TERRE HAUTE —
Interest has picked up tremendously lately for Terre Haute North senior-to-be Matt O’Leary, as the 6-7, 200-pounder now has eight college basketball scholarship offers and six at the Division I level after a strong July AAU season for the Indiana Elite One squad.
O’Leary turned a lot of heads during a grueling July schedule of games that ranged from trips to Orlando, Fla., and Minnesota and several points in between.
The Scouting Indiana website listed 15 uncommitted Indiana prospects who “improved their stock the most and played as well as anyone in July,” and O’Leary ranked first on that list.
D-I offers have come from Loyola (Chicago), Jacksonville, American, Lafayette, Northeastern and Furman. Other previous offers were from Division II Lewis University and NAIA St. Francis.
O’Leary took an unofficial visit to Loyola on Saturday. Should he decide to go there, one of his coaches would be former Indiana Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner.
Gardner took the assistant coaching spot that was briefly filled by former Indiana standout Michael Lewis, who had left Eastern Illinois for Loyola but then departed for a job on Brad Stevens’ staff at Butler.
Gardner was an assistant coach at Indianapolis Cathedral last year and coached against O’Leary and the Patriots.
• Bits and pieces — Several other recent Vigo County grads have decided upon their college basketball homes.
South’s Anthony McGill will play for Illinois Central, joining former teammate Jacob Tanoos and following in the footsteps of former local standouts Robert Davis, Travis Davis and Wendell Mardis at the Peoria school.
Terre Haute North will be sending four other players on to the collegiate level from this year’s sectional championship team besides Justin Gant at Indiana State. Logan Shipley (preferred walk-on at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), Tommie Bolden (Vincennes), Chase Jones (Franklin) and Jake Newton (Oakland City) will all be continuing their careers in the Hoosier state.
• Head coach Steve Farley and the Butler baseball program have announced coaching staff changes for the upcoming 2012 season.
Casey-Westfield grad D.J. Throneburg, who joined the staff this past season, will now serve as the program’s top assistant coach. Throneburg will continue to serve as BU’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
Under his tutelage last season, senior Dom Silvestri was an All-Horizon League honoree. Throneburg came to Butler in the winter of 2010 after four seasons at Parkland College.
• Two recent North Central grads will be continuing their softball careers at Illinois junior colleges, with Lainey Thompson headed for Lincoln Trail and Ariel Jacobs going to Olney Central.
• Former Terre Haute North and St. Joseph’s College football standout Ethan Tyler has started a new job as a strength and conditioning specialist/sports-specific program designer at the Beachside Health Studio in Melbourne, Fla.
He earned a master’s degree from Indiana State in exercise science after graduating from St. Joseph’s, and had served as a freshman basketball coach at North and an assistant football coach at Rose-Hulman.
• Two area standouts earned honors this summer for their performance on Oakland City’s basketball team last winter.
Shakamak grad Billy Newton was one of two Oaks named to the five-player NCAA D-II Independent College Athletic Association All-Freshman Team. Newton averaged 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, with high games of 12 points against Missouri-St. Louis and 11 rebounds against Heritage Baptist.
Jared Maners of Owen Valley was named to the second team All-Independent after completing a two-year career in an OCU uniform in which he scored over 1,000 points.
• Two area juniors are listed among the top 25 “top rising prospects” girls basketball players in the state of Indiana by the Rick Bolus High Potential Recruiting Service.
Sullivan’s Rhagen Smith is one of only three juniors on the 12-player first team, while Nicole Anderson of Terre Haute North is the only non-senior on the 12-player second team.
