A 2001 graduate of Rock Falls High School, Bryan earned a total of six varsity letters in the sports of football and basketball. While his achievements in basketball are what he is most remembered for, Bryan did earn two varsity letters quarterbacking the Rocket football team. During his junior year Bryan had an outstanding season with 132 completions in 239 attempts for 1669 yards. He also threw 14 touchdown passes against only 8 interceptions. For his play he was selected First-Team All NCIC.

Basketball was his sport. Bryan was a four-year varsity starter and earned 1st Team All-NCIC both his junior and senior seasons. He also received 2nd team All-State honors from the Associated Press, IBCA, and Chicago Sun-Times his junior year and received 1st team honors from all three his senior season.

Bryan was also a two-time co-MVP for the Rockets and was named to several holiday tournament teams during his four year career. He was also named to play in the IBCA All-Star game his senior year and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee.

For his career Bryan scored 1492 points, which ranks him 3rd on the Rockets All-Time scoring list. His 937 career rebounds are tops in that category. During his four years the Rockets won three NCIC titles and were an incredible 104-22. The 104 wins are the most by any Rocket player in school history. Bryan was the starting center as a sophomore on the 1999 State Championship Team as well as the starting post player on the Elite Eight team of 2000, and the Sweet 16 teams of 1998 and 2001. He is one of only three players in Illinois State Basketball to be part of four winning Sectional teams.

After graduation Bryan signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I basketball at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. While at Samford, Bryan played in 111 of 112 games the Bulldogs played, including being their starting post player his senior season. During that senior year, Bryan scored at nearly 10 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from the 3-point arc. He was also voted the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2003 and 2005and the team’s Most Improved Player in 2005. 2017 IBCA Hall of Fame Inductee