College Commitment: Eddy Hochsprung (2019 Sehome HS)
Eddy Hochsprung was born to hoop. There’s no doubt that the all-around 6-foot-4, 165-pound guard from Sehome High School in Bellingham would get the opportunity to do so at the next level, it was just a matter of where he would go. The future is no longer a question mark for Hochsprung as the high-academic standout made a campus visit this past weekend and decided it was where he will go and play his college basketball.
After making a trip down I-5 to Seattle Pacific, Hochsprung decided to accept an invited walk-on opportunity with the Falcons program. “The visit to SPU went great,” Hochsprung said. “They told me they had a spot in their program for me being considered a walk-on right now. I decided it was the right fit for me and it felt great and I’m extremely excited.”
Throughout the season, Hochsprung had been hearing from a number of Division III programs, most notably George Fox. But Seattle Pacific – which signed AAU teammate and good friend Clayton Whitman in the fall – had the best pitch even if they didn’t have a scholarship available to start.
“The school is just in a great location kind of at the bottom of Queen Anne and right across from the Fremont area,” Hochsprung said. “I’m undecided on my major but SPU offers my potential majors that I’m looking at, either political science or pre-med. Coach Leep and the rest of the coaches have created a program where it’s all about working hard and putting in the work to be great and as competitive as possible, but they’re also making sure you’re having a great time doing it.”
“I was able to watch them practice for a bit and seeing how hard they work and how much of a good time they’re having with each other at the same time is something I want to be a part of,” he continued. “The whole situation just felt right for me and I felt wanted there – I’m super excited to get to work down there.”
An all-around player who earned all-league honors as a senior, Hochsprung felt his game really developed this past season. “I think one thing that I grew as a player during the season was being more of a leader for my team,” Hochsprung said. “I picked up where things needed to get picked up and still did what I usually do, getting to the rim and knocking down open jump shots and three-pointers. I was definitely happy with the type of shots I got this year – we had a change in coaching staffs and with the different offense and different sets, I scored roughly the same but shot a higher percentage in less shots.”