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The list of records and awards Sean Reynolds racked up over four years of playing basketball at DeKalb goes on and on.
He’s not just leaving as the leading scorer in school history. The Barbs won 99 games with Reynolds on the varsity roster, most in school history.
“It’s emotional, after four years I won’t be able to play under my dad,” Reynolds said. “I cherished that a lot. After four years I connected with a lot of guys. I still talk to a lot of them. Those bonds, those lessons, I’ll cherish the rest of my life. It’s been a blessing to wear DeKalb across my chest, for sure.”
Reynolds averaged 16 points, four rebounds and four assists per game this past season. He had a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, shot 43% on 3-pointers and helped the Barbs to a DuPage Valley Conference title and regional crown.
He is the 2025 Daily Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year. It’s his third straight year winning the award. He was a first-team selection his freshman season.
Reynolds heads to D’Youville University in Buffalo to continue his basketball career. DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said coach Andy Stark noted the younger Reynolds’ ability to help will his team to victory at any level.
“I think there are those guys you want on your team that find a way to fit into a role,” coach Reynolds said. “When he gets to D’Youville, his coach said it best. He’s a connector of winning. I think he’ll be that for them. They’re a program on the rise, and hopefully, like he did here, he’ll help take them to another level.”
According to its athletic website, D’Youville last reached double-digit wins in a season in 2019 when the Saints won 11 games. In records going back to 2002 they’ve never posted a winning season. They moved up to the NCAA Division II for the 2021-2022 season and completed the transition last year.
Sean Reynolds said he’s looking forward to helping the Saints turn things around. They went 8-17 this season.
“They’re looking to change the culture a little bit,” Reynolds said. “I’m excited to get going there, it’s in Buffalo, New York. The campus is super nice, and they fit me well academically. It really felt like DeKalb. I tried to find a place that felt like family, and the coaching staff and all the players there, it really felt like that.”
Coach Reynolds said he’s impressed by the 99 Barbs’ wins his son was a part.
“To leave being the winningest player in DeKalb history, I think that’s the thing he’ll look back on later in life that he’ll be most proud of,” coach Reynolds said. “As his dad, that’s the thing I’m most proud of. We’ve preached that since he was a little kid – you’re trying to win the game.”
The Barbs started the season 2-3 and then 4-4 before finishing 26-7. They split the DVC with Waubonsie Valley thanks to a 49-41 win over the Warriors.
The game against the Warriors had been postponed two times earlier, and Sean Reynolds said the Barbs were champing at the bit to get their shot at Waubonsie Valley.
“We got snowed out two times, so we kind of prepared for them for three weeks,” Reynolds said. “We lost to them two times my junior year, and lost on the road senior year, so we knew coming in we really wanted to beat them. We started the conference 1-1 so we knew we had to claw our way back and win the rest of our games to win the conference.”
Sean Reynolds said he liked how the team came together after the 4-4 start, although as his coach pointed out, each Illinois team they lost to ended up a regional champ.
“He’s just a positive teammate and a positive leader,” coach Reynolds said. “I think it rubbed off on our guys, his quiet confidence rubbed off on our guys and enabled us to stay the course.”