MARION, Ind. — The Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team had two signees named to the 2017 Indiana All-Star team. Kyle Mangas is a 6-3 guard out of Warsaw and Grant Smith is a 6-6 forward out of Connersville and both were named to the group that includes the top 13 players in the state. The other 11 members have all signed to play at the NCAA Division I level.
“This is an incredible honor for Kyle and Grant,” said IWU head coach Greg Tonagel. “Every basketball player in the state of Indiana grows up dreaming of being named to the Indiana All-Stars. This is a testament to the type of individual and team success that these two players have had.”
The Indiana All-Stars plays two games against the Indiana Junior All-Stars and two games against the Kentucky All-Stars. The Indiana vs. Kentucky All-Stars is a tradition that goes back 67 years.
“In my 12 years here there have been two players that made the All-Star team and have signed to play in the Crossroads League out of high school,” continued Tonagel. “Having two in the same year speaks volumes about how IWU has risen in respect across the state. We continue to grow in the level of player we can attract to IWU and we are excited to watch our program grow with these two players in the mix.”
Indiana Wesleyan’s graduating class of Lane Mahurin, Bob Peters, Nate Bubash, and Aaron Murray exit the program having won 126 games and two NAIA DII National Championships, along with appearances in the Fab Four and the Quarterfinals. Peters and Mahurin were both named NAIA All-Americans and eclipsed 2,000 career points.