Spalding's Greg Brown talks about signing with St. Francis (Pa.)

Recruiting for Greg Brown  waxed and waned through the seasons.

While playing AAU with Maryland 3D, the Archbishop Spalding senior received a good bit of Division I interest. During the high school season, recruiting "kind of died down" for Brown. And then after the Cavaliers' 2011-12 campaign ended, interest in the 6-foot-1½, 185-pound combo guard picked up again.

Through all the ups and downs of recruiting, one school made clear its interest in Brown and never wavered in its persistence. Last week, Brown rewarded the coaches at St. Francis (Pa.) by signing a letter of intent to play for the Northeast Conference school.

"Coaches would call and then some would drop off," Brown said Sunday. "It was stressful at times. At the end of the day, I was definitely happy with my decision to go to St. Francis. I definitely felt comfortable there."

A four-year varsity player for Spalding, Brown averaged 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals as a senior. The Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection guided the Cavaliers (17-15) to their first trip to the Baltimore Catholic League semifinals since 2004. In a season-ending loss to Mount St. Joseph, Brown scored a game-high 29 points to finish his career with 1,092 points.

Several Division II programs heavily recruited Brown, including Seton Hill and Merrimack. Colgate was one of the more interested DI schools. But the Raiders coaches – and staffs at other DIs – were slow to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer. That wasn't an issue with St. Francis.

"It's always best to know you're going to a school where you know the people there want you," Brown said. "[The coaches were] just talking about how for guards, I was first on the list. That's always good to know, that the school you're going to definitely wants you."

Brown said the coaching staff told him that he will be expected to make an early impact for the Red Flash, who finished 6-23 last season. Brown will rotate between the 1 and the 2.

The former Spalding star is joining a program that's set to embark on a new era with first-year coach Rob Krimmel.

"Coach Krimmel … was definitely excited that I was actually his first signing as a Division I head coach," Brown said. "I definitely like that with him, [St. Francis is] bringing in a winning tradition to the team and hopefully [I'll be part of] a winning tradition."