Brandon Maclin doesn’t have a highlight reel moment that went viral. He doesn’t have a five-star ranking or a story that starts with “everyone knew he’d make it.”
What he has is better. He has a game-winning layup against Creighton, a Big East roster spot earned the hard way, and a trail of coaches at every level who all say the same thing — this kid does whatever it takes to win.
South Side Tough
Maclin grew up in Jackson, Tennessee, playing for South Side High School — a program that breeds toughness the way bluegrass breeds basketball in Kentucky. The Hawks don’t produce soft players. They produce competitors.
By his senior year, Maclin was contributing to a team that reached the TSSAA State Tournament, scoring 10 points in a state tourney game where South Side shot nearly 58% from the field. Scouts on the club circuit noticed something different about him — he was built like a football player at 6’5” and 215 pounds, but moved like a guard with a chip on his shoulder.
The evaluation reports all said the same thing: toughness, grit, confidence. South Side basketball in a nutshell.
The FCP Foundation
After high school, Maclin made the decision that would change the trajectory of his career — he came to Florida Coastal Prep for a post-graduate year.
At FCP, Maclin went through the daily grind of competing against elite post-graduate talent in the Grind Session circuit. He put on muscle, refined his perimeter game, and — most importantly — learned what it meant to prepare like a college player before he ever stepped on a college campus.
The coaching staff saw a player with rare physical tools and an even rarer motor. Maclin didn’t need to be convinced to do the extra work. He was already in the gym.
The Odessa Grind
After FCP, Maclin headed to Odessa College in West Texas — one of the most competitive JUCO programs in the country. His freshman year was a lesson in patience.
Odessa College — Freshman Year (2022-23)
- 32 games played, 10 starts
- 3.5 PPG as a role player off the bench
- Played 29 minutes in the NJCAA National Tournament championship game vs. Indian Hills
- Learned what it meant to earn every single minute
A lot of players would have transferred after a 3.5-point freshman season. Maclin stayed. He later described that year simply: he was a role player who played his minutes and did what he had to do.
Then his sophomore year happened.
Odessa College — Sophomore Breakout (2023-24)
- 35 games played, 32 starts
- 11.9 PPG — more than tripling his freshman output
- 5.1 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.6 SPG — all-around production
- Team-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8)
- Scored double-digits in 22 of 35 games
- Season-high 23 points vs. Ranger College
- Ranked among the top-50 JUCO prospects nationally
- Led Odessa to NJCAA National Tournament Quarterfinals
From 3.5 to 11.9 points per game. From 10 starts to 32. From anonymous bench player to top-50 national prospect. That’s not a jump — that’s a transformation.
In the 2024 NJCAA National Tournament, Maclin put the country on notice — 13 points and 9 rebounds against Trinidad State, 12 points in a two-point upset of fourth-seeded Vincennes, and 17 points in the quarterfinals against Indian Hills. Odessa’s season ended there, but Maclin’s stock was just getting started.
D1 Arrival: Radford
Maclin’s Odessa breakout earned him what he’d been building toward — a Division I opportunity at Radford University in the Big South Conference.
He didn’t need a transition period. Starting 26 of 32 games as a junior, Maclin averaged 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while leading the team in steals. He dropped a career-high 22 points against Saint Francis — including six three-pointers — and helped Radford to a 20-win season and a Big South Tournament semifinal appearance.
In one season, Maclin proved he wasn’t just a JUCO success story. He was a D1 player — and the Big East was paying attention.
The Big East Stage
DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann didn’t mince words when he signed Maclin for the 2025-26 season.
“Brandon is a versatile wing guard who brings high-level toughness, versatility, and competitiveness. He was top three in scoring, assists, and rebounds on a 20-win team. His ability to play multiple positions in the Big East is something our staff really valued.”
Maclin has delivered on every word of that scouting report — and then some.
DePaul — Senior Season (2025-26)
- 10.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG in the Big East
- 13 points and 11 rebounds (double-double) vs. Georgetown
- 17 points vs. Providence — surpassed 500 career D1 points
- 21 points at Creighton (8-of-12 FG, 3-of-3 from three)
- Game-winning layup vs. Creighton — DePaul's first win over Creighton since 2015
- Helped DePaul sweep Creighton for the first time as Big East members
That Creighton game on February 11th was pure Maclin. Down the stretch in a 72-71 game, he scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including five straight free throws. Then, with seven seconds left, he took the ball, drove through the lane, and kissed a layup off the glass to give DePaul a win that ended a decade-long losing streak against the Bluejays.
Two weeks later, he went back to Omaha and dropped 21 on Creighton’s home floor. DePaul swept them. First time ever in the Big East.
His coach’s assessment midseason? “He’s the best NIL value in the country. He really is competing on both ends at such a high level.”
His teammates call him “the glue guy” and “the heart of our team.”
Maclin’s own explanation for all of it is as simple as the man himself: “Whatever it takes to win.”
The Bigger Picture
Brandon Maclin’s journey from Jackson, Tennessee, to the Big East Conference is the kind of story that defines what prep school basketball is supposed to do.
A tough kid from South Side came to Florida Coastal Prep, put in the work, and built the foundation for a career that would take him from a 3.5-point role player at a West Texas JUCO to the player hitting game-winners in the Big East. Along the way, he earned every single minute at every single stop — Odessa, Radford, and now DePaul.
Five schools. Four years of college basketball. Over 500 Division I points. A national tournament quarterfinal. A 20-win season. A Big East roster. A game-winning layup that ended a 10-year losing streak.
That’s not luck. That’s what happens when a South Side kid with FCP toughness refuses to stop climbing.
Whatever it takes to win — the path started at FCP.