Two Edgewood standouts declare college plans

Caden Huttenlocker's vision is still intact, it's just another two years away from being fulfilled.

The Edgewood grad is taking the junior college route to reach his Division I dreams by locking in his commitment to the men's basketball program at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill. just over the state line west of Sullivan. 

The Statesmen are coming off a 14-14 season under new coach Junsie Cotten, who returned to LTC after previously leading the program from 2005-10.

"It was late but I trusted coach Cotten and Lincoln Trail and they trusted me," Huttenlocker said. "So I'm excited to be there now."

Huttenlocker explored several options, including a year in prep school and maybe a walk-on at Southern Indiana. But the scholarship offer from Lincoln Trail was the best move.

"I'll go there for two years and work hard," he said.

The roster includes three other recruits from Indiana, including Greg Jenkins from Lawrence Central, last year's conference freshman of the year.

"I went on a visit there and they put me through some shooting drills," Huttenlocker said. "I liked the way they pushed me. They showed me around and in the locker room, there was a good family aspect to it. You don't get that at a lot of JUCO schools.

"On the whiteboard there was writing from the players saying, 'I love you coach.' That just hit me."

As a senior, Huttenlocker led the Mustangs in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounds (5.8), assists (2.8) and steals (2.2) while shooting 52% overall and 44% from the 3-point line.

"It was really stressful for a while," Huttenlocker said. "But when I got the call from coach Cotten, it was a big weight off my chest."

Ingalls off to Columbus

Cam Ingalls is used to leading off.

The recent Edgewood grad and standout outfielder at the top of the order for the Mustangs baseball team will become a part of a brand new NAIA program at IUPU-Columbus that will begin play next spring.

Former IU pitcher Zach McClellan is the athletic director and will shift to an assistant coach role, with Scott Bickel taking over as head coach. The Ingalls were familiar with McClellan through his Demand Command travel athletics organization.

"I wanted to take that chance," Ingalls said. "Columbus is a great environment to be in and I've known Zach for a long time, so I knew they'd be on the right path."

He chose the four-year school over a chance to start out at two-year Danville Community College. Ingalls plans to study business management.

"I liked how it wasn't very big," Ingalls said. "The classes are really nice, smaller, too. I like having the one-on-one with teachers."

Ingalls hit .326 his senior year with a .458 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases. He homered twice with seven doubles, drew 20 walks, drove in 24 and scored 36 runs. He committed just one error and figures to stay in the outfield where he's most comfortable as a fielder.

"It really doesn't matter," Ingalls said. "I just want to be there for the team and do whatever I can to win games."

Playing in college was always something he strived for but watching what it took for former teammate Luke Hayden to reach the DI level at Indiana was eye-opening. Now he joins fellow Mustangs Sam and Joe Kido, Blake Deckard, Harrison Pittsford and Ethan Vecrumba on current college rosters.

"I've played the game my whole life and playing in college is what every kid dreams of," Ingalls said. "Everyone dreams of going DI but just playing in college means a lot. I've worked so hard. I told my younger self was I going to achieve this goal and I got the outcome I wanted.

"I'm blessed to have the opportunity to do it."

IUPUC just announced that Ohio Valley Sports will make improvements to the baseball and softball facilities at Ceraland Park in order to create athletics fields for the Crimson Pride that comply with NAIA regulations. 

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.