Boys Basketball: Recognizing the area’s college players

Several of the area’s former top high school basketball players starred this season in the college ranks.

Here’s a look at some local athletes who have excelled at the next level.

Colin White – Ohio State University

2024-24 stats: 19 games, 1.1 ppg, 1.1 reb

Though he struggled with an ankle injury for a large portion of the season, White made his college debut on Nov. 11 against Youngstown State and scored his first career points against Evansville just over a week after that. The 6-6 graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School scored a season-high six points against Campbell and hit a key three-pointer in Ohio State’s double-overtime win over Minnesota.

Austin Parks – Ohio State University

2024-25 stats: 15 games, 1.3 ppg, 0.9 reb

The 6-10 big man from St. Marys was in and out of the rotation for Jake Diebler during his time with the Buckeyes. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor this season with a pair of dunks. Parks had his best game against Rutgers on Dec. 7 when he scored six points and grabbed four rebounds. In March, the former Roughrider entered the transfer portal and announced on April 16 that he’s heading to the University of Toledo with two years of eligibility remaining.

Kalen Etzler – Ohio State University

2024-25 stats: 7 games, 1.4 ppg, 0.6 reb

Etzler might not have had the most eye-popping numbers during his time at Ohio State, but he picked up a number of honors for academics and his reputation as a teammate. The 6-8 graduate of Crestview High School earned Academic All-Big Ten Honors each of the last three years and was an OSU Scholar-Athlete twice. Etzler was also named Ohio State’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree this past season.

Jagger Landers – University of Findlay

2024-25 stats: 29 games, 10.4 ppg, 4.4 reb

Landers, one of Northwest Ohio’s top players during his time at Antwerp High School, started all 29 games for the Oilers and was named to the first team in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. He recorded a season-high 23 points against Ashland on Jan. 16 and finished the year with 303 points and 125 rebounds. After his junior season, Landers was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

Mason Brandt – University of Findlay

2024-25 stats: 29 games, 6.4 ppg, 3.8 reb

Brandt, a junior formerly of Leipsic High School, scored a season-high 22 points against Northwestern Ohio on Nov.14 and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds against Olivet on Dec.17. The 6-4 guard concluded last year with 186 total points. Like Landers, Brandt was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

Josh Thorbahn – University of Findlay

2024-25 stats: 29 games, 5.9 ppg, 2.7 reb

In his final season at Findlay, Thorbahn started alongside Landers in all 29 games this season. The 6-4 native of Ottoville was a knock-down shooter, hitting 46 of his 105 attempts from 3-point range (43%) and scoring a season-high 17 points against Walsh on Dec. 7. Thorbahn was Findlay’s third member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. During his three years on the team, he played 1,298 minutes in 77 games and scored 406 points.

Austin Ruhe – University of Findlay

2024-25 stats: 5 games, 0.8 ppg

In his third season at Findlay, Ruhe, a graduate of Miller City High School, played 27 total minutes and scored three points, two against Ferris State on Nov. 23 and one against Tiffin on Jan. 18.

Javin Etzler – Ashland University

2024-25 stats: 27 games, 4.8 ppg, 3.0 reb

In his second season at Ashland University since transferring in from Miami (OH) University, Etzler made 24 starts and played 17.4 minutes per game. The versatile 6-8 shooter and former state champion at Crestview hit 48% of his shots and 44% of his 3-point attempts. Against Cedarville on Feb. 22, Etzler sank five triples and scored 15 points. In two seasons at Ashland, Etzler scored 203 points in 53 games.

Will Miller – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 26 games, 14 ppg, 2.8 reb, 2.3 ast

Miller, a former star guard for the Ottoville Big Green, has continued to excel in his basketball career at Ohio Northern with 76 career games played. This past season, the 6-2 junior shot 42% from the floor and 40% from deep. He’s now scored 886 career points as a Polar Bear. Miller had four games of at least 20 points last season, with his best performance coming against Baldwin Wallace on Jan. 29, where he went 13 of 13 from the free throw line and scored 26 points.

Aiden Harris – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 26 games, 4.1 ppg, 2.2 reb

The former Putnam County League Player of the Year had solid shooting numbers as a freshman at 54% from the floor and 48% from three, although he struggled at the free-throw line, shooting just 58%. Harris, a product of Pandora-Gilboa High School, scored in double figures twice, including a 13-point performance against Adrian College on Nov. 20.

Jackson Courter – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 6 games, 0.5 ppg, 0.6 reb

The sophomore who graduated from Wapakoneta High School played 19 total minutes and scored his lone basket of the season against Kenyon College on Nov. 16 when he hit a three-pointer. Courter has now appeared in nine games during his career at ONU.

