Class of 2018: Commitment Catchup
Several standouts from the Class of 2018 recently made some decisions on where they will play basketball next fall. Here’s a quick update on some of the latest commitments.
Our current list starts with two honorees from Prep Hoops Oregon’s 5A First Team All-State.
Kiefer Edwards, the explosive 6-foot-5 forward from Crater, signed with Southern Oregon where he will look to make an immediate impact. The high-flying dunking machine played a little bit of tune-up AAU ball this spring with the Rose City Rebels, but will settle into college this fall at the high NAIA level. Edwards was recently named 5A Player of the Year by The Oregonian.
The other 5A First Teamer recently making a decision is Cade Roth from Silverton. The sweet shooting 6-foot-5 guard, the Mid-Willamette Conference Player of the Year, will also be playing at the NAIA level at Westmont College in California.
Playing college basketball at the NCAA Division II level will be Zac Bulgin from West Salem. The 6-foot-2 combo guard often was overshadowed by the exploits of teammate Zach Greeley, but played well enough to earn a walk-on spot at Point Loma Nazarene down in San Diego.
Moving on to the Division III level are a couple of seniors from the Portland Area. Aaron Baune from McMinnville won’t be going very far away from home as the all-around 6-foot-4 wing is headed to Linfield for his college ball. Meanwhile, Rowan Anderson, the saavy 6-foot guard from Cleveland, will be going up to Washington to Whitworth to continue his career.
A Class of 2018 standout that will be delaying college for a year is Jay Elmore. According to South Eugene head coach Dave Hancock, the cerebral 6-foot-1 guard will be taking his game to the East Coast to Kimble Union Academy in New Hampshire for a prep season. There he will look to further refine his game and get some more college looks at all levels.
Several members from this year’s senior class will get their college basketball careers started in the the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).
Clark (WA) College recently filled some spots both outside and in with the signatures of Cleveland all-around guard Sethon Moore and developing big man Brantley Schinkelwitz from Southridge. Also deciding to continue his career north of the Columbia River is Prep Hoops Oregon 5A First Teamer Jake Costello of West Albany, who inked with Walla Walla (WA). Taylor Martin of Liberty will head north up I-5 to Tacoma (WA) CC.
A number of seniors are choosing to sign with in-state NWAC schools as well. Class 2A PrepHoops Oregon First Team All-Stater Cameron Benzel of Oakland signed with Oakland and also staying close to home are West Valley Player of the Year Tanner Lewis of Dayton, who signed with SW Oregon, and Kyver Raasch of Colton and Alex Rentsch of Sheridan who both inked with Mt. Hood.
Lane has earned the signature of several in-state players as brand new head coach Joe White has been working hard on the recruiting trail. Signing letters of intent from the Class of 2018 include Will Graves and Malakai Joyce of South Eugene and Trey Lopez out of Mazama. Also notable Titan signees are a couple of former Oregon prep standouts from the class of 2017 – high-flying Lucas Wilson of Churchill and Aundree Polk of Lakeridge. Polk attended Dohn Prep in Ohio after Lakeridge and after considering playing at a prep school in Missouri, Wilson did not play basketball last season.
Some other notable former Oregon preps who are moving on to four-year schools:
Cameron Parker, Jesuit (2017)
Despite averaging over 25 points a game and earning 6A All-State honors as a senior, Parker didn’t get much recruiting interest so he spent the 2017-18 year taking a prep year at The Tilton School in New Hampshire. It was there at Tilton that Parker further refined his game as a point guard and went on to break the school’s single game and single season assist records. His court vision and feel for the game caught the attention of several local schools, most notably Divison I Sacred Heart, for which he signed a letter-of-intent in mid-April.
Nolan Bertain, West Linn (2017)
After a solid but not spectacular senior season at West Linn, Bertain had some middling Division I interest and even signed with Division II Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. But the athletic long range sniper decided to aim for a higher level and moved on to Casper College in Wyoming for a one year junior college stint. After averaging 14.3 points and shooting an impressive .453 percent from three-point land, Bertain garnered attention from a number of mid-major Division I programs and he settled on signing with UAB (Alabama-Birmingham). An academic qualifier out of high school, Bertain has three years of eligibility remaining and can play right away next season.
Cameron Retherford, Benson (2014)
You probably best remember Retherford as a track star at Benson – and that’s what his future appeared to be after he signed on to compete in jumps and hurdles at Texas Tech. But after his freshman season and off-season back surgery, the super-athletic forward decided to switch gears with his athletic pursuits and came back home to play basketball at Portland Community College. Now after two solid seasons as a Panther (13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg in 2017-18), Retherford will take his high-energy game to Western Washington where he should fit right in with their up-tempo style of play.