The Kent State men’s basketball program received a verbal commitment from Class of 2025 front court player Landon Vanderwarker on Thursday night. Vanderwarker is a 6-7, 200 pound athletic forward from Delaware Hayes High School in central Ohio.
Vanderwarker is the second in the class of 2025 to commit to Rob Senderoff and the Flashes, after Chicago point guard Jayden “JD” Tyler committed to the Flashes last week.
Vanderwarker held offers from Toledo, Ohio, Miami (OH), Indiana State, VCU and Furman among others, and is a huge get for the Flashes.
“Kent State just showed me and my family a lot of love. They called me or texted me a lot every week and were the most consistent recruiting wise,” Vandenwarker said. “I got injured in a tournament a week ago and they came to all the games to support me even though I didn’t play in a couple. Also, Kent is only two hours from home so my family and friends can come and watch and they have a FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Also, they have a great education so I can get a degree.”
The newest Flashes’ commit took an unofficial visit to Kent on June 20.
“Coach Sendy and the other coaches were amazing and just all super engaged in what I had to say. The campus was beautiful and everything is close together so you don’t have to travel by car a lot if all. I got a good feel about the team and how they play and I just loved the way practice and workouts were structured and how hard they play. Another thing was the guys enjoyed being around each other and the coaches and were hanging out in the coaches offices.”
Vandenwarker has a high upside and a lot of room to improve. “I bring to the table someone who is just willing to do whatever it takes to win. I’m a hard worker and a gym rat and will be in the gym 24/7. I’m a multi-faceted player who can do anything to coaches and team needs me to do in order to win.”
The high flying forward has some team and individual goals as he prepares for his senior year with the Pacers.
“I would say a team goal is to get back to where we were last year which was state semifinals and make it even further and win states. Indivdudal goals I would say just helping my team complete that goal and get better as a player. That means improving everything like shooting, dribbling, passing and play with more speed of college. I would also say being more vocal and just being a leader on the floor.
Vandenwarker transferred to Delaware Hayes from Northside Christian prior to his junior season, and helped lead the Pacers to an incredible 27-2 record and a berth in the state final four before falling to Cleveland Saint Ignatius 54-53 in the state semifinal.
Kent State, without a losing season in 27 years, hopes Vandenwarker winning a championship in Dayton this March isn’t the only net he will be cutting down in the next several years with blue and gold in his future.