Kyle Ahrens to MSU

Kyle Ahrens

Another class of 2015 Ohio prospect came off the board on Friday afternoon, with the Big Ten picking up one of the Buckeye State’s most high profile wings players. Here’s the latest on that commitment, plus notes on a couple of 2016 big men who are accumulating high major interest….

• Kyle Ahrens – ’15 Versailles SG: Ahrens only needed one official visit to make up his mind as to where he’ll be attending college. The Versailles star verbally committed to the Michigan State Spartans while on an official visit in East Lansing, Michigan, on Friday afternoon. An athletic and skilled wing player who is a consensus top-150 player nationally and top-five prospect in Ohio’s 2015 class, MSU coach Tom Izzo is getting a smart, tough and talented pickup in Ahrens. The 6’5 wing chose Michigan State over Xavier, Tennessee and Dayton primarily, but also considered Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and several others. The addition of Ahrens further highlights the emphasis that Izzo has put into recruiting Ohio, as last year’s Spartans team featured players like Adreian Payne (Dayton Jefferson), Travis Trice (Huber Heights Wayne) and Kenny Kaminski (Medina); while ’14 Gahanna Lincoln wing Javon Bess will be enrolling in East Lansing as a freshman next season. Also worth noting, Ahrens is the fourth player from his King James AAU team to pick a high-major school already, joining Franklin wing Luke Kennard (Duke), Dayton Dunbar lead guard AJ Harris (Ohio State) and Cincinnati Moeller post Nate Fowler (Butler) as early verbal pledges to their respective schools.

• Nick Ward – ’16 Columbus Gahanna Lincoln C: Speaking of Michigan State, besides getting a commitment from Ahrens, the Spartans also continued their emphasis on Ohio recruiting this week when they offered rising-junior post Nick Ward, of Gahanna Lincoln. Ward, who has had a breakout spring with All-Ohio Red 16u, has heard from Wisconsin, Missouri and had accumulated an offer from Miami (OH), but the Spartans now represent a huge moment in his recruitment, extending the first high major offer to the Columbus area post-man. A skilled big who specializes in the right-shoulder hook-shot, Ward was a scoring machine this spring, using high intensity and his huge frame to carve space around the rim. One of the most talked about prospects among high major college coaches in Ohio’s loaded 2016 class right now, look for more and more high profile schools to track Ward during the Nike Peach Jam and AAU Nationals in July with All-Ohio Red.

• Jon Teske – ’16 Medina C: Like Ward, Teske is a high profile prospect out of Ohio’s 2016 class, however, due to some injuries his name hasn’t been mentioned on this site very much this spring. That should change in July, however, as a now healthy 6’10 Teske should be back to full force. A very skilled post player with length who could very well reach seven-foot, Teske had an excellent sophomore season at Medina, teaming up with ’15 guard Craig Randall to lead the Bees to some impressive wins. Even through the injuries, Teske has continued to add new schools to his recruiting list, as his AAU coach mentioned calls from Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Butler are coming in on the regular. With very few scouts outside of the state knowing who Teske is at this point, this July could be a breakout month for him with Team Work 16u, as he will try and dominate the Adidas Invitational and AAU Nationals.