Thomas Brenton (born May 2, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the

Stony Brook Seawolves The Stony Brook Seawolves are the athletic teams of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, United States. The school competes at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and joined the all-sports Colonial At ...

of the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

, where he won the 2013

Lefty Driesell Award The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball defender in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named for head coach Lefty Driesel ...

, given to the top defensive player in Division I college basketball. Brenton also won the 2013 America East Conference Player of the Year, becoming the second player from Stony Brook to earn the award. He played professionally in Japan for the

Link Tochigi Brex Utsunomiya Brex is a Japanese professional basketball team based in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. After winning the JBL 2 in 2008, the team played in the National Basketball League. In July 2015 it was announced that the team would compete in t ...

of the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

from 2013 to 2017. At 6'5" tall and playing the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

position, Brenton is Stony Brook's all-time leader in assists and steals. He was inducted into the Stony Brook Hall of Fame in 2020.

Early life

Brenton is a native of

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...

. He attended

River Hill High School River Hill High School is a public high school in Clarksville, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Howard County public schools system. River Hill High School was awarded a "gold medal" by U.S. News & World Report. It was recognized by Bu ...

Clarksville, Maryland Clarksville is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland; the second highest-earning county in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The community is named for William Clark, a farmer who owned much of the land on wh ...

before going to

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the ...

for one postgraduate prep year. In Brenton's senior year at River Hill, he averaged 20.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while leading them to the Class AAA state championship. He was named the Howard County Player of the Year. In his lone season at Hargrave, the school went 29–0 and won the Prep School National Championship Tournament as a top-five ranked team in the country. Brenton was only 5 foot 9 inches tall as a freshman but grew seven inches before graduating high school. He received several Division I offers and narrowed his final choices down to Stony Brook,

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

and

Western Carolina Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

College career

As a freshman, Brenton led Stony Brook and the America East conference with 8.9 rebounds per game. His 266 total rebounds were over twice as much as second place on the team. Brenton was named second-team All-America East as a sophomore in 2010, averaging 7.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He led the America East in rebounding for a second straight season. At the time, his 9.7 rebounds per game and 311 total rebounds were program records for Stony Brook. Brenton's 59 steals that season remain the Seawolves single-season program record. He was the Seawolves' leading rebounder, assister and stealer. Brenton helped Stony Brook win its first regular-season conference title with a 22–10 (13–2) record. In the NIT opening round against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Brenton had six rebounds. Brenton dislocated his right kneecap and tore multiple ligaments in a pickup game in July before the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. Originally slated for a six-month absence that targeted his return for the start of conference play in January, Brenton required multiple surgeries and missed the entire season. Stony Brook finished 15–17 in fifth place, but still advanced to the America East championship game before losing. He returned for the 2011–12 season, averaging 7.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He led Stony Brook in rebounds, assists and steals, and won America East Defensive Player of the Year while being named first-team All-America East. Stony Brook won its second America East regular season title, and a 14–2 conference record was the best yet in program history. In his final season, Brenton won America East Player of the Year and repeated as America East Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-America East selection. He averaged 8.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He became the second Stony Brook player to earn AP honorable mention All-America honors. He led the team in rebounds (279), assists (158), steals (54), and free throws made (100). His 158 total assists are still tied for the single-season program record. The Seawolves won their third America East regular season title, all during Brenton's tenure. Brenton recorded Stony Brook's first triple-double in program history on January 26, 2013, with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists against

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. He recorded a then-single-game program record 20 rebounds against Maine on February 24. He was one of the final 25 finalists for the

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by ''CollegeInsider.com'' to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois Fighting Ill ...

, given to the top mid-major player in college basketball. He won the

, given to the national defensive player of the year. He had six points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the NIT opening round against UMass as Stony Brook earned its first-ever NIT win. Brenton ended his collegiate career as Stony Brook's all-time leader in rebounds, assists and steals. He still holds the single-season program record for assists and steals. Stony Brook went 85–42 when Brenton was on the court and won its first three regular-season conference titles. In 2020, Brenton was inducted into the Stony Brook Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Brenton was not selected in the 2013 NBA Draft. In July 2013, he signed with

in the

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the JBL. ...

References

External links

Tommy Brenton
s Stony Brook profile

@ sports-reference.com
Q&A with Tommy Brenton
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenton, Tommy 1989 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Japan American men's basketball players Basketball players from Maryland People from Columbia, Maryland Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from the Baltimore metropolitan area Stony Brook Seawolves men's basketball players Utsunomiya Brex players Hargrave Military Academy alumni