MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College Men’s Basketball Head Coach Alan Magnani has announced that seven players have signed letters of intent to join the Tigers basketball team this fall.
Included in the recruiting class are two junior college transfers and five high school graduates. Leading the class are a pair of juco guards, Jared Callanan (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) and Keenan Stanbridge (Quincy, Ill.).
Callanan is a transfer from Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass. He was twice first team All-New England at MCC, averaging 20 points and five three-pointers made per game. Stanbridge comes to IWC from John Wood Community College in Quincy, Ill., where he played last year after spending one year at Southeastern Community College in Burlington. He averaged 9.1 points per game for the Trail Blazers and led the team in steals and three-pointers made.
Four guards highlight the high school class, including Aaron Hoenig (Bettendorf, Iowa), Lance Silbaugh (Wellman, Iowa), Conner Wakefield (Durant, Iowa) and Chandler Wilson (Doniphan, Mo.). Post player Christopher Baker (Stillman Valley, Ill.) rounds out the freshmen entering the program.
Wilson is the brother of former IWC All-American Nic Wilson, the 2002-03 Midwest Classic (now Midwest Collegiate) Conference Player of the Year. Chandler Wilson was a first team all-conference performer for Doniphan HS for three years as well as all-district and all-region over his junior and senior years.
At 6-7, Baker is the tallest of the Tiger recruits. He averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game his senior year at Stillman Valley HS. Silbaugh averaged 11 points, four assists and three steals at Mid-Prairie HS. He also was a five-time state champion in track and field and a member of the 2008 Class 2A team champions.
Wakefield and Hoenig also are Iowa products. Wakefield averaged 10.5 points per game at Durant HS last season and also ran on the team’s cross country team. Hoenig is a graduate of Pleasant Valley HS and averaged two points and one rebound per game last year for the Spartans, who finished 15-8 last year.
“We are excited about this group as we feel we have quality in the two transfers and five freshmen we have signed,” Magnani said. “We know they will transition into our system well, and we look forward to their development.”
The Tigers finished 13-16 last season, 9-7 in the MCC. IWC returns eight players from last year’s team, including five players who started at least 15 games.
For more information regarding the IWC men’s basketball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
