Notebook: Future WMU teammates play together for the first time
From left, Brady Swartz, E.J. Ryans, Max Burton, Carson Vis and Camden Thompson won a 5-on-5 pickup game on May 27, 2025 at Hudsonville. The five will all be teammates at Western Michigan University in the fall. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. - Brady Swartz was already wearing a Western Michigan University t-shirt during a pickup basketball game last week.
The West Michigan trio of Swartz, Carson Vis and Camden Thompson will be teammates in the fall at WMU. On May 27, they got to play together for the first time during the Highland Premier Open Runs at Hudsonville.
"It’s gonna be really good,” Thompson said. “Having that kind of talent on the west side, and going to the same college, is cool. It’s going to be pretty fun.”
Swartz is a 6-foot-7 forward from Northview, Vis is a 6-foot-4 guard from South Christian and Thompson is a 6-foot-5 forward from Whitehall. They were paired with future teammates E.J. Ryans and Max Burton during the pickup game and ended up winning the event that day.
“I played with Carson in travel ball,” Thompson said of the Grand Rapids Storm. “But that’s the first time I ever played with Brady. Those two are great at scoring the ball. It was a different kind of thing getting used to each other.”
Swartz and Vis also played together in the Homegrown Classic All-Star Game in Grand Rapids this week.
“It was fun,” Swartz said of playing with Vis and Thompson. “I had a good time, for sure.”
Thompson also will be playing football for the Broncos.
He finished his high school career on Saturday at the Division 2 state track and field finals. He would medal in three events, which is pretty impressive: High jump, 110 hurdles and discus.
“It was pretty fun,” Thompson said. “I picked up discus for the hell of it. It’s cool placing (on the medals stand) but I was hoping to win.”
Carson Vis, who graduated from South Christian recently, shoots a 3-pointer during the Highland Premier Elite Runs on May 27, 2025 at Hudsonville. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
BYRON CENTER: Cash Bont, one of the top players in the 2026 class, decided to play golf this spring for the first time. And he was great at it. He fell one shot from making it to the state finals.
CALVIN CHRISTIAN: Calvin Christian has a new boys varsity basketball coach. Paul Marandet was hired to replace Matt Veltema, who stepped down after the season. Marandet played at Spring Arbor and currently coaches The City 16U travel team. He's a native of Warsaw, Indiana.
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Zay Larthridge, a 2026 shooting guard/forward, got offers from Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan University. He helped his team reach the Division 2 state quarterfinals last season.
COVENANT CHRISTIAN: Evan Pipe, who is a forward on the basketball team, was outstanding in the Division 3 track and field state finals last week. He finished fifth in the 300 meter hurdles in 40.56 seconds and he was seventh in the 200 meters in 23.33 seconds to earn all-state honors in both.
Jah Hatchett had his arm in a sling after injuring his shoulder recently. Here he is watching the Highland Premier Elite Runs on May 27, 2025 at Hudsonville. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
EAST KENTWOOD: Former East Kentwood guard Jah Hatchett suffered a shoulder injury last month during a pick-up game. His arm was in a sling last week while he watched the action during the Highland Premier Elite Run at Hudsonville. He said he’ll be back playing in July. Hatchett played his first three years at Kentwood before transferring to a prep school in Connecticut. Then he reclassified to the 2026 graduating class. Last week, Hatchett got Division I offers from St. Bonaventure and Oklahoma State University.
FRUITPORT CALVARY CHRISTIAN: Bradley Richards, who was one of the top basketball players in the state in Division 4, won a state title in the high jump last week at the Division 4 track and field finals. He is the king of the high jump. His leap of 6-foot-10 1/2 is the best in all divisions. While he’s still a student at Fruitport Calvary, he competed for Muskegon Catholic Central in basketball, football and track this season because his school didn’t have enough athletes to form teams. He will compete in basketball and track at Cornerstone University in the fall.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN: Tyler Davis has switched his commitment from Heidelberg to Albion College. The 2025 point guard changed his mind after the Heidelberg coaching staff left. Davis also competed in the Division 2 state track meet last week. He finished 25th in the long jump with a leap of 19-feet, 9 inches.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN: Junior Connor Johnson got an offer from the University of Saint Francis, an NAIA school in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
GRANDVILLE: Caden Neves has committed to play basketball at Mott Community College in Flint. The 2025 forward had been playing travel ball with Michigan Unified the past two months hoping to find a four-year school.
