Three Newman Cardinals Committed in June!

Dylan Thayer | Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

Last month, three members of the Newman School committed to play basketball at the Division One level. Louis O’Keefe committed to Princeton, Timmy Bollin committed to Brown, and Collins Chidera Onyejiaka committed to Alabama while also reclassifying to the class of 2025.

All three of the aforementioned players played big roles in the Cardinals' NEPSAC AAA title and National Prep Championship Elite Eight appearance this past season. Chidera anchored the team down low as the starting center, with Bollin playing his role as a gritty, physical forward, and O’Keefe serving as a sparkplug for the offense in the backcourt.

Louis O’Keefe (Princeton)

The 6’4” guard transferred to Newman before the start of the 2024-25 school year looking to boost his stock, with reported scholarship offers from Ohio, Miami (OH), and Columbia to his name already.

While he was bound to get more exposure to schools at the Division I level moving forward, O’Keefe helped himself through the first few 3SSB sessions this past spring. In one outing against Jalen Green Elite, the Princeton commit exploded for 43 points in a masterful performance where he showcased his full repertoire of three-level scoring.

Moving on to Princeton, the Tigers are getting a quick guard who can make things happen with the ball in his hands. He has burst to overpower defenders off the dribble and get to the cup, while he also shoots the ball at an efficient clip from beyond the arc. 

Outside of his pure scoring ability, O’Keefe has also proven himself as a traffic-directing lead guard who reads the floor well to get his team good looks at shots.

Before he became a name to know in the New England class of 2026, O’Keefe spent a year at Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee, transferring in from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Timmy Bollin (Brown)

The Bollin family continues to produce great basketball prospects with Timmy Bollin being the most recent child of Tim and Laurie Bollin to commit to the Division I level at Brown University.

The 6’6” forward has made a name for himself in the New England area over the last few years with his physical play on the court. Bollin plays the game of basketball on both ends of the floor, playing hard-nosed on-ball defense, and using his toughness to score the basketball in the paint. 

His polished back to the basket stands out as he has a bag of moves and the footwork to get around defenders to score at the cup through contact. Bollin also has some nice playmaking chops to him to draw in defenders and find the open man.

While his skillset is obviously impressive, as it led to a spot at Brown University, the winning mentality and leadership he brings to the floor cannot be denied. Having played a number of years as a focal point to his team, he was able to seamlessly blend in to Newman’s success this past season, surrounded by a plethora of future Division I players.

Before he decided to attend Newman in the class of 2026, Bollin began his career at St. Sebastian’s School playing alongside stars AJ Dybantsa, Jaylen Harrell, Trevor Mullin and co.

Collins Chidera (Alabama)

Rumors had bubbled for months that 6’10” big man Collins Chidera would be forgoing another year at Newman to accept a power five scholarship, and those rumors came to fruition just a couple weeks ago when he committed to Nate Oats and Alabama.

The journey to his point for Chidera is one for the books. Growing up in the state of Anambra of Nigeria, the big man made his way to the states in 2022 in hopes of landing a Division I scholarship. 

Since that point in time, Chidera had small stints at Busche Academy and Putnam Science Academy before landing with the Newman School. He is a product of the Team New England Beyond Borders program, having played his entire grassroots career with the program in some capacity.

The Alabama commit is a physically dominant big man. He’s got length, strength, and a nose for getting to the basket. He’s continuously improved his touch around the basket over the years, uses his toughness to impact the game as a rim protector, and hauls in a ton of rebounds.

Throwing down dunks is a passion for the big man, as he actively seeks out any opportunity he can to punish someone in the paint for a highlight-reel slam. There aren’t too many high schoolers who can take down a rim like this.

The biggest question that lies around his game will be how he translates to the SEC level, and if he can continue to produce at such a high level against some of the best big men in the NCAA.

While Collins moves on to the collegiate level this summer, Newman School Head Coach Jackson Johnson will still have O’Keefe and Bollin in tow for this season. With the likes of Quinn Costello, Lucas Morillo, Chase Geremia, and Bennett White all returning for one more year, there is good reason to be optimistic about their potential this season in AAA.