Ramel Bethea was more interested in playing video games than basketball when he was growing up. Now, after a standout year at MiraCosta College, Bethea has committed to continue his basketball journey at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The decision follows recruitment interest from more than 50 university basketball programs across the country. Despite the attention, Bethea said his time at MiraCosta made a lasting impact.

“MiraCosta and its environment spoiled it for me,” he said. “The facilities are nice. The people are nice. The school is nice. It’s making it hard for me to leave.”

Bethea, 29, grew up in Maryland in a working-class family, and basketball wasn’t on his radar.

“All I did was play video games. I was not athletic at all,” he said. “I was tall, but I didn’t have that look like someone who played basketball.”

After high school, he worked for four years in a grocery store before joining the Navy in 2019. That’s when things started to change. He began working out consistently, put on muscle, and shot up reaching nearly 6 feet 9 inches tall.

It was at the Navy gym where he started playing pick-up games with others.

“I’m tagging along just to have fun. I was at the point that I was playing every day,” he said. “I was getting better and better.”

In 2021, he was selected for the Navy basketball team competing in the Armed Forces Championship. The following year, he led the team to a second-place finish at the championship game hosted at Naval Base San Diego. Bethea was also chosen as one of 12 players to represent the U.S. Armed Forces in an international tournament in Belgium.

A Marine friend introduced him to MiraCosta College head coach Rob Robinson. Bethea decided not to reenlist in the Navy and left behind his partner and young son to play at MiraCosta.

Now, he’s preparing for the next chapter in Wisconsin.

“It develops you in a way that gets you used to having some kind of structure,” he said of MiraCosta. “It’s a good baseline to get you comfortable with what to expect from a four-year.”

He said the support he received at MiraCosta made a real difference.

“With my story and my background, mixed with my talent on the court, it feels like everyone on the staff is cheering me on,” he said. “I have a family on the West Coast that’s rooting for me like they’re my actual family.”