Terre Haute South senior Hannah Lee, who has verbally committed to Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, and Clay City senior Carmela Roeschlein are listed in “The Next 40 Best” players for the 2011-2012 season.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at
tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
COLLEGE REPORT: Terre Haute North’s O’Leary drawing Division I offers
- College Report
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Some odds and ends from College Report mailbag
Here are some odds and ends from Santa’s mailbag:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Hayne makes immediate impact at Lindsey Wilson College
Coming from a long line of volleyball players, including standout sisters Madison (Hayne) Minnick and Casey Hayne, it shouldn’t have been surprising that Terre Haute South grad Taylor Hayne made a big impact as a freshman this fall for the Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College squad.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Witt wraps up great season for Grand Valley State
It’s 337 miles from Shakamak High School to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., if you’re thinking of taking a long jog.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North senior O’Leary signs with Loyola (Chicago)
Two standout senior basketball players were among several Wabash Valley athletes who made previous college sports commitments official this week, with others expected to make their commitments official soon.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A battle of Witt’s: Shakamak grad has championship aspirations at Grand Valley State
It’s 337 miles from Shakamak High School to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., if you’re thinking of taking a long jog.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Potter named to all-conference team after freshman season
There are many clear differences between high school tennis and collegiate tennis.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Younger Weatherford following in brother’s footsteps
“Weatherford punts well for central Illinois college” is an example of a frequent newspaper headline around eight years ago when Terre Haute North grad Steve Weatherford was booming long punts for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
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COLLEGE REPORT: West Vigo grad Coombs excels for Wallace State volleyball
Wallace State volleyball may not come to mind when you think of college athletic dominance, unless you happen to follow Alabama Community College Conference volleyball.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle coaching at DePauw, younger Weatherford punting for Eastern Illinois
Pigskins are now flying through the muggy, late summer air and several Wabash Valley grads are continuing their careers at the next level as either players or coaches.
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JOEY BENNETT: ISU baseball assistant headed to Iowa JUCO
Following a standout baseball career at Terre Haute North, Max Hutson took his talents to one of the nation’s most prestigious collegiate programs at Wichita State.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Terre Haute North’s O’Leary drawing Division I offers
Interest has picked up tremendously lately for Terre Haute North senior-to-be Matt O’Leary, as the 6-7, 200-pounder now has eight college basketball scholarship offers and six at the Division I level after a strong July AAU season for the Indiana Elite One squad.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sullivan's Trimble to run for IPFW
Summertime comings and goings:
• Sullivan standout to IPFW — Sullivan grad Olivia Trimble will be taking her track and field talents to the Division I level at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne next spring.
Trimble comes to IPFW with personal-bests of 13.1 in the 100-meter dash, 27.5 in the 200-meter dash, 1:04 in the 400-meter dash, and a long jump personal best of 15-5. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Some final notes on the spring season
Cleaning out the end-of-year college sports mailbag:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Eberle to play for ISU, Fulkerson going to Rose for baseball
Michael Eberle and Parker Fulkerson are both Terre Haute North grads who were key hitters in the middle of the lineup for last summer’s Wayne Newton Post 346 state championship American Legion baseball team.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vicars pitches Alcorn to top seed
Terre Haute South grad Cole Vicars was the fifth leading hitter for Alcorn State’s baseball team last spring, but this year he has found more success on the pitching mound in leading the Braves to the top seed in the Eastern Division for the upcoming Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Three North volleyball players to play at next level
Terre Haute North’s volleyball program has made tremendous strides over the past few years, and the college ranks are starting to notice.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Eighty Valley natives playing college softball, baseball
Eighty Wabash Valley natives are playing collegiate softball and baseball this spring, while another 11 serve as college coaches.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad’s college softball career off to strong start
The transition from high school softball to college softball has been a smooth one for Terre Haute North grad Bethany Sullivan.
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College Report: Akers’ D-1 dream comes true, heading to nearby EIU
Austin Akers hoped to land a Division I scholarship two years ago following a standout high school career at Northview, but that goal wasn’t achieved at that time.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Molly Martin ends college career with run in NCAA Division III Tournament
The stellar college basketball career of Terre Haute North grad Molly Martin came to an end March 4, as Hanover College’s women’s team dropped a 76-62 decision to the University of Chicago in the opening round of the NCAA Division III national tournament at Grand Rapids, Mich.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SV'S Craigmyle to play football at Division II Harding
Harding University knows exactly what it wants in terms of football players to fit Coach Ronnie Huckeba’s system.
South Vermillion’s James Craigmyle knew exactly what he was looking for in a college. -
COLLEGE REPORT: WRC diamond standouts make college plans
Three Wabash River Conference diamond standouts have decided where they will continue their careers collegiately after graduating this spring.
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