Strawberry looks to win in his last year on the Mercer men’s basketball team

From the time he was 6 years old, Jordan Strawberry played basketball. Now, he’s a senior at Mercer and looking to graduate with a degree in criminal justice.

“Everybody in my family—like my cousins, my uncles, my brother—they all played basketball, so I kind of just fell in love with the sport and just continued playing,” Strawberry said.

Strawberry grew up with six siblings in California where he went to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. While he was in high school, his team won three State Championships, two California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Championships and four league titles, according to Mercer’s Athletics website. 

Jenna Eason
He said he decided to go to Mercer after a visit to the campus.

Head Coach Bob Hoffman said he enjoys watching Strawberry become excited when others succeed.

“I think he’s continuing to emerge as an effective leader. He’s learning every day—as we all are—what it takes to make people around him better, and I think his mindset and his thought process of thinking of others first has continued to grow,” Hoffman said.

Strawberry said his most memorable moment on the court was when Mercer played Samford last year in Hawkins Arena.

“It felt good, you know, just to have a big game and be in front of this crowd,” Strawberry said.

However, Strawberry said his most memorable moment during his time at Mercer would have to be the Mercer on Mission trip the team took to the Dominican Republic this summer. He said it was good to have experience working with his team in unfamiliar conditions.

“It kind of like brought us together because during the tough times we were just kind of like helping each other out, feeling each other, making sure we were getting our work done,” Strawberry said.

Hoffman said his favorite memory with Strawberry was watching him interact with the little kids in the Dominican Republic when the team washed the children’s feet.

“You could just see him just melting, and he’s different than others in that he’s not as outgoing as far as his loud talk—like I like sometimes as a leader—but he was really embracing that moment, and you could see he was taking it all in,” Hoffman said. “I think that’s what he’s continued to be able to do through the course of these four years.”

Looking at previous years, Strawberry said his time at Mercer went by fast, but he is looking forward to the year ahead.

“I’m excited for this year to win games and have fun with my team and just make memories,” Strawberry said.