Hillsdale College landed a major commitment when Walter Mattingly made his commitment to the Chargers on Friday. The commitment comes after the 6’7” senior wing took his official visit to the Hillsdale, Michigan campus last weekend. After taking his visit, Mattingly stated he knew it was the place for him. Mattingly had played with the Illinois Wolves program. 

In picking Hillsdale College, Mattingly was looking outside of the gym. “The degree I get once I graduate from there will open many doors beyond basketball,” the senior stated on why he picked Hillsdale. He also added in, “the coaches built a great relationship through the whole process and I took an official and unofficial (visit) there and it felt like the perfect place for me. The have a great tradition of winning and Coach Tharp has been there a long time and runs a great program.” 

Mattingly chose Hillsdale College over his other offer from IUPUI. Both schools offered him in early August of this summer. In making his pick of the division two program over the division one program, he stated “I chose the division two offer over the d1 because it was the perfect fit for me. I wanted an opportunity to come and play right away…I also wanted an opportunity to be on a winning team and chance to play for championships. At some of the lower division 1 schools it’s hard to win championships and be successful.” 

After spending the last couple years at Deerfield High School, Mattingly is now at Lake Forest High School due to a “very family orientated move.” In his senior season before he heads off to Hillsdale College, Mattingly has some strong goals. “I want to win every game and want to leave everything on the court.”