Vandegrift High School is often known for its strong football program, but it is the basketball team that’s gotten the attention of major NCAA scouts lately.

Scouts and coaches from schools including Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor have all attended basketball practice in the past few weeks. The colleges were there to scout 6’8” freshman Greg Brown, who transferred from Brentwood Christian School. The coach from Texas was head coach Shaka Smart, who will be in his second season as the Longhorns’ head coach this year.

These are all prestigious programs, for they all were six seeds or higher in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

“It’s good to be recruited this early,” Brown said. “I want to get recruited for my team because they give me the ball and do things that no other teammates could do.”

Brown is one of the highest-ranked players in the Class of 2020 and is a part of the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team.

Not only is this a great accomplishment for Brown, but it is also good for the basketball program in general.

“It starts a little bit of excitement, kind of a fire in the program and the fan base,” head coach Cliff Ellis said. “We’re filling up the gym on fall league games because people want to see him play. It’s a lot of fun, even for me; I get to meet some of the coaches that I look up to and try to emulate.”

While Brown says he doesn’t have any dream schools in particular, there are a few programs that stick out to him.

“I don’t really have any (top schools), but I like Texas just because my dad and my mom went there. It’s just like a family thing,” Brown said.

Brown’s father, Greg Brown Jr., played for the Texas football team as a safety, and played in the NFL for a couple years.

The Brentwood transfer is excited for his season as a Viper and says the team can do big things in his first year with the program freshman.

“I can see a state championship in the future, we can win this year,” Brown said.

Vandegrift opens their season Nov. 11 at Rouse. The Vipers have appeared in the playoffs the past two seasons, and will be looking to do the same in their first year as a 6A program.