Student-Athlete Of The Month: Joe Brenner

For those following Broadneck athletics, most might know Joe Brenner as Joe the starting goalkeeper on the boys soccer team. Or maybe Joe the lacrosse player, since he’s played virtually his whole life.

Inside the school, though, students encounter Joe the club president, Joe the honor society member, Joe the art student, Joe the mock trial leader. In the community, it’s Joe the leader of the homeless campaign, Joe the problem solver, Joe the fundraiser.

As Broadneck boys lacrosse coach Jeff McGuire said, “Joe does it all.”

The well-rounded Broadneck senior certainly aims to leave his mark wherever he can.

At school he has a 4.2 weighted GPA, has taken — or is in the process of taking — 11 AP classes, is in five academic honor societies (NHS, Rho Kappa, math, art, English), and has started one club (pickleball), led two others (Travis Manion, mock trial), and is active in even more.

One of his proudest accomplishments in his high school career has been as a part of invigorating a mock trial program that didn’t fare so well in the beginning but routinely got top marks this past campaign.

“We get the case book on Halloween and it's 200-300 pages of information, affidavits and exhibits. We went 0-6 my sophomore (year), last year we went 2-4, and we had a winning record this year and made it to the county finals,” Brenner said. “To turn that around felt huge, going from kind of a losing program to the place where we might have to have tryouts for the team next year. We were up there competing with schools that have (mock trial) as a class, so that's a credit to everyone involved.”

Brenner is heavily involved in his community as well: he has helped organize a local clothing drive and fundraiser to benefit the homeless community each year, after a neighbor who had spearheaded it moved away. He is active with the Travis Manion Foundation, presiding over the club at Broadneck and actively helping in the 5K run in Annapolis, in addition to other veteran- and first responder-facing ventures.

With Brenner being the son of a Navy veteran, it comes naturally that he would want to serve in whatever capacity he can. He has two nominations to the United States Naval Academy, and if that doesn’t pan out, he still has his eyes on service somewhere.

“Being a military kid, I feel like that helped me and want to lead in that, bringing the military side and remembering the first responders,” he said. “I just want to serve in some capacity and help my community.”

As part of his community, Brenner didn’t want to miss his senior lacrosse season, though his development as a goalkeeper and his love for soccer has grown in leaps and bounds since he took up the sport as a freshman. He went from barely playing on JV, even as a sophomore, to being in full-fledged competition with good friend and keeper-mate Dalton Bashore for the gloves in 2024.

When Bashore was ruled out with a bone bruise from colliding with the goal frame, it was Brenner’s time to shine, and he took that opportunity with both hands. He parlayed that experience into his club season, where he began thinking about the possibility of playing soccer in college, rather than lacrosse.

“Lacrosse came easier to me because of my dad and playing when I was young. But it was tough to be better at a sport I didn't love as much and worse at a sport that I learned to love a lot,” Brenner said. “I was just grateful to be on the team every year — lacrosse I kind of knew I would make it, but soccer, I was worried about it. I was just happy to be on the team and I didn't have a lot of pressure on me. Then Dalton got hurt and it was just me — and that was the time to step up if there ever was one.

“… I thought about how difficult this spring would be going from lacrosse practice to soccer three times a week and having the four AP classes. But I feel like I can contribute to the team, even if I'm a scout team player. I feel like I would be doing a disservice to myself and to the team. I wanted to play for coach McGuire, and he has a special bond with seniors, so I wanted to be a part of that.”

Whether it’s soccer, lacrosse, school, service, or spending time working on his car, Brenner thrives in doing as much as he can. But he takes the same mindset to everything: solving problems in his own way. That should serve him well as he pursues an education in engineering or architecture.

Or, he says, maybe law school and becoming a JAG.

All options are before him, and he won’t rule anything out just yet, even with college around the corner. Not knowing may bother some people, but Brenner has become comfortable living in that tension.

“I think I like being different. I’m the only club soccer player on my lacrosse team, and the only male athlete in my AP art class,” Brenner said. “I don't want to get the attention of everyone by being different, but I just like being me.”