Commitment Catch-Up pt. II

Owen Carlson | Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024

During these busy past couple of months, several local prospects announced their commitments to play college basketball at the Division II/III level for the next stage of their careers…  

Last month, Choate Rosemary Hall/Project Triple Threat HGSL 6’3” guard Christian McClease announced his commitment to Southern CT State to continue his career in the Northeast 10 Conference at the Division II level. McClease has been turning heads and earning countless recognitions going all the way back to 2021 at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT. Following the 2022-23 season, McClease was named to the CHSCA All-CIAC Division 1 First Team. He announced that he would be doing a post-grad year at Choate soon after. This past summer, he was a standout at the Elite 75 College Showcase, catching our scouts’ attention. He’s seen incredible success this season with Choate, including at the Scholar Roundball Classic, where our scouts once again noted his game. McClease ultimately helped lead Choate to a Founders League Championship, earning All-Founders League First Team and All-NEPSAC Class-A honors for his performance throughout the season. It will be exciting to follow his career at the college level with Southern CT State.

The Taft School 7’1” German center Max Klitschko recently shared his decision to take his talents to Amherst College to compete in the NESCAC. Son of heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, he came to New England from the U.K., where he spent some time competing for Oxford Hoops Basketball Club. This season, he played a huge role in helping the Rhinos make a run to the NEPSAC Class-A Semifinals this season. It will be exciting to track his progress over the next few years with Amherst.

Bridgton Academy 6’4” combo guard Porter Kelly announced recently that he would be committing to Ursinus College to compete in the Centennial Conference. Despite the amount of talent on this year’s Bridgton squad, he found ways to contribute in his first and only year of New England prep school basketball, dropping 18 points with 8 rebounds and 3 steals against PHH Prep (AZ). It will be interesting to see how his skills translate to the college level.

Kingswood Oxford/Mass Elite 6’8” forward Odin Malz recently committed to Wheaton College to continue his basketball career in the NEWMAC. He has been on our radar for some time, but he really popped out last summer at the Super 16 Showcase with some powerful finishes, demonstrating good touch around the basket and a high motor for his size, which especially helped in transition. He finished the summer by helping Mass Elite win the Bigfoot XL Circuit in Las Vegas. His success has certainly continued throughout this season, as KO finished 3rd in Class-B at the end of the regular season. It will be exciting to watch Malz compete at the collegiate level. 

Canton High School/ASA Select 6’4” guard Jeremiah Predin recently announced his commitment to Curry College to compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. He has had a great year this past season, tallying numerous double-doubles and 20+ point performances, also earning multiple Patriot Ledger Player of the Week honors throughout the season. It will be fun to watch him compete for Curry in the next chapter of his basketball career.

South Burlington HS/Green Mountain Select 6’2” combo guard Tyler Bergmans shared not long ago that he would be taking his talents to UMaine-Farmington for the next chapter of his basketball career. Bergmans is a top-10 prospect out of the state of Vermont, tallying the 1,000th point of his high school career this past January, and helping bring success to South Burlington throughout the season, seeing big wins over St. Johnsbury Academy and Burlington HS, twice each. It will be exciting to track his progress up at UMaine-Farmington over the next few years.

Stay tuned as we continue with our commitment catch-ups over the coming weeks!