The Backstory of March Madness: A Texas Basketball Mentoring Bond Forged at American University
March 31, 2025
The American University men’s basketball team punched their ticket to go dancing after being crowned Patriot League champions in Washington, D.C. after defeating Navy, 74 – 52.
The team went on to face Mount St. Mary’s University in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. It had been 11 years since the men’s basketball program had made the tournament.
Behind the team’s success has been the story of Eagles guard Elijah Stephens and AU Assistant Director of Compliance Fred Reynolds. Stephens’ family was first introduced to Reynolds by former AU Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brennan and former AU Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Ed Jackson. The men’s basketball staff noticed a quick connection to Reynolds, and asked him to support Stephens. They wanted to ensure that Elijah would be successful not just on the basketball court but academically, and in life.
Reynolds’s career background in higher education and athletics spans over 20 years in student-athlete development and NCAA compliance. But his connection with Stephens was a personal one, based on growing up in the South and coming up through the pipeline of Texas youth basketball. The Texas basketball culture and what the young men in the region experienced following their dreams and athletic pursuits created a unique bond between the two.
Reynolds said, “Elijah and I share a community understanding of the educational, cultural, and social differences by way of our transition from the Southwest region of the country to the Northeast region.”
On the relationship, Elijah’s father Antwan Stephens said “Fred played an important role in helping us get Elijah on a path of success … Fred’s role has been vital with Elijah’s transition to the collegiate level. Most importantly, Elijah’s time management improved exponentially under Fred’s mentorship. Fred also gained Eli’s trust early on which was huge.”
Elijah’s journey to AU did not come easy. When he was in middle school, his mother passed away in a car accident. As Elijah celebrated the Patriot League championship his father Antwan couldn’t help but remember how special this moment would have been for Elijah’s mother.
“I have mixed emotions. I’m extremely proud of Elijah’s accomplishments, but saddened that his mother is not here to share these moments with us,” Antwan said.
Reflecting back on Elijah’s early days as an Eagle, his father shared it was a bit overwhelming in the beginning for his son juggling the responsibilities of a collegiate student-athlete. He mentioned the key was having great people within the AU athletics department in his corner to help guide him along the way.
To support Stephens’ academic success, Reynolds introduced him to AU Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Bob Karch during his second year of enrollment. Dr. Karch pledged to help support Elijah’s transition from high school to college and discuss majors of interest.
During the summer and basketball offseasons Stephens and Reynolds would play competitive basketball with teammates and local players in Washington, D.C. Reynolds said, “These interactions helped with developing our relationship over a sport that we love playing.”
Reynolds described that it was during this time that the 5-foot-9 Stephens learned more about his background as a student-athlete from Texas attending Eastern Michigan University out of high school. The comparison that Reynolds made was sharing details about his basketball program being led by a guard that was a bonafide scorer and leader, the 5-foot-5 college All-American, who went on to play in the NBA and is the current University of Texas at El Paso Men’s Basketball Coach Earl Boykins. Stephens got to learn that Reynolds was part of a successful regular season and conference tournament team that earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Reynolds said, “It was a team that beat Duke in the first round of the tournament and subsequently fell short against the University of Connecticut.”
To support Stephens, Reynolds would meet him 30 minutes before certain classes two to three times per week to discuss the lecture and to help him prepare questions that he would be encouraged to ask the professors during class. Reynolds said the goal with Stephens was to demonstrate to him that he had a team behind him that included deans, faculty/staff, coaches, and former graduating Eagle alumni that would work to support his academic, athletic, and social development at AU.
Reynolds assisted Stephens in building necessary life skills, improving time management, helping to build Stephens’ network, and assisting with public speaking. They also prepared for career readiness through helping to refine Stephens’ resume, attending financial literacy programming, and searching for internships.
Today, Stephens continues to thrive academically and is enrolled in all necessary courses to earn his degree at the conclusion of the spring 2025 term. Athletically, Stephens is an All-League Patriot League player that helped his team win the Patriot League conference championship. The American University men’s basketball team earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA championship. During his time at AU from 2021 to 2025, he set career records.
“Reynolds became a resource for just about anything for academics, social and athletics since my first year at AU and I am thankful for him introducing me to his network and for the continued support,” Stephens said.