Jermiah Jenkins: A Winner
Bluefield University student Jermiah Raijon Jenkins is a winner. He’s a winner in the classroom, and he’s a winner in the athletic arena.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jenkins came to Bluefield from Norfolk Virginia, to study exercise and sports science. The road to BU, he admits, was not an easy one, and he and his family are thankful for the opportunity he has had to further his education.
“You could look at Jenkins and see that this might be one of the happiest moments of his life,” said news writer Romeo Styles about the day Jenkins committed to Bluefield University. “You could see in his family’s eyes how proud they were. At one point, Jenkins’ own father had to try to hold back the tears as he expressed how proud he was of his son.”
Jenkins has since earned his bachelor’s degree from Bluefield and is now pursuing a master’s degree in an online BU program. He also came to Bluefield to play men’s basketball where he has also proven to be a winner. In fact, he is the player with the most wins in school history at BU.
“Number two is what I call him,” said assistant men’s basketball coach Andrea Stinson. “I came to Bluefield in November 2021 and fell in love with the way he handles himself on the court. He has the fight of a grizzly bear in a rabbit’s body.”
Stinson said Jenkins encourages his teammates and backs them up when needed.
“He handles his responsibilities as a leader on the team and shows it night in and night out,” she said. “There have been too many times he has taken big shots and made them to lift his team to victory.”
Jenkins played three sports growing up — basketball, baseball and football — but said he realized basketball was his greatest passion at an early age.
“I played basketball the majority of the time by playing travel ball so that was really me playing year-round,” he said. “Eventually, basketball became my true love, so I told myself to get as good as I could to reach new heights.”
And new heights he did reach. In addition to being the winningest basketball player in BU history, Jenkins was named First Team All-Appalachian Athletic Conference three consecutive years and was named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors All-State Second Team in 2022. In addition, he scored nearly 2,500 points during his career and was named Most Outstanding Player for the Rams. A five-year starter, Jenkins averaged 22 points and three assists his senior season.
“His passion for the game shows within his game,” Stinson added.