Jon Wolleben - Men's Basketball

Jon Wolleben is a graduate student and captain on the Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team. Jon is pursuing a masters degree in biotechnology and management.

I was lucky enough to start my college career here at CMU on the best basketball team in school history. Being ranked in the Top 25 for almost the entire season, winning the UAA, getting to the NCAA tournament and finishing 20-6 made it a very memorable season. But, it was time spent with the other guys in my freshman class that made that year special to me. We knew we were not going to contribute that much on the floor, but we came in to work everyday – pushing the first team more than some of our opponents and at the same time getting ourselves ready for our opportunities. The eight guys I came in with have become some of my closest friends and it never surprises me that every year we bring in high character guys that really make playing at CMU fun.

The next few years seemed to fly by too fast. The groups of guys in my class were able to help turn CMU into a top program through hard work and dedication to the program. Younger players coming in knew they had to put in the extra time to keep up with us and that level of dedication helped us grow as a team, as a program, and as friends. Winning an ECAC championship as a junior and winning another 20 games as a senior and the first NCAA tournament game in school history are proof of our hard work.

I made the decision to pursue a master’s degree in Biotechnology and Management at CMU my junior year with the plan to help coach during my 5th year. However, late in my senior year, I found out that I could come back and play another season after a medical illness suffered during my freshman year kept me from a majority of games.

This fifth year has brought on a whole new set of challenges both as a team and for me individually. We have one of the youngest teams in recent years and big holes to fill from last year, as well as one of the tougher schedules. My leadership role on and off the court continues to grow as the season progresses. It is very important to me and the older guys on this team to stay positive, work hard every day and get better every day. We will finish up this year a solid, very dangerous team.

When I think back on these five years a long time from now, I am not going to remember stats or wins and losses. I am going to remember the guys. I have been on bad, dysfunctional teams in my life. But, for five years I have been surrounded by 15 guys that I could count on for anything and who could count on me for anything. Being part of a team that truly cares about each other and works hard every day has been the best part of my college experience.