Robbinsville – Isaiah Brown was born into a golfing family.
Prior to this year's title, his father Jeremy was on the last Black Knights team that won the Smoky Mountain Conference in 2000; his grandfather Jody joins Jeremy as an assistant coach on Robbinsville's current boys golf program.
It was only a matter of time before a member of "The Singing Browns" lineage took their talents to the next level.
A two-time state qualifier, Isaiah became not only the first in his family to sign a college scholarship Friday: he is also the first in Black Knights history.
"This is very exciting," Brown said. "God has blessed me with the ability to even play this sport. There are a lot of people my age I know that would love to just be able to play, so to get to play in college is a huge blessing."
The 2024 conference player of the year was courted by Haskell Indian Nations University (Lawrence, Ks.) and Young Harris (Ga.) College, but settled on Bryan College (Dayton, Tenn.) The Lions compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)'s Appalachian Athletic Conference.
"For me, golf has always been a great representation of life," said Brown. "You have to try to navigate your way through a lot of challenges and your worst enemy is your mind – unless you learn to control it. You have to learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes and learn from them.”
Brown said he is still praying on what field he will pursue after graduating from college, but he plans to obtain a degree in business.