The Extraordinary Journey of Seth Towns: From Ivy League Star to Eighth-Year College Senior and March Madness Contender
Seth Towns, a 26-year-old college basketball player, stands out as an exceptional athlete with a unique journey. A Harvard graduate and eighth-year senior, Towns’ career has been marked by injuries that have forced him to step away from the game twice but also brought him back with unyielding determination.
Comparatively, NBA star Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics is currently playing his seventh NBA season, which began in 2017. Despite being younger by only a few months than Towns, Tatum’s professional journey is miles apart from the Ohio native’s unconventional path.
Now studying at Howard University in Washington D.C., Towns has qualified for March Madness once more, having led the Bison to a 70-67 victory against Delaware State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference final. This achievement marked Howard’s second consecutive title and ensured their entry into the NCAA tournament.
Towns’ college basketball career began in 2016 at Harvard, where he averaged an impressive 12.3 points per game during his freshman year. His scoring prowess skyrocketed as a sophomore when he put up 16 points per game while shooting an excellent 44% from three-point range. Towns was subsequently named Ivy League Player of the Year in 2018, hinting at a bright future in professional basketball.
However, Towns’ journey took a turn for the worse as he suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss his entire junior season in 2018-19. Following surgery, Towns was unable to recover in time for the senior year at Harvard, bringing an abrupt end to his promising college career.
Determined not to give up on his passion for basketball, Towns graduated from Harvard and entered the NCAA transfer portal in 2019. He eventually joined Ohio State as a graduate transfer, ready to fight for his teammates and the city of Columbus – where he felt at home.
The 2020-21 season saw Towns average 3.8 points per game while the Buckeyes earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. However, another setback struck when Towns was forced to undergo back surgery and missed the entirety of his redshirt senior year at Ohio State.
Despite expectations that he would return for the 2022-23 campaign, Towns shocked the basketball world when he announced his retirement from Ohio State in September 2022 due to mounting health concerns.
After taking a year off, Towns entered the transfer portal again in May 2023 and joined Howard University as an eighth-year college senior. With only four full seasons under his belt, Towns has faced more challenges than most players face in a lifetime.
Fortunately for Towns, he found a new home at Howard and made the most of his final college season. Averaging 14.2 points per game, Towns helped secure a berth in the NCAA tournament for the Bison, marking his first appearance since 2021.
Reflecting on his journey, Towns told ESPN, “I knew it was possible that it was over for good. I also knew it was possible it wasn’t.” After weighing up his future in the sport, Towns returned to the court with renewed determination and a unique perspective on the challenges faced by athletes.
Towns and Howard are set to face Wagner Seahawks in the First Four on Tuesday, with the winner earning a spot against No. 1 seed North Carolina in the round of 64. Despite the odds stacked against him, Towns’ extraordinary journey continues as he fights for a place in March Madness and the chance to prove his worth on the collegiate stage one more time.
