Five Years Later: Gabe Knutson

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

Gabe Knutson currently stands 10th in school history with 1,526 career points, which included 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the 2012 NCAA Tournament victory over Duke. Knutson went on to play professional basketball for two seasons and now, he's in New York City working in accounting at well-known PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Safe to say, Knutson got the most out of his Lehigh career.

An accounting major at Lehigh, Knutson interned with PwC the summer after graduating, which led to a job offer that Knutson was able to defer. He began his professional playing career overseas, but having a job offer in his back pocket was a nice fallback, and a luxury not a lot of people have.

"I played in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Austria over the course of two years," said Knutson. "I really enjoyed playing overseas. One of my favorite things to do is travel, so it gave me that experience."

Knutson took advantage of the opportunity to see the world.

"Any time we had a few days off, I'd plan a trip with some teammates," he said. "I went to see (former Lehigh teammate) Holden (Greiner) in the Netherlands when he was playing there. I went to London, Greece, Israel and Turkey. We also played in something called the Balkan League, which features many Eastern European countries like Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and then Romania. I've played games in those countries and have seen some places which aren't necessarily tourist hot spots."

For all that went well in his experience playing overseas, Knutson knew it was time to return to the United States and begin his career in the business world.

"I developed really cool connections and close friends, but eventually, I wanted to use my degree," he said. "I love being able to play, but I knew that eventually, I would have to come back. Having a job at PwC waiting for me that would potentially expire if I were to play another year or two, I didn't really want to come back and be starting my career at 30 years old."
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Because of Knutson's hard work at Lehigh, and some forethought post-graduation, he was in a strong position to transition into his role with PwC less than two years ago.

"I took some online courses in order to get up to 150 credit hours that you need to be a CPA (Certified Public Accountant)," said Knutson.

Knutson's first 130 credits came at Lehigh, a place he was drawn to in large part due to its academics, especially the business school.

"When I came to Lehigh, the accounting program was ranked No. 1 in the United States," he said. "I knew it's a great career; people I know who are accountants seem to be very happy. The world can't have enough accountants."

While at Lehigh, Knutson took advantage of the opportunities in front of him.

"Lehigh set me up tremendously," he said. "The recruiting that's done on campus was tremendous. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of many, many people who go right from Lehigh into New York. There's a reason I seem to run into a Lehigh person every week. They're just everywhere in New York."

At Lehigh, Knutson was named to the Academic All-Patriot League team for three straight seasons, all while starring on the basketball court. A second team All-League performer in 2011-12, Knutson served as a strong inside presence alongside star, and classmate, C.J. McCollum.

"A lot of the attention was on C.J. and we always ran plays for him, but having that release in the low post really relieved a lot of pressure," said Knutson. "We were able to run actions that were primarily for him, but when they doubled him, there'd be an easy dump down for a layup or dunk."

Knutston didn't miss a layup, dunk or shot for that matter in Lehigh's historic 75-70 win over Duke. When asked what resonates with him about the historic game, and season, stats don't come to mind, but rather, team camaraderie.

"The unselfishness and buy-in stood out to me," said Knutson. "To be successful, you need to have people buy in and believe in something bigger than themselves. We had different attitudes, personalities, and skill sets on the team, yet we all figured out a way to put our egos aside and play for each other."

For all of Knutson's impressive stats, he probably could have put up even more, but he embraced his role and did the little things right.

"Gabe had a unique feel for the game and was extremely fundamental," said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed. "That brought a nice foundation to what we were doing because I could generally count on Gabe to make the right basketball play."
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Knutson was a standout performer, but also a "glue guy" who made everyone around him better.

"I've always been a communicator and big believer in preparation," said Knutson. "I don't think I was a flashy player, but being consistent game after game helped us. You could always count on me to bring the effort and do what was expected of me."

Knutson's effort was prevalent, on and off the court at Lehigh, and it has continued to carry over to this day.

"Lehigh had a major influence in my success today," said Knutson. "Time management is one of the things that is ever present. When you're at Lehigh, you practice two or three hours a day, you're at class several hours, you have homework, projects and morning workouts. You have everything, but you have to figure out a way to prioritize and get things done."

Because Knutson was challenged at Lehigh, what he's doing today doesn't seem daunting.

"We're given a lot of responsibility right away at PwC," he said. "The Lehigh experience really set me up to be able to perform at my job today."

Between the Lehigh Athletics Leadership Academy and all of Knutson's experience working with teams, he was ready for the real world.

"All the teamwork aspects of being on four different teams throughout my time at Lehigh really prepared me for my job where I'm on different teams throughout the year," said Knutson. "I work with different people and get put in new situations. Last month, I was thrown in with a team that needed help. I went right in and was given certain responsibilities that I had to do with people I had never met before.

"I was able to go in, analyze the situation, prioritize, coordinate and get the job done. That's in large part due to Lehigh, and also my international experiences being in new and difficult situations."

Being put in difficult situations also led to a number of lifelong friends. The details of a certain game, like Lehigh's win over Duke, won't stick with Knutson, but rather the memories he made along the way with his basketball family.

"The Lehigh family feeling carries forward to this day," said Knutson. "We all get together, we all have a good time and we all care about each other so much to this day. Not just that (2012) team, but also, other Lehigh basketball alumni. Whoever's in the city, all these guys care so much about, and respect, each other. It's a good feeling to be able to accomplish something with other people who put each other first."

No matter the era, everyone who played basketball at Lehigh is family. Knutson feels heavily invested in the success of Lehigh basketball to this day. On a personal level, he hosted seniors Tim Kempton and Austin Price on their official visits and has felt pride in watching them succeed.

"Alumni want the best for the program and I loved being able to watch those guys play," said Knutson. "We (alumni) like going back. We went back for the Lehigh-Lafayette game this year. Even last summer, some alumni talked to the current team, helping them figure out their career paths, and keeping them on the right track. We really care for one another."

Current student-athletes can learn a lot from Knutson, who worked hard in college and is now reaping the rewards.

"I tried to take advantage of everything Lehigh had to offer," he said. "I tried really hard in the classroom and had to stay up late a few too many times studying for tests. I was in the library studying just as much as all the other students. I gave a tremendous effort in basketball, I gave a tremendous effort in the classroom and made some good friends along the way.

"Lehigh has a lot of alumni who are able to play professionally, or are starting their professional careers in something other than basketball," Knutson continued. "Lehigh gives you that chance to succeed. It's a great school, it teaches you a lot and has set up pretty much all the alumni for success."

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Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #4 Boston University on March 11, 2026 , Win , 74, to, 60

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Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Boston University on February 22, 2026 , Win , 70, to, 67

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