Indiana Wesleyan: Success Recruiting the State

NAIA top 20 team, the Indiana Wesleyan Wilcats, have had an amazing rise to prominice over the past four seasons. A long time cellar dweller in the Mid-Central Conference, IWU has had a meteoric rise in success, winning the NCCAA National Championship in 2007-2008. The turnaround from conference doormat to perennial favorite has happened concurrently with the arrival of fourth year head coach, Greg Tonagel. One of the brightest and most talented young coaches in the nation, Tonagel has turned the Wildcats fortunes around quickly, going an impressive 70-30 in his first three seasons at the helm. The head coach was a prep standout at LaPorte HS, and played collegiately under Homer Drew at Valparaiso University. Tonagel's knowledge of the game and skill at developing players are some of the main reasons for the fast rise, but another factor is obviously the success IWU has had recruiting the talent rich state of Indiana. Of the 13 players on the current roster, nine of them are Indiana natives.

Indiana HS Stars on IWU

Ryan Hetrick (Jr. 6'3" G - Ft. Wayne)
Clint Cochran (Jr. 6'0" G - Bluffton)
Antonio Murrell (Sr. 6'0" G - Indianapolis)
Jon Moon (Sr. 6'3" G- Valparaiso)
Derrick Troyer (Fr. 5'10" G - Goshen)
Spencer Harris (Jr. 5'11" G - Bluffton)
Landon Adler (Sr. 6'9" F - Decatur) Ball State transfer
Will Hubertz (So. 6'6" F - Lafayette)
Zach Coverstone (Jr. 6'9" F - Columbia City)

There are also three high school seniors from the state who are committed to the Wildcats: Aaron Martin (6'5" G - Rossville HS), Patrick Hopkins (6'7" F - Kokomo HS), and George Jones (6'2" G - South Bend Clay HS). The current players and the imcoming recruits are all top talents who have the good fortune of playing under one of the best young coaches there is in state-of-the-art facilities that put some D1 school's to shame. Coach Tonagel's recruting prowess is directly linked to his top assistant coach, Jeff Clark. Clark starred at Leo HS and went on to play at Anderson University before joining the IWU staff three seasons ago. He is a tireless worker whose gifts in building relationships have obviously paid dividends in state. He was named the top NAIA assistant in both 2007 and 2008 by the Indiana Basketball News.

IWU is looking to win it's first NAIA Championship this year. They are off to 9-3 start and look to gain momentum heading into March.