Wayne, Franklin grads among Wittenberg basketball’s 10-man 2022 recruiting class

“I’m really happy with it as a whole,” said Croci, who’s entering his seventh season. “There are a lot of really skilled guys, a lot of guys coming in from really good high school programs who have had great coaching, good individual careers, but also really good careers in terms of team success, which was a big thing for us.”

This is Croci’s largest class. He and his staff put together a nine-man recruiting class in their first season and an eight-man class in 2018. In 2019, the class numbered three. Wittenberg welcomed nine players into the program in 2020 and had a seven-man class in 2021.

The 2022 recruits will join the returning players as Wittenberg tries to rebound from a 13-12 season that saw it fall to fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference with an 11-6 mark. Two years earlier, in the last season before the pandemic, Wittenberg was 28-2 and 17-1 in the NCAC.

“We’re anticipating that a lot of our younger guys are going to have an opportunity to play and help us succeed early,” Croci said. “We’re only losing one starter, but we’re losing four or five guys that have played a lot over their four-year career. We’re losing a lot of minutes, scoring, rebounding, defense and experience in NCAA tournaments. These guys are going to have every opportunity to come in and compete, show what they can do try and play Wittenberg basketball. If they can do it the right way at a high level early, they’re going to have a chance to help us win.”

Wittenberg’s roster got an offseason boost by Urbana High School graduate Levi Boettcher’s decision to return for a fifth season. He had that option because the 2020-21 season didn’t count against anyone’s eligibility. He ranked third on the team in scoring last season (10.4).

“Levi had a great senior year and was a really good leader in a lot of ways for us,” Croci said. “Last year left a bad taste in his mouth. He did not want it to end that way. I think he really wants to be a part of getting us back on track. He’s local. He works on campus all summer. I see him almost every single day. I expect really, really good things from him next year.”

Here’s the list of Wittenberg recruits

• Cal Bavineau, 5-10, PG, Dexter, Mich.

He earned an all-state honorable mention and started at quarterback for the football team.

• Eddie Brown, 6-5, G/F, Powell Olentangy Orange: He averaged 7.4 points as a senior.

“He’s kind of a face-up forward who can shoot from the perimeter and play a little inside out,” Croci said. “He was kind of unheralded player on their their teams the last couple years. I think he’s just scratching the surface of his ability. He’s got a chance to get bigger and stronger in college and be really good.”

• Ethan Connery, 6-3, G, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary: He came off the bench for St. Vincent-St. Mary, which won the Division II state championship in March.

“He can do a little bit everything,” Croci said. “He can score a little bit, shoot a little bit but is also just a really good team guy, a defender, a rebounder and a winner in every sense of the word, I think he’s just going to bring a different kind of approach that we don’t normally see with our incoming guys, just coming from that program.”

• Malcolm Curry, 6-1, G, Wayne: He averaged 11.0 points per game as a senior at Wayne in the 2020-21 season. He did not play college basketball last season.

• Xavier Daniels, 6-3, G, Calvary Christian (Bellefontaine): He was a 1,000-point scorer in high school.

• Amari Gaston, 6-3, G, Columbus Bishop Hartley: He averaged 10.5 points as a senior

• Myles Reynolds, 5-11, G, Cleveland St. Edwards: He averaged 9.0 points per game as a senior.

• Noah Rich, 6-6, G, Franklin: He led the Southwest Buckeye League in scoring (21.6) as a senior.

“We’re really, really excited about him,” Croci said. “He can really score it. He can shoot it. With his size and length, I think at our level, he’s going to have a chance to provide some offensive punch for us.”

• Jerry Saunders, 6-0, G, Pickerington North: He averaged 15.1 points as a senior.

“He’s a combo guard who can play on or off the ball,” Croci said. “He’s just a high-level scorer. He can shoot it, drive it, do a lot of different things with the ball. He is a really skilled, elite-level scorer.”

Zach Fleer, of 270Hoops.com, said Saunders is going to be one of the best Division III guards in the nation.

“Witt is getting an absolute STUD!” Fleer wrote on Twitter. “If you can dominate the (Ohio Capital Conference), you can play anywhere and Jerry did that.”

• Dawson Scott, 6-4, F, New Castle (Ind.): He averaged 11.1 points per game as a senior.