Theo Maag – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 25 games, 8.4 ppg, 3.8 reb

Maag, a 6-7 Civil Engineering major from Ottawa-Glandorf, has appeared in 42 games over two seasons at Ohio Northern. He scored at least 10 points in 10 games last season and had his best performance in the season finale against Heidelberg with 18 points and nine rebounds. During his sophomore year, Maag shot 59% from the field and 73% from the free throw line.

Gavin Etzler – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 4 games, 1.5 pts

Etzler played in four games this season and only scored in one, hitting a pair of threes against Adrian College on Nov. 20. The Crestview grad has now appeared in 12 games over two seasons with the Polar Bears.

Jace Turner – Ohio Northern University

2024-25 stats: 1 game, 0.0 pts

The 6-6, 215-pound former St. Marys Roughrider appeared in just one game as a freshman, played two minutes and did not score.

Ryan Suever – Capital University

2024-25 stats: 25 games, 4.3 ppg, 2.6 reb

Suever wrapped up his senior year at Capital by appearing in a career-high 25 games, pushing his four-year total to 95 games. In Capital’s season opener against Earlham on Nov. 9, Suever scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. In four years at Capital, the former Ottoville standout made 63 starts and scored 564 career points.

Alex Eyink – Capital University

2024-25 stats: 25 games, 9.8 pts, 3.7 reb

Eyink, a graduate of Marion Local High School, was the team’s third-leading scorer during his senior season at Capital. The 6-2 guard had a 25-point performance on Feb. 19 against Wilmington, where he shot 9 of 15 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds. During his time at Capital, Eyink started 66 games and scored 701 career points.

Justin Nixon – Capital University

2024-25 stats: 25 games, 13.5 ppg, 5.7 reb

Nixon started all 25 games as a senior and was the team’s leading scorer. On Nov. 26 against Ohio Wesleyan, the native of Minster went 11 of 17 from the floor, scoring a season-best 29 points. In 42 starts and 86 total appearances, Nixon scored 732 career points.

Carter Sudhoff – Defiance College

2024-25 stats: 26 games, 9.2 ppg, 4.3 reb

As a freshman, Sudhoff was one of four players to appear in all 26 games and one of three to start at least 20 games. The 6-6 graduate of Spencerville High School shot 56% from the field, which was the sixth-best mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. He recorded his first-career double-double in an overtime win against Miami-Middletown on Jan. 8 with 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Evan Angstmann – Defiance College

2024-25 stats: 26 games, 10.8 ppg, 4.2 reb

Angstmann, a long-range marksman from St. Marys High School, led Defiance in 3-point shooting with 53 makes, which was 10th in WHAC at a 35.6 percent rate. He finished second on the team in total points (281), third in points per game (10.8), first in blocks (18) and second in rebounds (109). Twice this season, Angstmann knocked down five threes in a game, on Nov. 23 against Lourdes and on Jan 11. at Cleary.

Nevin Robson – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 25 games, 15.9 ppg, 6.9 reb

Robson had a stellar junior season as Bluffton’s leading scorer, improving his average of 6.3 points per game as a sophomore up to just under 16 points this past season. The former Hardin Northern Polar Bear scored at least 20 points in eight games, including a 28-point, 9-rebound performance against Kalamazoo on New Year’s Eve. Robson has 662 career points over 70 games played in three seasons at Bluffton.

Michael Stammen – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 10 games, 12.2 ppg, 2.9 reb, 2.2 ast

Despite being limited to just 10 games, Stammen still averaged the second-most points on the team as a grad student. The native of Versailles played just over 30 minutes per game and shot 40% from the floor, 39% from three and 78% from the free throw line. On Nov. 23 against La Roche, Stammen scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds. In five seasons at Bluffton, the dynamic guard started 74 of the 91 games he appeared in and scored 880 career points.

Caden Slusher – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 17 games, 3.1 ppg

Slusher, a sharpshooter with the deepest of range during his time at Parkway High School, still does the majority of his damage from beyond the arc at Bluffton. The 5-10 junior went 13 of 41 from deep, scoring 39 of his 53 points on 3-pointers. Last year, Slusher set career highs in minutes (230), games played (17) and shooting percentage (33%)

Carson Clum – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 8 games, 1.5 ppg, 1.0 ast

As a freshman, Clum, a graduate of Allen East High School, had his best game on Feb. 1 against Hanover when he scored seven points in six minutes.

Luke Beyke – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 17 games, 4.7 ppg, 1.3 reb

Beyke, a 6-7 forward from St. Henry, started two games as a freshman. He made every free throw he took this season (11/11) and shot 52% from the floor. The 6-7 forward scored in double figures twice and had his best game of the season on Dec. 31 against Kalamazoo when he scored 12 points and pulled down 4 rebounds.

Gavin Payne – Bluffton University

2024-25 stats: 6 games, 0.3 ppg

The 6-4 freshman from Kenton High School scored his lone basket of the season against Anderson on Jan. 8.

Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on X @Lima_Howell

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