Shereef Mitchell, graduated from Jesuit Academy in 2014 and Omaha Burke High School in 2018. He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Management at Ohio University, where he is also a member of the Men’s Basketball team.
Mitchell, a standout basketball player and high-achieving student at Omaha Burke, truly defines “student-athlete.” He maintained a 3.57 GPA throughout high school and was a top contributor to Burke’s success on the court. His senior year, Shereef was named the 2017-2018 Nebraska Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year, leading Class A in scoring with 24.6 points per game, a first for any Burke High student. According to Gatorade, the award "recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court and distinguishes Mitchell as Nebraska’s best high school boys’ basketball player.”
After a stellar high school career, Shereef attended and played a postgraduate season at Sunrise Christian Academy prep school, located just outside of Wichita, Kansas, where he developed as a player and discerned the best path to pursue his college career. In July of 2018, three days after receiving a scholarship offer to play for his dream school, Shereef committed to Creighton University.
In his four seasons as a Creighton Bluejay, the elite Big East defender played in 99 games, including four starts. Mitchell played in seven NCAA Tournament games, including five wins, which is the second-most in Creighton program history. In his last season with Creighton, Shereef helped lead the Bluejays to the Elite Eight, where they had a remarkable run, falling by one point to the eventual national runners-up, San Diego State.
No strangers to Jesuit Academy, the Mitchell family has a long history with JA, leaving a legacy at both the school and on the hardwood. Shereef’s father, Alvin Mitchell Jr. was an All-State guard at Burke High School who went on to play for UNL, Cincinnati, and University of Nebraska Omaha. His older brother Darnell, also a standout at Burke, attended Jesuit Academy along with his younger brother, Caleb, who is currently making his mark at Westside High School.
Being a student-athlete has formed a strong foundation of values that Shereef lives by every day. It has taught him to celebrate the little things, learn from failures, and embrace his successes. Being a student-athlete has taught Shereef how to work hard when no one is looking and how to face adversity and bounce back, illustrated by his 2021-22 season with the Bluejays when he was only able to play in six games due to a season-ending injury. His attitude and work ethic allowed him to bounce back in a major way, becoming a key cog in Creighton’s historical run to the Elite Eight the following season.
We are so proud of Shereef’s many accomplishments both on and off the court, but none more so than seeing him earn his Bachelor of Social Work degree from Creighton University in May of 2023. We want to wish Shereef the very best of luck and continued success in all his future endeavors!