GREENVILLE: Long-time coach Kent Ingles announced his retirement. He is fifth in MHSAA history with a stunning 683-382 career record. He spent his first two seasons at Cedar Springs from 1977-78 then a 25-year career at Greenville with a record of 317-216 from 1978-2002. And he spent the past 22 years at Big Rapids, where he had a 328-155 record.
HOLLAND BLACK RIVER: Charlie Reither, who is a forward on the basketball team, competed in the Division 3 track and field state finals last week. He finished fifth in the high jump with a leap of 6-foot-5 to earn all-state honors.
Holland Christian senior Grant VanderZee spikes the ball during a boys volleyball Division 2 state quarterfinal on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. He was named the state’s Mr. Volleyball. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
HOLLAND CHRISTIAN: Grant VanderZee, who was the starting center on the basketball team, has become an elite volleyball player. He was named the first-ever Michigan Mr. Volleyball Award winner. The 6-foot-6 2025 athlete plans to play beach volleyball at Grand Canyon University. Click here to read the full story in the Holland Sentinel.
HUDSONVILLE: Carson Dykstra, a point guard on the basketball team, competed in the Division 1 state track and field meet last week. He was part of the 4x200 team that finish fifth to earn all-state honors. He will play football at Davenport next fall.
NORTHVIEW: Coach David Chana left Northview to take a job in Florida. Chana had coached at Northview for the past six years. He is now at Fort Myers High School. Click here to read the full story.
MONA SHORES: T.J. Meerman was hired as the new coach at Muskegon Mona Shores. Meerman had coached Grand Rapids Catholic Central for many years. He and his wife live in Spring Lake, so geographically he doesn’t live far from Norton Shores.
POTTER’S HOUSE: Logan Sicilia, who averaged 10.7 points as a freshman this season, competed in the Division 3 track and field state finals last week. He as part of the 4x800 relay team, which finished seventh to earn all-state honors.
ROCKFORD: Jake Bascom, a 2026 power forward, got offers last month from Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and Northern Michigan University.
SOUTH CHRISTIAN: Davis Kemper, a 2025 forward, has offers from several Division III and NAIA schools, but he was hoping to play Division II. So he’ll take a gap year and play basketball for Athletes in Action. He spent the spring playing travel ball with Northcoast Premier.
SPARTA: Sparta High School has hired Matt Hansen as its new boys varsity basketball coach. The 2009 Central Montcalm grad was a freshman and JV coach at Forest Hills Central. He also coaches with the Grand Rapids Storm travel program. He replaces Scott Berry, who announced his retirement after 20 years.
New West Catholic coach Bernard Varnesdeel watches B3 play at the Wes Leonard Showcase in Byron Center on May 17, 2025. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
WEST CATHOLIC: New West Catholic coach Bernard Varnesdeel can’t wait to get started in his new job. “I’m excited about it,” he said. “With our boys going there, it got us connected to the West Catholic community. So we had a lot of positive vibes.” His son Bernie was the quarterback on the West Catholic football team when they won the Division 6 state title in 2022. “He was excited when he found out,” Bernard said of his son. “When I got home, he had on his state championship shirt.”
TRI-UNITY CHRISTIAN: Tyler Laansma, who was on the Defenders basketball state championship this season, competed in the Division 4 track and field state finals last week. He finished eighth in the 1,600 meter run in 4:29 to earn all-state honors.
UNITY CHRISTIAN: Owen VanderWaal, a 6-foot-6 center in the 2026 class, got offers from Calvin University, Hope College and Spring Arbor University. Kyler Berghuis, a 2026 guard, also got an offer from Calvin.
UNITY CHRISTIAN: Junior Brogan Sherd is playing in the Division 2 state golf championships this weekend. He also is a point guard on the basketball team. An elite shooter.
ZEELAND EAST: Eli Walcott, who was a point guard on the basketball team, has committed to play football at Calvin University.
ZEELAND EAST: Caleb Claerbaut, a 2026 forward, got an offer from Hope College.
ZEELAND WEST: Trey Sloothaak, who was the quarterback on the Dux football state championship team in the fall, finished his high school career at the Division 1 state track and field meet last week. He finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 4 inches to earn all-state honors. Sloothaak, who was a guard on the Dux basketball team, will play football at Grand Valley State in the fall.
Zeeland West’s Trey Sloothaak competes in the long jump at a Division 1 track and field regional at Zeeland on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
