Liberty University Men’s Lacrosse player Luke Branham grew up playing basketball, hockey, baseball, football and lacrosse.
As the little brother to former Liberty lacrosse player Cooper Branham, Branham said his love of sports came from watching his brother.
“I was the younger brother, so whatever my brother was doing, I always wanted to follow in his footsteps and really just be the copycat,” Branham said. “Whenever he played basketball, I wanted to play basketball … but lacrosse was this new sport that I didn’t really know much about and watching him play, I just fell in love with it immediately.”
Branham said he quickly found out lacrosse was a unique sport that includes several aspects of other sports.
“I loved how fast paced it was,” Branham said. “It was a little bit of football, a little bit of soccer, and really always piqued my interest. I never really got (tired) of it.”
Branham’s older brother Cooper came to Liberty four years ahead of him to play for the Liberty Men’s Lacrosse team. Due to their age difference, the two never had the opportunity to be teammates and share the field until Luke joined the Flames in 2022.
“I was always following him around, annoying him,” Branham said. “But we were always super close. He would let me tag along with his friends, but I was definitely always the little brother.”
As the brothers transitioned into teammates, their dynamic changed.
“What was cool about finally being on the same team and going to the same school was that we were equals, we were just friends,” Branham said.
Branham is closing out his senior season as a Flame. He recorded 27 goals, 22 assists, 49 points and has surpassed his 200th career point during the regular season.
Branham’s season has been successful thanks to how he approaches each game.
“I have been fortunate enough to be able to start the whole time here, so being able to just be on the field, play my role and not force it,” Branham said. “Sometimes I need to, in certain games, step back and let other guys step up and sometimes I was the guy that needed to step up.”
Following the team’s 2025 National Championship, this year was more of a rebuilding year according to Branham.
“It hasn’t really felt like it’s been all about wins and losses, it’s felt a lot about us learning each game because we are so young,” Branham said.
This season’s roster consists of 17 freshmen, eight sophomores, nine juniors and five seniors or graduate students.
“There’s so much talent but a lot of guys are playing in big games for the first time. So, figuring ourselves out each game has been a huge part of this season,” Branham said. “I really do feel like every game this team grows more and more, really just taking it game by game.”
Branham noted the players are starting to play as a team, especially as the season nears its close.
“Really just carrying that confidence in our team and figuring out our identity, that we have to earn everything that we have,” Branham said. “We have to be grateful for every single game we have to play because nothing is guaranteed except for these next three regular season games.”
Off the field, Branham has been studying aeronautics and will graduate this spring.
Lewis is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.