UNC Pembroke’s Spencer Levi dunks during a game against Fayetteville State on Nov. 17, 2021 at the English E. Jones Center in Pembroke. Levi signed a professional contract with Yoast United in the Netherlands, the team announced Monday.
                                 UNCP Athletics

UNC Pembroke’s Spencer Levi dunks during a game against Fayetteville State on Nov. 17, 2021 at the English E. Jones Center in Pembroke. Levi signed a professional contract with Yoast United in the Netherlands, the team announced Monday.

UNCP Athletics

<p>Levi</p>

Levi

PEMBROKE — College graduates are often told it’s time to “make it in the real world.”

How about making it halfway around the world?

Spencer Levi, the former basketball star at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, signed last week to play professionally for Yoast United, located in Bemmel in the Netherlands, the team announced Monday.

For Levi, a St. Louis native who became a fan favorite with his stellar play over the last four seasons in Pembroke, the opportunity presented represents a dream realized.

“Since I was little I’ve always wanted to be a pro athlete, whether it was football, baseball, basketball, whatever skill I had,” Levi said. “I’ve just been lucky to kind of stay the course and hoop, and build up my resume and career credentials for this moment. … Now I’ve got to be a full-time basketball player, which is kind of weird. It’s always been a hobby, something I love to do, but getting paid at what you love to do, and the process you’ve seen put it, it’s like, I’ve actually got to do this on top of loving it.”

Levi earned Conference Carolinas Player of the Year honors after averaging 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in his redshirt-senior season, helping lead the Braves to the conference regular-season championship. He becomes the second Braves player to sign professionally in as many years after Akia Pruitt in 2021.

He signed with an agent in April to help in pursuing his professional opportunities; things moved quickly over the last couple of weeks as Yoast United showed interest in the 6-foot-8 forward.

“As soon as they were interested in me, they actually went and got real game footage, they didn’t just watch highlights. They studied me and the way I play basketball,” Levi said. “One thing the coach really likes about me is the way I can rebound, the way I can defend one through five, my athleticism and my overall efficiency, offensively and defensively.”

Levi became Yoast United’s first international signee since the team’s founding in 2020. The team competes in the BNXT League, the highest-level professional league in the Netherlands with additional teams in neighboring Belgium. Clay Mounce, the brother of former UNCP player Carson Mounce, played in the league last season, and has spoken to Levi about what to expect.

Bemmel is in the eastern Netherlands, just a few miles from the border with Germany; it is approximately 50 miles southeast of Amsterdam.

Levi will report to the team in early September, and plans to travel to the Netherlands in late August to get “settled and acquainted” before team activities begin. Pending how successful the team is in the BNXT League playoffs, the season could last as late as late May or early June.

“My goals would really just be, off the court to meet a lot of new, good people and make connections abroad, have a good time and try to immerse myself in the culture,” Levi said.

On the court, Levi’s personal goals are to be the “best rebounder in the league,” and to lead the league in field-goal percentage after strong showings in that category in recent years at UNCP.

“If I could try to keep that up and put that into my professional career — those are my goals, because it will set me up for moving forward in a professional career, and also show that I’m not just a fluky Division-II player playing overseas, I’ve earned my stripes and been through with it,” Levi said.

As is often the case with international signings in basketball, the team will handle Levi’s travel expenses, lodging, transportation, etc., in addition to his salary — and he’s determined to be worth the organization’s investment.

“They’re flying me over there, I get my money, and I can kind of do what I want as long as I don’t (mess) up on the court,” Levi said. “And that is something I do not plan to do — I plan to show them why they’re paying me.”

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.