Identical Twin Brothers From HoCo Make History, Battle Each Other As College Coaches

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Identical twin brothers from Howard County recently made history when they faced off as head coaches for opposing NCAA basketball teams.

Sean and Richard Westerlund are at the helm of NCAA teams in Pennsylvania and Michigan, respectively. The brothers, who hail from Ellicott City, said Saturday’s game was "one for the books."

“To be able to do that is really unique and it’s something I will always cherish,” Sean Westerlund of Bryn Athen College told WJZ.

Before their college head coach jobs, the 30-year-old twins used to co-coach Harford Christian School's basketball team. But they had always wanted to square off on the court at some point.

“I think we always talked about that we wanted to coach against each other at some point, sort of like the Harbaughs in the Superbowl a couple years ago,” Richard Westerlind said.

Not surprising, they've always been competitive.

“We got banned from playing one-on-one because we got into too many fights in the yard,” Richard Westerlund said.

The history-matchup also fell on the weekend of their mother Sylvia’s birthday. She sported a special shirt to commemorate the game.

“They are a perfect balance to each other,” Sylvia Westerlund said. “I had a shirt made so I had both logos on the front, logos on the back and their mascot names on either side of the arms.”

Despite their intense rivalry, the brothers hope to play against each other each season.

“For me, I want to play Sean every year,” Richard Westerlund said. “It’s something about playing with family and friends is always special.”

Sean Westerlund told WJZ he sees the matchup between brothers as an opportunity for growth.

“Now I don’t see a situation where I don’t play him again,” he said. “And we could just continue to build stretch and grow each other.”