Washburn's Braun set to be graduate assistant at Rockhurst University

TOPEKA (KSNT) - One former Washburn men's basketball player is trading his jersey in for a clipboard this fall.

Levi Braun, who played for the 'Bod for five seasons, is gearing up to be a graduate assistant coach for Rockhurst men's basketball. The Topeka native doesn't know exactly what he wants his future coaching career to looking like, but he knows he wants to be around the game in some capacity.

"My playing career, I learned so much, you just learn being a college athlete," Braun said. "Playing, that school, life balance, I think I can just help give the guys advice, having just got out of that, I feel like I can be an asset to those players."

Health complications prompted Braun to sit out for the second half of his fifth season with Washburn, 2023-24. Washburn's all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage served as a volunteer assistant coach for the team for the remainder of this past season.

Braun's not only hoping to take not only what he learned as a player, but also what he learned from Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard with him to Kansas City.

"Just X's and O's, just building relationships," Braun said of what he's learned from Ballard. "I definitely think he was a great coach and he knows what it takes to be successful at every level, especially the division two level, and Rockhurst is division two, so I'm accustomed to that. I'm going to take a lot of what I learned here and apply it over there."

This will be the first time Braun's moved away from Topeka, he attended Hayden High School and has lived in the area his entire life. He's excited for the change, but has a special connection with Topeka and the people in it.

Braun starts the two-year graduate program at Rockhurst in mid-August, and already has Rockhurst's Nov. 15 matchup with Washburn circled on his calendar.