Jake Holtzmann. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Jake Holtzmann and Austin Conway, two of the top Class of 2015 boys basketball players in the state, made their college choices on Tuesday.
Holtzmann, a 6-foot-5 small forward from Chaparral, pledged to Denver. Conway, a 5-foot-10 guard out of Overland, committed to Wyoming.
The two are the first publicly-known boys basketball commits of the 2015 class from the state. The 2014 class ultimately sent 12 players to Division I schools, and had 25 total college commitments.
According to Rivals.com, Holtzmann also had offers from Air Force and Northeastern. He posted the news of his commitment on Twitter:
Very excited to announce that I've verbally committed to play the game I love at Denver University! Pumped to be a Pioneer – Go DU!
— Jake Holtzmann (@jakeholtzy) July 1, 2014
Holtzmann averaged 16.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a junior for Chaparral. He had seven games of at least 20 points, including a 26-point effort in an epic Sweet 16 game against Rangeview which went two overtimes.
At DU, Holtzmann will join a long line of Colorado products, including 2014 Mountain Vista graduate Jake Pemberton.
Conway also had offers from Indiana and Rice per his Rivals profile. He announced his decision on Instagram, writing: “Long process but made my decision I’m blessed excited and thankful to call myself a cowboy #Wyo thank you to every one who helped me get here.”
Austin Conway. (Pam Wagner)
Conway averaged 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals during his junior season for Overland. A dynamic athlete, he’s also the Trailblazers’ quarterback and accounted for 2,984 yards of total offense, as well as 32 touchdowns, last season.
In fact, Conway was also a coveted football recruit — fielding offers from Colorado, Colorado State and Nebraska, among others — but ultimately decided to stick with basketball.
Like DU, Wyoming has a recent history of Colorado kids — including former Boulder standout Riley Grabau and Chaparral star Josh Adams.