The championship-winning cousins, Angel Reese and Jordan Hawkins, exchanged congratulatory words after their basketball teams took home the W.

The college basketball stars, Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese and the University of Connecticut’s Jordan Hawkins, won their championship games with LSU defeating the University of Iowa 102-85 on Sunday, marking the university’s first basketball title in history for its men’s and women’s basketball programs.

On Monday, Hawkins won with the University of Connecticut against San Diego State University 76-59, marking UConn’s first win in nearly 10 years. Hawkins told TODAY his cousin Reese messaged him after Monday’s win, revealing how they both plan to celebrate the double victory with their family.

“(She) said she was proud of me,” he shared. “We both said we need to go home right away for the cookout. I know it’s going to be crazy. The whole family is going to be there.”

“I wished her luck. I’m going to see her in Maryland soon. The cookout gone be lit,” he said.

Both Hawkins and Reese are from the DMV. Hawkins grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and attended DeMatha Catholic High School. Reese lived a few miles away outside Baltimore and attended St. Frances Academy.

“Man, it’s truly amazing because I just remember just being in D.C. with her,” Hawkins said. “We (were) just kids, just dreaming about this moment and look at us now — two national championships, one family. That’s pretty cool,” he added.

The 20-year-old is still shocked over the team’s win, calling it something he can’t explain.

“Man, it was a feeling I couldn’t explain,” he said. “Growing up, you always think about playing in the championship game, but winning it is a whole different thing. It still hasn’t hit me yet. It’s coming to me, though.”

“This is for all the kids from Gaithersburg, Maryland, that didn’t think they could do it. I did it. Now you can do it, man,” Hawkins continued. “Me and Angel paved the way. We did it.”

Hawkins hopes his story can influence other prospective players to dream and believe they can achieve anything.

“It’s absolutely amazing, showing that kids that were our age at the time, we were dreaming about the same thing, and we saw that it’s possible,” he said.

Congratulations to the two young basketball stars!

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