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: Kentucky baseball star Reed earns All-SEC
Kentucky sophomore baseball standout A.J. Reed of Terre Haute South Vigo High School earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors in voting by the league coaches for the recently completed season.
- COLLEGE REPORT: Wabash College All-American relay team has TH flavor
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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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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