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Princeton freshman forward Caden Pierce is rapidly rising up the ranks in his athletic family.
And that’s saying something, considering the wealth of next-level talent in his family.
Both of his brothers – Justin and Alec – played major college sports. His father, Greg, played football at Northwestern. His mother, Stephanie, was a volleyball player at Northwestern.
His middle brother, Alec, said watching Caden succeed just adds to the family’s vast list of athletic achievements.
In the last 12 months, Caden Pierce, who was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, helped lead Glenbard West to a Class 4A state championship in basketball – the program’s first title. Also, Glenbard West graduate, Braden Huff, is also experiencing the thrill of the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Huff, a freshman at Gonzaga, elected to utilize a redshirt this season.
With two wins last week, Pierce, a 2022 Glenbard West graduate, has played a vital role in helping Princeton reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 56 years. Princeton plays Creighton in a Sweet 16 game on Friday night in Louisville.
Alec Pierce, who caught 41 passes for 593 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season for the Indianapolis Colts, said he’s enjoyed watching the youngest of the three Pierce brothers succeed on the local and national level in the last year.
“It’s great to see Caden have success like he did because he’s been supporting all of us his whole life,” Alec Pierce said. “He went to so many of our games and tournaments growing up. These last 12 months have been great. I love watching him have such great success so early in his career.”
Despite his youth, Pierce showed his clutch ability by drilling two free throws with 21 seconds left in 15th-seeded Princeton’s first-round upset win over No. 2 seed Arizona. Pierce had six points and eight rebounds against the Wildcats.
In Princeton’s 78-63 win over Missouri on Saturday, Pierce scored nine points and pulled down a whopping 16 rebounds in 38 minutes to help Princeton (23-8) advance to Friday’s Sweet 16 game against Creighton.
Alec Pierce said he enjoyed watching his Caden display some wide receiver traits attacking the glass against Missouri. He said he attended both of the first two tourney games in Sacramento.
“My favorite memory of these past two games was him getting all those rebounds against Missouri,” Alec said. “I loved seeing him go up and high-point a rebound, like he was a wide receiver. I’ve just been telling him to enjoy the whole tournament process. He’s truly living out the dreams of so many.”
As the youngest of three athletic siblings, Pierce has spent most of his childhood years watching his brothers rise up the ranks in high school, college and professional football. Justin started his college basketball career at William & Mary before transferring to North Carolina. He scored 1,139 points and snagged 704 rebounds in 120 total games.
Alec Pierce came next.
He overcame long odds and several position changes to become a go-to wide receiver for Cincinnati. He finished his career with 1,834 receiving yards and earned 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team selection.
After getting selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Alec Pierce had a breakout rookie season.
But Caden’s stunning accomplishments – individual and team – over the last 12 months vaulted him into contention for bragging rights within his family.
Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka, who coached Pierce and Huff for two varsity seasons, called it a special experience watching Princeton and Gonzaga advance to the Sweet 16. The 6-foot-6 Pierce is showing the country his all-around, two-way skills, averaging 8.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists and blocked 19 shots, tallied 22 steals and hit 38 3-pointers.
“Glenbard West and the town of Glen Ellyn are proud of Caden and Braden’s accomplishments,” Opoka said. “They’re living every child’s dream. Just to see the joy and brotherhood they have created this early in their college career couldn’t help but remind me of our state championship run last year.
“The only difference now is that the entire state is cheering them on. Both players have worked extremely hard to put themselves in situations to excel and continue to find positive ways to impact our community.”
By now, Opoka said he’s never surprised at Pierce’s accomplishments on the court or his ability to come through in the clutch.
“Caden is a winner,” Opoka said. “He understands the importance of being a team player. For me, I know he will give everything he has for the goodness of the team. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he would sink those two free throws against Arizona, or dominate the glass against Missouri. Seeing the pure joy in him after those victories reminded me of why I wanted to become an educator and coach.”