GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Brendan Hager was destined to become a Bullet.

As a child, he attended Gettysburg alumni basketball games in which his father, Jeff '81, and uncle, Bruce '77, participated. His father played alongside and remains close friends with Gettysburg's second all-time leading scorer, Bill North '81, who Brendan still refers to as “Uncle Billy.”

Even Brendan's mother, Maureen (Martin) Hager '82 attended the 'Burg and was a member of the tennis team that advanced to nationals in 1981.

Still, the middle child of three initially decided to enroll at Catholic University, where, as a reserve guard, he helped the Cardinals win the Capital Athletic Conference and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament as a freshman.

But looking for a different environment, he transferred after one season and landed at – where else? – Gettysburg, where the left-handed point guard would help the Bullets to a three-year record of 57-24, three conference championship game appearances, one Centennial Conference title, and two NCAA tournament berths.

Bruce got the ball rolling – no pun intended – for the Hagers at Gettysburg and performed well on the hardwood. As a shooting guard, he scored 582 points for his career and averaged 13.5 points per game as a senior.

“He was the lone senior on the team, kind of like a survivor,” said Jeff. “He enjoyed his time [at Gettysburg] for sure, and it probably had a little influence on me.

“He was definitely a scorer, and a great finisher. We were different kinds of players. We played on pickup teams during and after college, and he knew I would get him the ball.”

The year after Bruce graduated, Jeff found his way to the Battlefield and enjoyed similar success. He finished his career with 647 points and as a senior averaged 12.8 points per game while handing out a school-record 99 assists. He also helped lead the Bullets to a berth in the Middle Atlantic Conference playoffs.

“My experience at Gettysburg was a good one,” said Jeff, “on and off the basketball court. I was able to make lifelong friends, people I'm still friendly with.”

Bruce and Jeff ended up becoming business partners in 1986, forming Hager and Associates, a manufactures' representative firm outside of Philadelphia.

Fast forward to the 2007-08 season, when Brendan became the third Hager to find his way to Gettysburg. As a backup guard, he helped the Bullets to a banner season, as the team set a school record for victories with a 24-5 record, reached the Centennial Conference championship game, and won its first two NCAA playoff games in program history, advancing to the “Sweet 16” round.

The following year, the Bullets experienced a bit of a rollercoaster ride during the regular season, but after a late-season slump the team rebounded to win the Centennial Conference title and gain a second-straight berth in the NCAA tournament.

After serving as Gettysburg's first guard off the bench the previous year, Brendan took on a much larger role as a senior. Charged with leading a team that graduated the winningest class in program history, he started every game at the point and helped a largely inexperienced group to a surprising second-place finish in the Centennial Conference standings and a third straight trip to the conference championship game, where the Bullets fell by just four points to 20th-ranked Franklin & Marshall College.

It was a record-breaking season for Brendan, who shattered his father's record with 142 assists, or 5.46 per game, a mark that currently leads the Centennial Conference and ranks 23rd in Division III.

“It was probably my favorite year,” he said. “This season had a lot of highs and lows, but we made it through. We were a young team, and nobody expected a lot from us but we overachieved.”

Gettysburg head coach George Petrie was impressed with Hager's play as a senior.

“I don't think we would have had the season we had without Brendan,” said Petrie. “He was definitely the key component to the success of the team. Once he got settled, you could just see, game by game, his comfort level and command of the team taking place. Besides the assists, he knocked down shots, he kept us organized, and players followed his direction. He had an outstanding season.”

Many athletes would be reluctant to surrender a 29-year-old record, but that wasn't the case for Jeff.

“I couldn't have been happier,” he said. “Records are made to be broken, and if somebody's going to do it, it might as well be your son. I was rooting for him to do it, and he shattered it. I know how hard he worked, and I was ecstatic that he got it.”

“It's an honor,” said Brendan, a philosophy major , “if you can break a record and keep it in the family. I didn't follow it during the season, but my mom would tell me where I stood every now and then. I told her I don't care, I just want to win games. But it was special to break the record that my father set. He taught me almost everything I know about basketball, coaching me through eighth grade, so it was a reward to him as well.”

In the Centennial Conference tournament, the Bullets cruised past Washington (Md.) College 91-78 in the semifinals at tournament host F&M. Making his first postseason start, all Hager did was record his first collegiate “double-double,” scoring 10 points and tying a conference tournament record with a career-high 11 assists.

One day later, the Bullets found themselves down 16 points early in the second half to F&M on the Diplomats home floor in a rematch of the Centennial Conference championship game. Gettysburg made a spirited rally, however, even taking the lead briefly. But a couple of missed shots late in the game prevented the comeback, and the Bullets saw their season come to a close at 15-11.

Once again, Brendan filled the assist column, this time with nine to finish with a Centennial Conference tournament record 20 assists. He also kick-started the Bullets second-half rally with back-to-back 3-pointers early in the period.

For Petrie, Hager's elevated level of play was similar to the performance of Dan Capkin '09, who set a Centennial playoff record with eight 3-pointers en route to a Gettysburg championship victory in 2009.

“I think as a senior, when you can see the end coming, you really apply yourself,” said Petrie. “Each half of each game becomes more important than the last one. What Capkin did with scoring last year, Brendan did with ball handling and playmaking.”

For his career, Brendan finished with 209 assists – 11th all-time at Gettysburg. The recipient of many of his assists was All-America center Andrew Powers, who has risen to sixth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,426 points heading into his senior year.

Ironically, Jeff also passed the ball to one of the school's all-time greats in North – also a center – who piled up 1,712 points for his career.

“I think I'm one of the few people who saw both North and Powers play,” said Jeff. “Bill was a terrific shooter from 15-17 feet. Andrew is probably a little more athletic and gets more points in transition. But they were both very competitive on the court and were great leaders on the floor. And Bill ended up becoming a better person than he was a player.”

Jeff feels as if he and Brendan played similar styles on the court.

“I may have looked to score a little more, but I think we were pretty similar,” he said. “We both understood that you're trying to get your teammates the easiest basket possible. And at the end of the day, you want to find a way to win the game – that's your job as a point guard.”

Both of Brendan's siblings became collegiate student-athletes as well. His older sister, Megan, was a regional women's lacrosse All-American at the University of Delaware while his younger sister, Caroline is a junior women's lacrosse player at Loyola University.