Brown made two world teams for the United States in 1997. He passed in Notre Dame, Indiana in February and third place at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships earned him selection for the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships (he was eliminated in the qualifying round there). He cleared 2.31 m again outdoors, this time in Des Moines, Iowa, and was again third place nationally, behind Charles Austin and Randy Jenkins at the 1997 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His was selected for the 1997 World Championships in Athletics as a result, though again he would not progress to the World Championships high jump final. He ranked eleventh in the world on height that year.