Alumni Spotlight: Jordan Jacobson '17 and an NCAA Title

(Photo: UAA Communications / Bella Rosa) 

As a member of the Florida Gators men's basketball coaching staff, Jordan Jacobson '17 balances a number of responsibilities for the high profile team. Most recently he had the notable distinction of escorting the 2025 NCAA Tournament trophy as the team touched down in Florida on the heels of their April 7th championship.  

Jordan, the program's Director of Basketball Operations and the one of youngest Division I basketball coaches in the country, graciously shared his time with Shorecrest News to reflect on the team's monumental accomplishment and his journey from Shorecrest to become a part of it. 

Shorecrest News: Given the whirlwind of the last month or so on the national stage of the NCAA tournament, what are some key moments for you? 

Jordan Jacobson: There's obviously some incredible moments in game and in highlights that will live on forever in the minds of Gator fans, but I think something that's really special about this team is just the relationships between one another - the players, the coaches, the support staff, the managers, everybody. 

The things that will stick out to me personally are the times that we're out to eat as a team, or we're in the locker room getting ready for practice and everybody's relaxed and goofing around. Everyone feels really comfortable with each other and is given the chance to express their personality on a person-to-person level.

SN: Do you have any special pre-game rituals? 

JJ: We don't really have anything that's particularly unique or out-of-the-box in terms of a pre-game ritual. But we are always consistent with what we do pre-game - we always meet the same amount of time before tip, we always have the same cadence, in our pre-game meeting our slides are in the exact same format, we break down each aspect of the game in the same order, and then go out, warm up again, come back in, go over matchups, lineups - that kind of thing.

(Photo: UAA Communications / Maddie Washburn) 

SN: Tell us about your current role. What is your day-to-day like? 

JJ: There are a lot of things that I find beautiful about college sports, but what I especially love is that there are really no two days that are the same. There are so many moving parts. In a lot of ways I'm kind of a catchall and a go-to guy in terms of doing things that all the other coaches don't want to have to deal with on their plate. [laughs] At the core of what I do as the director of operations day-to-day is to organize and plan how we travel and the schedule of game day. 

Outside of the day-to-day, I do things like managing our relationship with the Jordan [Nike] brand, hosting on-campus recruiting visits, helping with strategic pitches to prospects, assisting with travel and hotels, scheduling our arena - when we're practicing, when we're shooting around, what the game looks like, taking care of the opponents when they get in. 

The biggest thing, and the most rewarding thing, is that I get to oversee the group of graduate assistants and student managers. 

SN: What do you like about managing the student side of the team's staff? 

JJ: I love working with these guys that are young, eager, and hungry to learn, and getting the chance to help shape their experiences. It gives me a chance to sort of be the "head coach" of that team [of students]. So many of them want to get into coaching or work in sports, and I work to give them the best opportunity that I can to expose them to the things that they need to learn. 

Having been a student manager when I was in college - it really has not been a long time since I was in their shoes, and I think that resonates with them. For them to look at me and say, "Okay, this guy is asking me to do something, and it's for a reason because it's gonna impact the team. He's not going to ask us to do something that he wouldn't do himself or hasn't been asked to do himself before." 

Getting the opportunity so quickly to be in a role where I have the chance to help them curate their experience and put them in positions to learn and to grow and be involved with a team - especially a team as successful as this one - is really special to me. 

(Photo: UAA Communications / Maddie Washburn) 

SN: What advice or insight would you give to our Class of 2025 seniors approaching the end of their time at Shorecrest? 

JJ: I'd say that being open and willing to learn from all directions is really important - take every opportunity. I'd also say to appreciate the Shorecrest relationships you've built and be confident in how well Shorecrest has prepared you academically, while also understanding that Shorecrest is such a small part of the greater world outside. Take what you've learned and be ready to apply it in different communities and environments, expect different scenarios and situations, and be ready to learn from others. 

Jordan Jacobson '17 is a Shorecrest lifer and a former Shorecrest Chargers Basketball Captain who went on to attend the University of Michigan where he earned his undergraduate degree in Communication & Media, and Entrepreneurship in 2021. During his time as an undergraduate, Jordan worked as a student manager for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team, supporting the team on their way to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2019 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2021. Jordan joined the Florida men's basketball program as a graduate assistant while completing his master's degree in Sport Management at UF. After graduating in 2023, he joined the team as video coordinator and was promoted to Director of Basketball Operations in 2024.