The Jesuit High School Sacramento basketball team took home the school’s very first basketball state title. For the first time since 1994, the Marauders made it to the state final, and they won in dominant fashion. The hard work that Head Coach Tim Kelly, the athletes, and coach staff have put forth directly led to the banner that now hangs in the Barry Gymnasium.

At the beginning of the season, one of the areas of concern was that the roster was incredibly green. However, Amaury McKinney ’25 believes the team succeeded precisely because of this inexperience.

“Because the team was young and new, we focused more on our roles than worrying about all the problems established teams have,” Amaury said. “We weren’t concerned with normal distractions; we just wanted to get better.”

This team lacked what often ruins potentially great teams: ego. Humility and hard work wrote  the Big Red Machine into the history books. 

“A big part of our success this year was each player’s willingness to fill a role,” said Luke Browne ’25. “Many times people’s ego gets in the way of the team causing rifts within the team. This year we had none of that – each player was 100% focused on winning and that led to each practice being as productive as possible.

This idea that players weren’t playing for themselves was echoed by Coach Kelly. 

“This team is full of guys that work really hard and want each other to succeed,” Coach Kelly said. “It was all about winning. Individual agendas did not matter. It is amazing what can happen when no one cares who gets the credit.”

The team started the season 3-3, but won 8 of their next nine games to skyrocket into the top rankings in the league. After finishing third in the Sierra Foothill League and second in the San Joaquin Section, they made the NorCal tournament, where they made it to the finals, and won in strong fashion. In the state championship game, they found themselves at Golden 1 Center for the second time in the season, where they defeated the Alijah Arenas-led Chatsworth Chancellors, 66-53. 

This win was not just historic for the school, but was a personal triumph for the players themselves. 

“It feels great to be the team that gave this program something it’s never achieved before,” Amaury said. “I have been a part of the Jesuit program since I attended a basketball camp in first grade. I started playing with Red Raiders in the third grade and now finish my time here with a State Championship. It’s a storybook ending for me.”

Looking back on the start of the season, the team looked strong, but no one could predict the successful season they would achieve. Throughout the season, they worked as one unit, on and off the court, developing into an unstoppable force.

“We were able to spend quality time together and were able to see the true character of each other,” Luke said. “I realized just how serious everybody took it from their prep to their recovery and through that I realized there was something special about this group.”

The time that the team spent together proved to be valuable, and it showed on the court. Every player knew their role and found excellence in it, leading to the masterful performance in the championship game.

In pursuing the good of the team over the good of the individual, this team embodied the objective of Jesuit Athletics: to move beyond self-interest and self-centeredness in the pursuit of excellence in mind, body, and spirit–all for the Greater Glory of God.