Some CCIW commits;

IWU - Evan Blankenship, 6'6 Batavia SF
Elm - Sean Day, 6'4 Downers Grove South SG
Carroll - Miles Okyne, 6'4 Naperville North Combo G
Carthage - AJ Berndt, 6'1 Cary-Grove PG, and Rob Sansone, 6'0 Montini SG

* Rule 6.3.4 - Any CCIW recruit either named AJ, or who identifies by those initials, must initially matriculate at Carthage.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on April 26, 2026, 11:12:33 PMI have a ringside seat for all the key recruiting insider info.

Ah, that explains it.   

Quote from: Gregory Sager on April 26, 2026, 11:12:14 AM

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on April 26, 2026, 11:02:06 AMNot sure if it was mentioned, but Elmhurst got a commit from Jack Dempsey (6'3") out of Oak Lawn Community High School. He was named South Suburban Red Conference POTY.

Eagerly looking forward to North Central announcing that it has a commit from a kid named Gene Tunney.

Yes, Gene is a 6'7 PF from Michigan. How did you hear about him?

It hasn't been posted yet, and probably won't be for sometime, but a little birdie whispered in my ear that NCC (or possibly Naperville University by then  ) will play the following non-conf schedule next season;

11/11 @ Aurora
11/17 vs Hope
11/20 @ Webster
11/21 @ Westminster
11/24 vs Benedictine
12/16 @ Wis. Lutheran
12/20 vs Pacific Lutheran
1/1 - 1/2 UMHB + 1 other @ UMHB

So trips to Missouri and Texas.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on April 22, 2026, 11:27:35 PMBradley Stratton, 6'2", out of St. Laurence with a prep year at Don Bosco Prep, has committed to North Park.

And, possibly reported previously, so has 6'5 PF Mustaf Rexhepi out of Niles North.

Quote from: Gregory Sager on April 17, 2026, 04:48:23 PMLoras just landed 6'5", 190 Jake Willems, who averaged 12.7 and 5.2 for Augustana last season. He'll be a junior for the Duhawks in 2026-27.

Chances should be high that Willems will see significant PT. Primarily at the expense of returners who didn't play much last season, and any incoming freshman guards.

Quote from: north central on April 14, 2026, 11:08:41 PM

Quote from: blue_jays on April 14, 2026, 06:35:14 PM

Quote from: north central on April 14, 2026, 10:35:11 AMI think this is where a coach or former coach needs to call out the administration publicly because that's the only way stuff will change .

For a current coach, this would be an objectively crazy thing to do, literal career suicide. Unless you are sufficiently monied for the rest of your life, no one would ever do this.

You're right which is why AD's think they can do whatever they want to without being questioned.

"is why AD's think they can do whatever they want," is a blanket statement that implies ALL ADs operate in this manner, which is shortsighted at best. In fact, I am aware of a fairly recent situation where the AD's plan/opinion was rendered inconsequential by collaborating incompetent administrators.

In speaking with a very well placed source within the NCC FB family, he advised that while it's certainly possible, the current state of affairs at NC is such that it would be very surprising if any more Cardinal players entered the Portal.

As has previously been reported, 2 NCC players with remaining eligibility have entered the infamous Transfer Portal. Receiver Grant McAtee signed with D1 Tulsa. The other Cardinal who stepped through the door is little used backup QB Demir Ashiru who came to NCC from Ferris State. To date, I haven't heard anything about him finding a third school.

Additionally, Johnny Golden, who started at RG and who will be graduating in 3 weeks, will be attending grad school and playing football next season at Stony Brook University in New York.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on April 09, 2026, 10:35:55 AMI was told by numerous coaches that there's no school where the application deadline applies to athletes anymore, not even the Ivies.

As Ryan states, with regard to athletics, this is easily believable. In fact, I'd bet there are many schools at which this was the (often unwritten) case even before the advent of the now infamous Transfer Portal and NIL era.

And since most top assistant coaches aspire to be the top man, I wonder if IWU's Etheridge might submit an application? 🤔
He wouldn't have to move far, and he already knows the recruiting territory.
That would open a spot on the Green Team staff that perhaps Lewis might fill. 😏

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on April 01, 2026, 04:00:11 PMMillikin would be dumb not to go after Lewis. Of course, Lewis has to be interested first.

But who wouldn't be interested in a job that not only includes a head coach position but also the opportunity to live in one of the garden spots of the Midwest? 

In recent remarks on the subject of a possible name change new NCC President Gòkè-Paríolá said:

If they are in Maryland and you try to recruit them and say 'Come to North Central College' well, you've got your work cut out for you. But when you tell them, 'it's in Naperville,' they say 'Oh, Naperville, I know Naperville,' or 'I read something about it.'

We definitely always tell people we are located in Naperville so we can make that be more prominent every time.

It certainly seems that the winds are starting to blow strongly in the direction of Naperville. 💨 💨 💨

When someone is willing to bet all the corn in Manito it's pretty much of a given that they've assessed the situation correctly. 😉

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on March 28, 2026, 04:09:43 PM

Quote from: GusD on March 28, 2026, 03:54:26 PM

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on March 28, 2026, 03:16:36 PMI do know IWU thought they had a very good chance to get Ryan Johnson out of HS.  If Cleveland does leave, I think there's a chance Johnson looks to fill that spot down low.  It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

IWU thinks they have a very good chance of getting anyone they look at 😏.
Are you saying you think if Cleveland leaves, Johnson might transfer to IWU and take his place? If so, I think you're forgetting about the CCIW rule about not being able to play for a year if you transfer within the conference. If Johnson leaves Carthage it won't be for another D3.

I don't think I ever knew about the transfer rule.

That's surprising considering the rule has been in effect for a considerable length of time. Even if the rule didn't exist, the idea that Johnson would bolt Carthage for IWU seems quixotic.