Plenty of locals in College Basketball this season

Volume 2 Issue 42

There is another season of college basketball on the horizon. Across the college basketball spectrum you will see Northwest Ohio athletes dotting arenas across the country. Local athletes have moved into both power and mid-major programs across multiple time zones.

Two former Rogers’ Rams are playing on the men’s side. Jamiya Neal provided a spark off the bench for Arizona State last season. He is expected to see a heavily increased role this year as the Sun Devils compete for a conference title. Over in the Big East, Da’Sean Nelson is a high flying power foward for DePaul. Nelson is also going to have an increased role this season after being Sixth Man of the conference last season. Both Neal and Nelson nearly transfered this offseason before deciding to return to their respective colleges.

On the women’s side Grace VanSlooten is the cream of the crop. Last year as a freshmen at Oregon she was named conference freshman of the week four times. By the end of the season she was named to the conference All-Freshman team and was All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. The 6’03 sophomore will be one of the top players on the west coast this season.

There are of course some mid-major talents to keep an eye this season. Cli’Ron Hornbeak started 31 games for Kent State last season and looks to only be improving. Sammi Mikonowicz averaged a double-double for the Toledo Rockets last season to help them reach March Madness. Canisius has Tahj Staveskie on the men’s side and Brooklyn Thrash on the women’s as their program looks to make a big step forward. Zeb Jackson also seems poised for solid year at VCU.

Some athletes from last year have found new homes. Madison Royal-Davis has transfered from Butler to Oakland. Casey Santoro has left Kent State and made her way to Florida Gulf Coast. Miami Ohio’s best player Ivy Wolf has transfered to Dayton.

There are also quite a few freshmen that have made their way onto the scene. Chico Johnson will be playing for Drake after being named a four-star recruit out of Toledo Central Catholic. Austin Parks, another four-star recruit, signed with Ohio State out of St. Marys Memorial. Rossford’s Derek Vorst signed with Indiana State over many top division two offers. On the women’s side, Riley Rismiller signed with Dayton out of Coldwater and Kendall Carruthers signed with St. Francis-PA out of Springfield.

No matter the day or time, this college basketball season you will almost always have the opportunity to watch a local athlete showcase their talent on the national stage. Be sure to check your streaming schedules to make sure you don’t miss one of these athletes in action.

Men’s

• Kalen Etzler - Ohio State - Convoy Crestview

• Cli’Ron Hornbeak - Kent State - Toledo St. Francis

• Zeb Jackson - VCU - Maumee Valley Country Day

• Chico Johnson - Drake - Toledo Central Catholic

• Jamiya Neal - Arizona State - Toledo Rogers

• Da’Sean Nelson - DePaul - Toledo Rogers

• Austin Parks - Ohio State - St. Marys Memorial

• Tahj Staveskie - Canisius - Sandusky

• Derek Vorst - Indiana State - Rossford

Women’s

• Kacee Baumhower - Wright State - Sylvania Northivew

• Kendall Carruthers - St. Francis-PA - Springfield

• MaKayla Elmore - Clemson - Hopewell-Loudon

• Sammi Mikonowicz - Toledo - Rossford

• Kailah Johnson - Ohio - Toledo Notre Dame

• Riley Rismiller - Dayton - Coldwater

• Madison Royal-Davis - Oakland - Toledo Christian

• Casey Santoro - Florida Gulf Coast - Bellevue

• Olivia Sims - Valparaiso - Toledo Notre Dame

• Brooklyn Thrash - Canisius - Elmwood

• Grace VanSlooten - Oregon - Toledo Notre Dame

• Ivy Wolf - Dayton - Minster

Leading Updates

• Zavier Simpson (Lima/Lima Senior) released by the Detroit Pistons.

• Bryant Koback (Holland/Springfield) signed by Seattle Seahawks.

Notable Game Updates

• On October 25th Dakota Mathias (Elida) had 19 points in an Ulm win over Turk Telekom.

• On October 26th Micah Hyde (Fostoria) had four tackles and a pass deflection in a Bills win over the Buccaneers.

Interesting Reads

• Trevor Harris: “My last play can't be me getting carted off the field.”

• Grace VanSlooten expected to play primarily on the perimeter in 2023-24

• Sunday Chat with former Start, St. John’s football coach Doug Pearson

• Analysis: What if Toledo's Catholic high schools joined the NLL?

Just For Fun

Schools most likely to win a football state championsip according to fantastic50.net.

• 84% - Marion Local (D7)

• 69% - Toledo Central Catholic (D3)

• 39% - Perkins (D4)

• 30% - Liberty Center (D5)

• 5.9% - Columbus Grove (D6)

• 5.8% - Bluffton (D6)

• 5.3% - Coldwater (D5)

• 4.9% - Wapakoneta (D3)