VERSAILLES – Versailles senior Michael Stammen, the son of Bob and Ronda Stammen, signed to continue his education with studies in mathematics or accounting while playing basketball for the Bluffton Beavers men’s basketball team.
“My goal next year is to help the team win in any way possible whether I get minutes or not,” said Stammen. “What can I do to help the team win is the main goal.”
Stammen took his time deciding on the school he would attend for the next four years.
“I wanted to decide what I truly wanted to do,” Stammen noted. “Wittenberg, I took a visit there, Edison State was recruiting me during the season, Defiance and Heidelberg.”
Stammen recently was named Midwest Athletic Conference player of the year, District 9 player of the year and first team all-Ohio in Division III.
“I will miss Michael’s playing abilities as a player but I think the thing that he and his parents should be proud of is that I’m going to miss Michael more as a person,” Versailles boys basketball coach Travis Swank said. “He is a great kid to be around and his attitude will lead him to much more success down the road.”
Stammen joins a winning Bluffton basketball program under the direction of 31 year veteran coach Guy Neal, the winningest coach in the history of Bluffton University men’s basketball.
“We are excited to have Michael join our program here at Bluffton,” said Coach Neal. “Not only is Michael an outstanding player, but he is a serious student and a young man of outstanding character.”
“The coaches felt like home there,” Stammen said of his choice of Bluffton. “They were persistent on recruiting me like many other schools. I just felt a connection there and I hope to continue that for four years.”
“Anytime we can add an MAC guy to our roster, it is a positive thing,” Coach Neal added. “MAC players come from good schools and programs, have been coached at a high level and are used to playing in big games against top quality competition.”
“It was a little factor but not really the main factor,” Stammen said of a short 68 mile drive from Versailles to Bluffton. “I just wanted to be comfortable where I was going for four years.”
