Suburban Sprawl follows hoops stars to new homes
The transfer portal has been busy, as usual. A number of former suburban high school stars were active this week.
Naperville North’s Kenzie Hare committed to Iowa State. The 5-9 guard, who also played at Bartlett, spent two years at Marquette, averaging 14.0 points last season.
St. Viator’s Jeremiah Hernandez is moving back to the MAC, committing to Ball State. He started his college career at Kent State, then blossomed last season at Southern Indiana, averaging a team-best 17.2 points.
Mundelein’s Scottie Ebube, a 6-10 sophomore, is moving from SIU to Green Bay.
Waubonsie Valley’s Ben Schwieger averaged 9.2 points as a freshman at Loyola, then was limited to 10 games last season. The 6-7 guard committed to Northern Iowa this week.
Hersey’s Ethan Roberts is headed to the University of Pennsylvania. He was Patriot League freshman of the year for Army in 2021-22, averaging 12.4 points. The 6-5 guard transferred to Drake for his sophomore year but didn’t play due to an undisclosed injury.
Barrington’s Daniel Hong is moving from North Dakota to University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.
After two years at Iowa, former Palatine wide receiver Jacob Bostick announced he’s entering the portal. He appeared in five games last fall.
Lake Park’s Darrione Rogers announced she’s entering the portal. She started at DePaul, then spent last season at Mississippi State.
Benet Academy’s Brayden Fagbemi is hitting the portal after one year at Johns Hopkins.
GOAT of Park Ridge
When the name is Tom Brady, great things are expected. The Maine South grad delivered, qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the 5,000 meters. And yes, Brady goes to Michigan, just like his namesake.
Hogging the highlights
No one had a better week in college baseball than Mundelein grad Daniel Pacella. He hit a walk-off home run to boost Illinois State to a victory over first-place Indiana State.
Earlier in the very same game, Pacella made this amazing catch in the outfield that made the SportsCenter Top 10.
Here’s another view of the winning home run. Pacella, a sophomore, is hitting .359 with 8 home runs and 47 RBI this season.
Baseball in the Valley
Elsewhere in Missouri Valley baseball, South Elgin’s Jackson Bessette hit one of 4 home runs for UIC during a victory over Murray State. Bessette is hitting .358 with 5 home runs on the season. As of April 22, the Flames are third in the MVC, trailing Indiana State and Evansville.
Softball slugger
Crystal Lake South’s Alexis Pupillo is raking for Northern Iowa, hitting .339 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI. The Panthers are trying to win their third straight MVC title, but are in second place behind SIU.
G-League update
Last time out, we talked about how Libertyville’s Drew Peterson was playing for the Maine Celtics in the G-League finals. Well, this is how that series ended, with the Oklahoma City Blue celebrating a championship in Portland, Maine. Peterson averaged 20.7 points in the three-game finals.
Football recruiting
The top-ranked football player in Illinois for the Class of ‘25 is Fenwick edge Nate Marshall. He committed to Michigan on Monday after attending the spring game in Ann Arbor.
Draft ready
Warren grad Tavion McCarthy went viral a few weeks ago with a monster vertical jump at Mercer. This week, he spoke to the current Blue Devils about playing college football and trying to get a shot in the NFL.
AAU season
Here’s a highlight from Warren freshman Jaxson Davis, now in AAU season with Mean Streets.
Basketball commits
This section is for high school players who made college commitments, starting with Lake Park’s Camden Cerese, who is headed for St. Leo University in Florida.
Lake Park’s Pavle Magazin to Benedictine University.
Downers Grove North’s Kaitlyn Parker to Roosevelt.
Meanwhile, UIC officially announced Carmel grad Kevin Devitt as a men’s basketball assistant coach.
Football commit
Libertyville WR Luka Nikolich pledged to Illinois Wesleyan.
Elite thrower
A familiar name popped up on the list of top performers at the Elite 11 regional in Columbus — St. Viator’s Cooper Kmet.
Sweet running style
Here’s your future star of IHSA girls flag football. These are highlights of Madison Payton, daughter of WGN sportscaster Jarrett Payton and granddaughter of the late Walter Payton.
Robinson family valued
This viral video making the rounds of Colorado coach Deion Sanders talking to a player at spring practice has a local tie. The player is Nahmier Robinson, son of former Bulls playoff hero Nate Robinson. Nate is awaiting a kidney transplant, which might be why Sanders was checking in. Remember, Nate played some cornerback in college at Washington.
Driving Jordan
Michael Jordan misses winning championships. Now a NASCAR team owner, here are a couple of videos of MJ celebrating Tyler Reddick’s win at Talladega on Sunday, first with Reddick’s son.
Wildcat Corner
Let’s close with a couple Northwestern tidbits. The baseball team will host Purdue at Wrigley Field on Friday. Then there’s the last remnant of Ryan Field against a picturesque backdrop.