From thousands of points at the rec level and middle school, to 2,445 points at Banks County, and 2,344 at Young Harris, Carl Cleveland (Banks County ’20 grad) has scored probably around 7,000 points in his life or so. But he’s not done yet…

This final season at Young Harris has been nothing short of incredible. He was the national scoring leader in all divisions of NCAA for some time, and finished with 792 points (26.4 per game – 3rd in the nation in all divisions). His career-best season including highs in assists (76), steals (32), FG (258), 3PT (68), FT (208), and all of the percentages (53% FG, 42% 3PT, 78% FT). Cleveland also put up 8.3 boards per game, and finished his Mountain Lions career with 940 total rebounds, 240 assists, 97 steals, 28 blocks, 195 3-pointers, 789 field goals made, and 571 free throws made.

A multiple First Team All-Conference Carolinas selection, Cleveland added some new hardware this year – NABC All-American, NABC DII All-District 1st Team, D2CCA Southeast Region POY, Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, and many more. Perhaps better than all that is leading the Lions to a 23-9 record and a conference title, and advancing to the second round of the NCAA DII Tournament.

“It has been a blessing to play my whole career at Young Harris,” says Cleveland, who earned a couple of bonus years due to the COVID 2020-21 season [just 11 games], and then a medical redshirt while missing all of 2022-23. “You look back at the kid I was coming into Young Harris and very few people believed that I would get to the point I am and accomplish all that I did. It truly is unreal to look back at all the things I have accomplished and I couldn’t have done it without God and the endless support of my close family, friends, coaches, teammates, and fans that have been there through it all. I love breaking all the records and gaining all of the awards, but the thing that means the most to me is winning a championship at Young Harris. My whole career it is something I have always wanted to do for this community and I was finally able to do that.”

It doesn’t end there though. He’s given so much of his life to the game, and it continues to give back. Cleveland is pursuing basketball at a new level very soon.

“Thankfully, God has blessed me to continue my basketball career overseas. I have signed with an agent, that my family and I believe will represent my career at a high level and place me in a situation I can continue to grow my basketball career. As you said, all of my life has been dedicated to basketball and I don’t plan on stopping. This game has given so much to my life and I want to continue to grow within the sport. After I get done playing, I plan to come home and coach with my dad and help other athletes grow their careers within basketball and show them all it can do for their lives.”

Carl graduates with an education degree and is about to earn a Business Administration degree as well. He’s got a long journey ahead, but he has some memories that really stand out over the years from Young Harris and at Banks County.

“There have been a number of different moments and memories that I am truly grateful for within my careers at Banks County and Young Harris. Even though playing at both brought new challenges and a number of different experiences for my life, one thing stayed the same – my parents. I have been blessed with two of the most encouraging and supportive parents. They have been there through it all at Banks County and Young Harris. I truly couldn’t have done any of it without them. They are why I have been as successful as I am. They have seen the ups and the downs and stayed consistent through it all. I owe both of my careers at Banks County and Young Harris to them.”

Cleveland is a BLITZ Hall of Famer who posted 2,445 points, 1,049 rebounds, 390 assists, 116 steals, and 82 blocks along with 57 double-doubles and five triple-doubles. He led the Leopards to an Elite 8, two Sweet 16s, and three region titles. He was a 2-time All-State player, 2-time BLITZ Player of the Year, and two-time Region POY.

He leaves Young Harris as the all-time leading scorer with 2,344 points, all-time rebounding leader, 5th all-time in assists, 3rd in 3-pointers, 1st in total field goals, 1st in free throws, 1st in field goal percentage, 1st games played, 10th in steals, and holds several single-season and single-game records. This season, he had two 40-point games (career-high) and scored 30-plus 12 times.