a day in practice this year where he hasn’t come in and given 100%.
“I think that’s why he played the way that he did in the CIF finals. It was building up, and he was trying to prepare for that moment.”
The Sea Kings defeated top-seeded and previously undefeated Newport Harbor 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ volleyball final last Saturday at Cerritos College.
Making school history in becoming the Sea Kings’ first team to repeat as CIF champions compelled Browning to recite one of Conti’s favorite lines.
“The best memories are made in May,” he said following the epic five-set match.
Browning had 21 kills, 14 digs and two solo blocks in the section championship.
Conti continued to drive home the impact of working in the weight room for Browning.
“Sometimes, an outside hitter can get set three times in a rally,” Conti said. “I think his sophomore year, after each attempt, maybe he wasn’t jumping as high as the previous attempt.
“I think he’s kind of able to sustain that level, and that’s because he has pushed himself. He’s had a really good year.”
On the subject of connecting the dots and being able to make correlations for why things occur, Browning may have been destined to go to USC from a very young age.
He said his godfather, David Stockton, took him to his first USC-UCLA football game when he was in the fourth or fifth grade. Stockton handed Browning a USC hat, and this is what he recalled of that moment.
“My favorite colors, even before I knew what USC was, were red and yellow,” Browning said. “I saw the hat, and I was like, ‘I don’t even know what USC is, but it’s red and yellow, and I like it.’”
Further down the road, the connection had been forged and he could not shake his destiny.
“Once I got to the point where I was being recruited by all of these colleges, I kind of took a step back and tried to be unbiased, but that’s eventually where I obviously ended up choosing, and I’m very happy about it,” he said of committing to the Trojans.
Browning joined CdM’s varsity roster as a sophomore. He has twice competed in the CIF Southern California Regional Division I tournament, but he has yet to win it.
Browning will get one last chance on Saturday at 6 p.m., when top-seeded CdM (33-4) hosts No. 2 Newport Harbor (34-1) in the final.
Neither of the Back Bay schools has won the tournament in the top division. The Sailors are making their first appearance in a SoCal Regional final, while this will be the Sea Kings’ fifth straight trip, three of those in Division I.
“I think we know how we feel,” Browning said, “and we want to take it to that next level and be able to have a [section] championship and a [regional] championship in the same year.”
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Brandon Browning
Born: March 25, 2000
Hometown: Newport Beach
Height: 6 feet 4
Weight: 180 pounds
Sport: Volleyball
Year: Senior
Coach: Steve Conti
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite movie: “Surf’s Up”
Favorite athletic moment: Browning took pride in being part of the first CdM boys’ volleyball team to earn back-to-back CIF Southern Section titles.
Week in review: The USC-bound outside hitter had 21 kills and 14 digs in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final last Saturday. CdM edged Newport Harbor 23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13, claiming the program’s ninth CIF championship.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
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