Hall of Honor

Jim Branda '69 was an incredible part of the 1968-1969 Strake Jesuit Track team. He won state champion for the 100 Yard dash that year as well as state champion in the 400 Meter Relay alongside Mike Janda ’69, Al Figoski ’68 and Ronnie Leone ’68. Their record of 42.20 still stands on the Strake Jesuit Track Leaderboard today. This was also the first state championship team Strake Jesuit had in any sport. After Jesuit, Branda went to University of Houston on a track scholarship. Branda also had a son go through Jesuit named James, who graduated in 2009.

Greg Tyler '77 was a success driven athlete in both Football and Track. Tyler was a part of the varsity football team for 3 years. In 1975, he earned an honorable mention All-State for Football. Later, the football team also earned TCIL state champs. In 1976-1977, Tyler won All-State Football Honors, and in 1977, he won All State Track Honors. He went on to receive an athletic scholarship from the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock where he was a 3-year letterman on their football team. Currently, Tyler serves as the Chaplain for the Houston Texans.

Andrew Taylor '84 was a standout tennis player at Jesuit. Playing tennis since the age of 10, Andrew was excited to bring his talents to Strake Jesuit. Andrew never lost a singles dual match or individual tournament match during his time playing at Jesuit. Over the 4 years, he won 4 state championships. All four years, Andrew was the District Singles Champion, the 1^stTeam All-District Singles, State Singles Champion and All-State Singles. In 1984, Taylor secured the #1 doubles ranking and #2 singles ranking in the state in the United States Tennis Association. He also was part of the Top 10 USTA doubles ranking and the Top 30 USTA singles ranking across the United States. He later went on to Rice University on a full athletic scholarship. After co-founding a residential wholesale mortgage division and starting a start-up origination channel for a residential lender, he resides in Dallas, TX.

Nicholas Jean-Baptiste '07 was a dominating football player and track & field athlete during his time at Jesuit. Nick started playing football at the age of 8. During the 2005-2006 Football season, he won the 1^st team all-district offensive lineman and defensive lineman. During that same season, his team was the first ever to win the UIL playoffs against Fort Bend Marshall. In 2007, Nick also made regionals for discus. He attended Baylor University, originally as a walk-on that later earned a scholarship after two years. At Baylor, he was a four-year letter winner and made huge gains for the Bears. After college, Nick signed with three NFL teams in 2 years, the Ravens, Colts, and Browns, then played for two years in the Arena Football League for both the Arizona Rattlers and the Jacksonville Sharks, winning one AFL championship. Nick was recently hired as a Defensive Tackles coach at Montana State University.

The 2001 Strake Jesuit Varsity Football Team played the most successful season in school history. Their incredible perfect record of 10 wins and 0 losses was celebrated across the entire Strake Jesuit community. 

 

The team was led by head coach Ron Counter and captains Colin Matheny, Steve Dildine, Chris Hagale, Andy Sere, and Steven Hogan. They secured victories over powerhouse 5-A public school Magnolia, beat Wharton 72-0, and even defeated a team from Mexico City.  And, of course, beat St. Thomas 21-20 on a last second field goal from Luke Juist.