“Witt’s a place — if you want to get better and basketball is important to you — that’s a really good situation to take a look at.”
Hertz also showed recruits Pam Evans Smith Arena and the renovated 1929 Fieldhouse, where he hopes to play a game or two this season.
Just as important as any selling point is the culture Hertz, a coach at Dayton for seven seasons before taking the Wittenberg job last September, is trying to build entering his second season.
“The majority of the kids that we have committed for next year,” Hertz said, “I think when they came on campus and saw what we had to offer — from facilities, to the tradition, the alumni, the culture, the staff, the current players — I think guys felt really comfortable as players and as students. And I think parents felt very comfortable. At the end of the day, you want to feel that you’re dropping your kid off in a really good situation."
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Hertz added 10 players, including one transfer, to the roster for the 2025-26 season. Six of the recruits are from three schools and have high school teammates coming to Wittenberg with them.
• Jayden Humphrey (6-foot guard) and Carter Bresser (6-4 wing), Lloyd Memorial High School, Erlanger, Ky.
• Carson Gutmann (6-6 center) and Jaden Rambo (6-3 guard), Springboro High School.
• Jace Wardlow (6-0 guard) and Braylon Banks (6-1 point guard), Bowling Green High School, Ky.
• Kyle Kenney (6-1 guard), Centerville High School and Capital University.
• Collin Doseck (6-0 guard), Botkins High School.
• Louie Collopy (5-10 guard), Newport Central Catholic High School, Ky.
• Noah Frayer (5-11 point guard), Arundel High School, Md., and SPIRE Academy.
Gutmann (15.3 points per game) and Rambo (9.6) were Springboro’s leading scorers last season. Kenney appeared in 20 games at Capital two seasons ago and was Centerville’s sixth-leading scorer as a senior in the 2022-23 season.
“More than anything, I feel like we got a competitive group of kids,” Hertz said, “and that was a theme that I was trying to go after from a recruiting standpoint — highly-competitive kids that are going to be that on the court and in games but also in practice.
“We had some of that last year, but we dealt with so many injuries. I think this group loves basketball. They love being in the gym. Almost all come from winning high school programs. I want to get guys that have won and want to continue to win and have seen what that looks like and what that feels like.”
Wittenberg finished 9-16 overall and 5-11 in the North Coast Athletic Conference in Hertz’s first season. The Tigers return four starters: senior forwards Eddie Brown and Dawson Scott; junior forward Tyler Galluch; and senior guard Cal Bavineau.
Hertz said his first season was challenging for various reasons.
“One of our rising seniors summed it up great,” Hertz said. “He just said it was Year 1 for all of us, even though it wasn’t his first year. When you go into it, there’s always going to be some challenges. I think the biggest thing is we’re moving forward and are really excited about the direction we’re headed. I feel like we have the right group in the locker room right now returning, and then I feel like we’ve really added the right guys. I’ve learned a lot in the first year. I think our players have learned a lot about our style, our culture, all those things. Now we’ve got to put it into action here.”
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