Another Trine commit:

Drake Ahrens  6'3 G  Versailles HS Ohio

2026 Division V All-Ohio Boys Basketball first team member.

Trine commit:

Jack Leppelmeier  6'3 G  Pettisville HS Ohio.

1400 point scorer in HS, 3x conference POY. 

Central Michigan assistant coach Brooks Miller has entered the transfer portal .  After intense interest from basketball powers all over the country he has accepted the head coaching offer from Ferris State University, terms unknown.

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on March 27, 2026, 10:51:20 AMI've been tracking recruiting on the men's side for years and thought I would take a shot at the women's side this year as well.  Thus far, here is that I have found (would love any additions or corrections you may have)                 

Hey FDF, so cool you are doing this on the WBB side.  I just have one other addition that I know about for Trine:

Aubri Korfhagen 5'9 G Seton HS Cincinnati OH

Hope commit Kaden Grau's Westview Warriors came up just short in the Indiana High School Boys Basketball 2A championship game today, falling to Parke Heritage 57-56 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indy.  Kaden led Westview with 14 points and 7 boards.  After the game Kaden was awarded the Trester Mental Attitude Award which goes to a graduating senior student-athlete for exhibiting outstanding mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability during their high school career.

Westview is located in the heart of the Amish community in LaGrange County between Topeka and Shipshewana.  The high school only has 330 students in grades 9-12 but plays in a 3300 capacity gym that is always full for the boys games.  There are almost as many horse & buggies in the parking lot as there are cars on game nights.  Hoosiers love their basketball.

I'm telling you, Hope is getting a good one in Kaden, the kid can flat out shoot it.

Concord wins division IV Michigan high school boys basketball championship last Saturday.  Trine recruit Connor Stevens with 15 pts & 19 reb in the championship game.

Great clip below on the impact that Fred Garland had with the Concord team.  His legacy lives on.

https://x.com/BenShockley_/status/2033402227230990695

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on March 13, 2026, 08:55:22 AMInteresting tidbit - last year at this point in time we knew of a total of 14 recruits - 5 of them to Olivet.  Total list last year was 58

This year we are already at 28!

And the MIAA is locking up a majority of interior players so far on these rosters...of the 30 listed commits, 21 are 6'4 or taller.

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on March 12, 2026, 10:39:17 AMFirst recruit/transfer list for the 26-27 season.  As always additions or corrections are very welcome!


                                                         

Player	Height	Position	High School	College
				Adrian
Jacob Figaro	6-2	F	Cass Tech (MI)	Albion
Brayden Holok	6-4	G/F	Stevensville-Lakeshore (MI)	Albion
Darius Aldrich	6-5	F/C	Durand (MI)	Albion
Adam Dugener	6-0	PG	North Muskegon (MI)	Alma
Dalton Dudas	6-7	F	South Lyon East (MI)	Alma
Will Plummer	6-1	G	Grand Haven (MI)	Calvin
Kyler Berghuis	6-2	G	Hudsonville Unity Christian (MI)	Calvin
Jack Kamminga	6-4	W	Hudsonville Unity Christian (MI)	Calvin
Cole Charter	6-5	G	Clarkston (MI)	Calvin
Milo Barangan	6-5	F	Mona Shores (MI)	Calvin
Owen Vander Waal	6-7	F	Hudsonville Unity Christian (MI)	Calvin
Ayden Ayers	6-2	G	Spring Lake (MI)	Hope
Kaden Grau	6-4	G	Westview Topeka (IN)	Hope
Ben Uhde	6-4	G	Johns Creek (GA)	Hope
Johnny Lake	6-6	F	Battle Creek Pennfield (MI)	Hope
Ben Mehendale	6-8	F/C	Brecksville Broadview Heights (OH)	Hope
Dylan Gross	5-9	PG	Rockford (MI)	Kalamazoo
Marvin Moore	6-0	G	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (MI)	Kalamazoo
Andrew Caldwell	6-4	G	Flint Powers (MI)	Kalamazoo
Brennan Elling	6-5	F	Oxford (MI)	Kalamazoo
				Olivet
Cassius Bont	6-3	G	Byron Center (MI)	Trine
Jake Holcomb	6-5	F	Holland Christian (MI)	Trine
Brogan McNiece	6-5	F	Ft Wayne Homestead (IN)	Trine
Connor Stevens	6-5	F	Concord (MI)	Trine
Caleb Claerbaut	6-7	F	Zeeland East (MI)	Trine
Alex Lake	6-7	F	Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (IN)	Trine

Missing these 2 for Trine:

Jaron Witcher 6'6 F Sylvania Southview (OH)
Drew Matelic 6'7 F Speedway (IN)

Good read about the Richards sisters on D3hoops.com

https://www.d3hoops.com/playoffs/women/2026/sisters-in-sweet-16

Trine bows out of the NCAA tournament with a loss at #8 Denison 63-54 last night.  After shooting so well in their first round win over Shenandoah by the score of 90-45, the shots just would not fall against the Big Red in the first 2 quarters, only hitting 5 out of 30 and went into break down 23-15.  The shots started to fall in the second half but the Thunder just couldn't quite get all the way back.  We had it to a one possession game with 4 minutes to go but then Denison went on a 7-0 run and that was all she wrote.  On live stream Denison reminded me of Hope, had length at almost every position on us.  But the big difference in the game was from behind the arc, Denison shot 11-26 while the Thunder only managed 4-19.  Denison is a junior laden team so they will be one of the top teams again next year.

