Omaha men’s basketball senior Ja’Sean Glover is the shining star when he walks into a room, the beaming smile on a rainy day.
His success as a Maverick almost didn’t happen.
When Chris Crutchfield arrived in Omaha to take over the men’s basketball program at his alma mater in April of 2022, he needed players who fit the style he wanted the Mavericks to play.
Omaha associate head coach Kyan Brown wasn’t on the Omaha staff yet when he first saw Glover at an AAU event in Sioux Falls, S.D. Brown. An assistant coach at North Dakota State in the early spring of 2022, Brown first noticed Glover while recruiting a different player.
It was a true, head-turning moment and one that changed the basketball journey for Glover.
The 6-foot-5 guard’s basketball journey before Omaha was a highly successful one. At Madelia High School in southwest Minnesota, Glover scored over 3,100 points, just the 13th player in the state’s history to accomplish that feat. He was a six-year letter winner and five-time captain/co-captain at Madelia. Yes, he started his high school career on varsity as a seventh grader.
Despite his high school success, Glover’s best offer after his senior season came from a Division II junior college.
Glover needed his one shining moment.
That is when Brown invited him to come to Omaha on an unofficial visit, the kind that players pay for on their own.
Glover walked into the Lee Sapp Fieldhouse just weeks after Crutchfield was hired. He wasn’t guaranteed a scholarship offer, just a chance to play against some of the Omaha men’s basketball players, a common practice for college basketball programs.
It was his one chance to achieve every high school basketball player’s dream, a Division-I scholarship, and he took advantage of it.
That day and every day since then, Glover fit Omaha like a glove.
“I’m blessed to even get recruited out of high school, especially since the transfer portal,” Glover told Hurrdat Sports.
He’s a “day-one guy,” what Crutchfield has called his first group of players that laid the foundation for the program’s success.
Three and a half years later, he recorded the program’s first triple-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) since Omaha became a Division I program. He tied his career high of 26 in a home loss to Northern Colorado on December 3.
Glover was Summit League All-Defensive selection last season for the Mavs, helping them make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
“Warrior, competitor with a great overall skillset, great size and strength, excellent defender,” Crutchfield said of Glover. “Does a lot of the things that don’t show up in the stats. Day-one guy that has helped build and carry our culture.”
It’s not just his play on the court that makes his teammates and others appreciate Glover. It’s his radiant smile. His jovial personality is a stream of sunshine through the clouds.
If you meet Ja’Sean Glover, you are bound to smile.
“I try to find some type of joy when I’m on the court,” Glover said. “Not too many people have been put in my position to just play basketball or do something they love to do every day. So when I’m on the court, I try to express both joy but also a mentality of being intense. That is what I try to bring every day.”
The 2025-26 season has seen ups and downs for the Mavericks. There have been a few wins and a few losses. Off the court, the team lost a teammate before the season even started. Deng Mayar drowned in a swimming incident while on a break from school and workouts on Aug. 16, 2025.
“We’ve endured a lot on and off the court,” Glover said. “This is only preparing us for what’s to come and that’s to get to March Madness. We’ve all been growing together as a family; it’s not necessarily my teammates anymore, it’s my brothers and then the coaching staff. It’s been a lot, but we’ll manage.”
Each year in the program, Glover’s role has grown. He’s gone from a lanky freshman who wanted his one shot to an All-League level player who does the little things to help his team win.
“My freshman year being here, I couldn’t really shoot the ball,” he said. “Over my last four years, I’ve gotten a little more aggressive and made little kinks to my shot. Over the years, I’ve progressively gotten better on both sides of the ball.”
The Mavericks, picked second in the Summit League preseason rankings, are looking to make a repeat appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which would be another first in program history.
Omaha opens Summit League play Thursday against South Dakota State in Brookings, and the Mavericks’ first home conference game is Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Kansas City.
In what will likely be his last few months of college basketball, Glover is looking forward to helping his team and new home make a run at the Summit League title. One that would cement a lasting legacy for a program that is trending towards sustainability atop the league standings.
“I’ve definitely thought about my legacy. At this point, right now my legacy is just trying to be the best player I can on both sides of the basketball and letting my art show to the world that I can really play basketball,” he said. “But as far as off the court, being a good person outside of the world and projecting my light.”
