JAKE CEROTA

Jake cerotA

Jake Cerota is a graduate of Clemson University. Cerota spent 3 years as a member of the Men’s Basketball program where he served as a student manager including the final 2 years as Head Manager.

Cerota created Grow the Game during the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine. Cerota wanted to create a community for current and former student managers. After getting the message out, Ashton Pilz reached out about a collaboration. A few days later the first call initially titled “Current and Former Student Manager Networking Zoom” went live.

In May 2020, Cerota and Pilz launched Grow the Game. Each Wednesday, Grow the Game hosted a clinic designed to teach student managers basketball and provide a networking platform. See the list of summer clinic guests here.

With student managers returning to work, Cerota launched The Manager Connection program in October 2020. As a result, student managers have built genuine relationships that have led to job opportunities that would not have otherwise been available. 

Cerota spearheaded Grow the Game’s first annual Coaches Clinic in August 2021. Over three days, Grow the Game hosted 16 guest speakers featuring 5 Division 1 Head Coaches. The complete list of presenters is here. 

In March 2022, Grow the Game and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced a partnership to help advance the professional development and networking of student managers. 

Grow the Game hosted its first in-person event at the 2022 Men’s Final Four in New Orleans and announced the first annual Manager All-America team to 10 deserving student managers. This also included the first annual Student Manager of the Year, presented to Adam Howard of Indiana University Men’s Basketball. Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes served as the event’s guest speaker. The event was sponsored by JustPlay Solutions and HDI.

To further the partnership between Grow the Game and the NABC, Grow the Game announced its new program, The Graduate Assistant (GA) Pathway. Grow the Game would be aiding highly qualified student managers in their search for open graduate assistantships by finding Universities with vacancies. Using skills assessments and surveying Universities for skill needs, Grow the Game paired candidates with different openings, allowing Universities a much more simplified hiring process.

Grow the Game launched its first Summer Professional Development Series in 2022. The cohort trio included the DOBO Bootcamp, Coaching Cohort, and NBA Scouting Cohort. Participants received first-hand experience learning the roles of a director of basketball operations, coach, and NBA scout through a series of projects. Each 6-week cohort was led by industry leaders in their respective fields. Participants in the Coaching and NBA Scouting Cohorts received free access to Hudl SportsCode and JustPlay thanks to strategic partnerships.

Cerota took Grow the Game to new heights by forming Grow the Game Inc., a 501C(3) non-profit organization in October 2022.  

Cerota is a native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He won a Gold Medal with USA Basketball as part of the coaching staff in the 2019 World University Games in Naples, Italy. Cerota also serves as the Basketball Intelligence Coordinator for the Philadelphia 76ers.