Graduating seniors who played in their last game in a Thunder uniform were Addison Hutson and Gracey Metz.  Addison played her role very well over the years, was a grinder coming in off the bench.  This was Gracey's only year with Trine after transfering, she also came in off the bench and her length and athleticsm were much needed on a roster where we don't have much heighth.  Also graduating is Erin Sherwood who has been out with an injury since the first game in January.  This was a tough loss as Erin did so much for the team, was all-MIAA her junior year, and was the leading scorer through 12 games at amost 13 ppg.  Would she have made a difference in the postseason?  Who knows.

Lots of young players gained valuable experience this year.  Those returning who saw major minutes include:

Juniors: Ally Capouch (second team all-MIAA) & Olivia Marks
Sophs: Hailey Cole, Madison Wagner (first team all-MIAA), Zoe Willems
Frosh: Annika Southworth (first team all-MIAA), Callie Nichols, Sophie Gesell 

Some others who should see more time next year include Sara Parkison, Emma Payton, and Elianna Foley.  Another strong incoming class for the 26-27 season may see a couple frosh who could find their way on the floor early.

Good luck to Hope in the NCAA tournament!

I was at the MIAA championship game up at Olivet.  I thought Hope played about as well as I've seen them play this year in person and on tape, even without Hovey in the lineup.  Brady Miller was easily the player of the game and a huge spark for them.  What a special game from him, when his number was called he really stepped up, he could not miss a shot.

Trine exploded out of the gate, but then Hope got their footing and fought back in and Trine just couldn't get a stop the last part of the first half.  The momentum swing was huge.  It was eerily similar to Hope's comback in the second half at Trine.  We couldn't do anything right and Hope just made play after play.  In the second half we just couldn't make it all the way back.  Got close a few times, but Hope always with a big bucket to answer.  Cargill with another dagger 3 at the end just like he had at the game at Trine.  He might not make a high percentage of 3s but the ones he makes seem always to be at crucial times in games.

Trine graduates 4 seniors, all starters: Jayden Bradshaw, Nate Tucker, Logan McKenzie, and Danny Flood.  So glad for Nate to finish his senior year strong after his struggles in the new system earlier in the season.  Logan improved so much over his 4 years at Trine, was rewarded with being a key contributor inside for the Thunder.  Bradshaw and Flood both transferred in from Marietta and performed so well.  I sat with Danny's Dad at the championship game.  He said Danny didn't even take a visit to Trine before committing, decided when Coach VanderWal was leaving for Trine that he was going to too.  And also mentioned he played hurt all year, some sort of injury to both legs then hindered his lateral movement. 

I am excited for the future.  This incoming freshman class appears on paper to be pretty special.  VanderWal is a tireless recruiter, something I know Coach Miller didn't enjoy at times.  But Brooks loved to teach, a master with the Xs and Os.  We'll have Elias Lewis, Cade Brenner, and Elisha Jones all returning in the backcourt.  The frontcourt will have lots of new faces, we will have freshman Braxton Crane returning who after being injured the first part of the season, was primarily Logan's backup at the 5 spot and gained valuable experience.  Drew Panning the transfer from Heidelberg also returns as a wing or post.   

Trine commit:

Cassius Bont    6'3 G    Byron Center HS MI (same high school as Trine senior Logan McKenzie)

Out with season ending injury since February.  Averaged 20 pts, 6.5 reb, 5.6 asst.  Had offers from Albion, Calvin and Hope. 

Another Trine commitment and once again another 'big', although his X page says he's a SG.  This might be one of the best classes coming in that I can remember. 

Drew Matelic    6'7 SG    Speedway HS, IN

26.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg.  Had offers from Illinois Wesleyan and Wabash. 

I didn't see any on the Hope-Trine game.  But read a recap from Hope that quoted Coach Morehouse saying the girls played their best game of the year against Trine.  I was not expecting Trine to win up in Holland, but was surprised at the final score.  It will be interesting to see what that demolition does to the girls confidence level.  We aren't very experienced this year, so you never know with such a young group how they will bounce back from that kind of a loss.

Final from Angola: Olivet 84 Trine 80

Olivet wraps up the regular season MIAA championship, congrats to the Comets!

Olivet is very impressive.  I think they have the best balance in the league.  They aren't deep, just play 2 guys off the bench, but everyone is capable of hitting big shots, so you can't just key on a couple guys.  What makes them problematic for other teams is their size.  They play 2 bigs and can rotate in a 3rd big.  Richardson is the catalyst that makes them go.  Easily the best ball handler and quickest guard I've watched play.  And guess what, they are all back next year too.

Trine shot themselves in the foot multiple times in the game.  In the first half Flood hit a 3 in front of the Olivet bench to put us up 29-20, but then turned around and woofed at the Comet bench and got T'd up.  Just dumb.  That turned the momentum around and Olivet outscored the Thunder 23-10 the rest of the way to go up 43-39 at half.

Second half was a game of runs, but Trine never overtook the Comets.  Olivet would get up by 10 pts and then we'd cut it to 1-2 points, but could never get the big shot to get the lead back.  Missed free throws were huge.  Bradshaw missed 5 in a row at one point.  Other times we'd just split from the line.  If we hit free throws the outcome may have been different.  Tucker also had 3 big turnovers in the last 4 minutes or so.  The last one when we were down 2 with a chance to tie or take a lead with 6 seconds left.  I feel bad for Nate, he's such a good kid.

No first round bye for Trine, will have to go the long route in the tournament.