Another member of the MidPro Academy 2023 team has made their college commitment. Both Owen Freeman and Brock Harding are committed to Iowa and now Ty Pence is off the board. The 6’6” wing guard of St. Joseph Ogden High School announced his commitment recently to in-state Illinois State. 

Pence chose the nearby Redbirds over a host of other offers, including multiple from high major programs. Akron, Belmont, Butler, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Indiana State, Iowa State, Loyola-Chicago, UIC, Wake Forest, and others had all previously offered Pence. 

The Pence commitment marks a major recruitment coup for new Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon. Last year on the NY2LA Association, not only was Pence a first team all-league selection at the 16U level but the MVP as well. He then followed that up with a first team all-state selection during his junior season. 

The old Illinois State had initially offered Pence last year by Pedon and staff were able to win over the senior in a short amount of time since arriving in Normal, Illinois this March. The guard marks the third commitment in the Redbirds 2023 recruitment class. He joins guard John Kinziger and forward Chase Walker in a strong early class for the Missouri Valley Conference school.