After a summer of showcases and summer sports, both recruiting and committing are steadily speeding up. Bloomington South is no exception to this and has several upperclass students that have received offers to prestigious Division I and II schools. There are prospective college athletes in almost every school sport which could potentially translate to another very successful year of athletics for the Panthers.
In football, seniors Sean Azcui, Nate Taylor, James Bomba, and Cody Root have all received notable interest from collegiate programs with Bomba garnering the most. In fact, he just made his final college decision to attend Miami University in Ohio, and because of a fantastic amount of potential, could very well become a star in his next four years. On the other side of the ball, Cody Root has reportedly been talking with Ball State which means he could be playing against Bomba as early as next year (both schools are in the MAC). Meanwhile, Azcui and Taylor have each received an offer from Indiana Wesleyan and Azcui has two more from Cincinnati Christian and D1 Valparaiso.
Undoubtedly the most recruited athlete at South since Jordan Hulls, senior Anthony Leal made quite a splash when he decided to stick with the hometown Hoosiers over the prestigious academics of Stanford. While most South students were expectant of his commitment to IU, there was also a small group that believed he would choose Stanford because of his well known academic prowess.
When asked about his decision to go to IU, Leal explained that he simply “wanted to be able to make [his] lifelong dream come true, and to be able to play in front of my friends and family was really important to me.”
Leal even has a slight chance to play against one of his friends as fellow Panther senior Noah Jager committed to play at Army West Point over the summer.
On the girls basketball side, senior guard Kristen Ridner committed to IU Kokomo.
In other sports, senior Jacob Young has been sneakily talking with perennial baseball power Dallas Baptist. He had a very successful summer of showcasing his fireball heater in front of college scouts. Young could have more offers but multiple arm injuries and Tommy John surgery have sidelined him since his sophomore year. On Monday, Young announced his plans to attend Dallas Baptist and play for their division one baseball team.
Senior soccer player Gaelle Wells also has plans to become a student-athlete in college; she’ll play women’s soccer at Oregon State.
Meanwhile, senior soccer player Grant Yeagley will spend next year in Spain playing and training with a club team.
Last but not least, junior volleyball star Kenadee Coyle is committed to Western Kentucky and will look to lead the Lady Panthers to another successful season. One of her teammates, senior Olivia Blackketter, recently announced her decision to commit to Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Another volleyball player, Bailey DeMier, is also receiving looks from division 1 programs.
