Andree Writes Final Chapter in Family Legacy at CBA

If the Andree name sounds familiar, the chances are it’s because one or more brothers have been enrolled - on and off - at CBA for the past two-plus decades.

Twenty-four years after his oldest brother Tim ‘06 first arrived at the Academy as a freshman, senior Conor Andree will be graduating from CBA this May, wrapping up a tremendous family legacy in Lincroft. 

“It was never really a question of whether I’d be going to CBA, but more of just getting there,” Andree says about his grammar school years at St. Leo the Great School. 

In addition to Tim, brothers Dan ‘13 and Pat ‘16 journeyed through the halls of the Academy before the youngest Andree arrived. 

“I remember thinking those guys were so old and I was like ‘I can’t wait to be them’,” he recalls. “I just remember seeing the atmosphere, all of my brothers played sports, so seeing Colt Crazies at games and stuff like that. I was just really excited to come here and see what it was all about.”

Andree followed in his brothers’ footsteps on the basketball court, suiting up for the Colts in the hallowed Cox Gymnasium with his mom and dad watching from their all-too-familiar seats.

Aside from the team’s success on the court, he enjoyed being part of the basketball program for the camaraderie that it injects into the school. 

“Seeing how everyone rallies around our team, especially this year when we were winning games,” he says. “I think we had 400 kids at the Shore Conference final, so it just shows the community of CBA that I really like.”

As a senior, Andree completed one of his biggest goals at the Academy: winning a Shore Conference Championship. The victory over RBC was the first conference crown since 2010 and completed a terrific first year under new head coach Brian Lynch ‘96.

Of course, there were family bragging rights on the line with brother Pat, who is CBA’s all-time leading scorer.

“I knew it would be kind of hard to get to Pat’s point record, so being able to get [the Shore title] as a senior really felt good to me, especially being able to do it for the school. I think we brought CBA Basketball back to where it should be and it will stay there for a while.”

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Andree did not let himself just be defined by basketball, as he grew into a great leader at CBA through Student Council. Serving as the executive board’s chief of staff this year, he could be regularly found at all types of student events, where it was grilling at a barbeque before a soccer game, assisting with the underclassmen semiformal, or speaking at Freshman Oath Day.

“CBA is so multifaceted where you can grow so many parts of yourself,” he says. “It is not just the athletic part, it is not just the academic part. CBA hits every single part of [how] you want to grow as a man and it is something that I have really appreciated.”

Andree points out that he believes his faith has grown tremendously over his four years, becoming a liturgical minister and serving at school-wide Masses.

His familiarity with the combination of academics, athletics and faith will come in handy next fall when he heads to the University of Notre Dame, another institution with a proud Andree family history. Both his father and brother Tim are Fighting Irish alumni, which gave Conor a special insight into what his experience could be like.

“When I visited Notre Dame, I kind of felt like I was home,” he says. “I would go in and talk to Mr. Brennan and he could see that Notre Dame was the goal.”

As he prepares to receive his CBA diploma, he knows there are hundreds of kids just like him that are ready to embrace the Academy experience.

“I got really, really involved midway through my freshman year and that is how I met a lot of my friends. The guys that I am friends with now, I met through basketball, the clubs that I am in, and going to sports games. If you don’t go out and be a part of the CBA community, I think you’ll regret it at the end of your four years.”