Ohio prep notebook: Elder to christen ballpark April 19
A grand opening ceremony for Elder's Jack Adam Baseball Stadium will be April 19 at the Butch Hubert Family Panther Athletic Complex at 11 a.m., prior to the doubleheader against Turpin.
The baseball stadium is the final piece to the original 2003 Panther Athletic Complex plan at Elder. The 500-seat state-of-the-art stadium includes three seating sections, bathrooms and a press box.
Elder had a groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium in late September. Elder has won 12 Ohio High School Athletic Association state baseball titles.
BOYS' BASKETBALL: Matt Thompson has been named the Badin head coach after directing the program as the interim head coach this past season. Badin was 13-12 and reached the Division III district final. Thompson, a 1988 Badin graduate, started on the Rams' undefeated 1988 Division III state championship team.
ALL-STAR GAMES: The annual Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Basketball Games are April 12 at Thomas More College. The girls' game is at 5:30 p.m. and the boys' game is at 7:30 p.m. Rosters will be posted on The Recruiting Trail blog this week.
• The District 16 Coaches' Association boys' basketball all-star games are Friday at Princeton. Divisions II-IV will play at 6 p.m. and Division I at 7:30 p.m.
WRESTLING: St. Xavier senior Joe Heyob told The Enquirer Saturday morning he has made a verbal commitment to Penn. Heyob won a state title at 170 pounds this past season. He had a 50-0 record. He set a school record with 174 career wins, according to the St. X athletic department. He is a three-time state qualifier. Heyob said he also considered Brown.
FOOTBALL: Ohio State offered Elder sophomore offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer on Thursday, according to Elder coach Doug Ramsey. Kraemer, who is 6 feet 5 and 305 pounds, also has offers that include UC, Illinois and Kentucky.
• Syracuse offered Ross junior offensive lineman Simon Stepaniak on Friday, according to Ross coach Brian Butts. Stepaniak, who is 6 feet 4½ and 295 pounds, also has offers that include UC, Wake Forest, Penn State, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Miami University, Toledo and Bowling Green.
• Ross linebacker Adam Harris (6-1, 220) committed to Mount St. Joseph, according to the college program.
• New Richmond linebacker Evan Brigner (6-2, 218) committed to Tiffin, according to New Richmond coach Josh Stratton.
• Louisville offered Lakota West junior linebacker CJ Stalker and Lakota West junior offensive lineman George Asafo-Adjei this past week, according to Lakota West coach Larry Cox.
Stalker, who is 6-2½ and 228 pounds, also has offers that include UC, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. Asafo-Adjei, who is 6-4½ and 305 pounds, also has offers that include UC, Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota and West Virginia.
• St. Xavier senior offensive lineman Evan Vonderhaar committed to John Carroll University on April 2, according to St. X coach Steve Specht. Vonderhaar, who is 6-2, 275 pounds, was a starting center and guard this past year for the Bombers.
• Loveland senior linebacker Brian Popp committed to Pittsburgh as a preferred walk-on April 2, according to Loveland coach Fred Cranford.
Popp, who is 6-0, 220 pounds, was a first-team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference selection last season for the Division II state champion Tigers (15-0).■