Brandon and Nathan Claerbaut have spent their entire lives doing everything together, so there was no question whether the twins would try to play together in college.
Playing their high school ball for Zeeland East, both enjoyed a successful high school career, being named all-conference and a part of the MLive dream team.
After their dad decided to put them in the Amateur Athletic Union the summer before their freshman year, college coaches began to reach out to them both.
Having one another share the same interest and passion for basketball made them push each other to work harder.
“We always grew up playing one-on-ones and always pushed each other to make us as best as we could be,” Nathan said. “Having him share that same goal pushed us to where we wanted to be.”
During an AAU tournament in Milwaukee in their sophomore year, Bulldog head coach Andy Bronkema was able to watch them play and liked what he saw enough to offer Nathan. Brandon’s offer would come a year later after their junior season.
After offering them both, Bronkema gave the twins a deadline to either commit to Ferris or to keep moving on with the recruiting process.
“Ferris was really the first and only school that wanted both of us,” Brandon said. “After he gave us the deadline, we both agreed that it was the best decision.”
As most incoming freshmen do for Ferris, they both redshirted their first season.
Neither saw much playing time during their first two seasons as a Bulldog; they only played spot minutes and were not a part of the rotation. Neither of them became discouraged by the lack of playing time and used it as a time to improve their game and become stronger.
This was evident with Nathan, coming in as a thin-framed seven-footer, he knew he needed to put on weight to compete at the DII level.
“Those early years were extremely valuable to me,” Nathan said. “Coming in, I knew I wasn’t the right weight, so it gave me the time to condition myself and prepare myself for the speed and physicality of the game.”
The hard work has paid off for both of them, Brandon has appeared in 14 games this year and started in two of them and Nathan has become one of the best centers in the conference and a force on defense.
Nathan had never started before this season but has cemented himself in the lineup after starting 20 out of the first 21 games.
He is third on the team in scoring with 9.9 points a game, in addition to the scoring he pulls down 6.9 rebounds per game and leads the GLIAC in blocks per game with 2.6.
His play has secured him GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week on two separate occasions this season.
Nathan has accepted this new role and embraces it; Bronkema has loved Nathan’s growth as a player after sitting his first few seasons.
“Nate has been huge for us all year,” Bronkema said. “Coming into the summer we sat down and told him that we wanted him to take that leap and he has done that so far. He does exactly what we want from him.”
Their contributions have led the Bulldogs to an 18-3 start and a tie for the lead in the GLIAC.
After making the Elite Eight last season, the Claerbauts think this team is more together than in previous years.
“Everybody is so bought in this season, we all just want to be here,” Brandon said. “We don’t let anything on the outside disrupt us, we all hang out all the time and are best friends. We all share the same goal of a national championship.”
As the Bulldogs’ season pushes forward, Nathan and Brandon will continue to grow together and continue their strong play as Ferris competes for a conference and national championship.