News

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's basketball team has signed another recruit for the 2003-2004 season with the addition of Ryan Seesholtz, who has signed a letter of intent to further his education and continue his basketball career with the Cougars.

Seesholtz, a 6-foot-4 forward from Georgetown, Ohio, averaged 24 points, 8.2 rebounds, four assists, and four steals as a senior at Georgetown High School. He led the G-Men to an 18-4 record in 2003 and a berth in the Southwest sectional finals. Seesholtz, who was named the Southern Buckeye Athletic Association Conference National Division Player of the Year as both a junior and a senior, finished second on Georgetown's career scoring list with 1,195 career points. He was also named to the East/West All-Star Team and the Ohio North/South All-Star Team.

"Ryan is a great addition to what is a very strong recruiting class," said MVNU head coach Scott Flemming. "He has been a multi-talented athlete who will now concentrate on basketball alone. He can play several positions as a 6-foot-4 perimeter player. He can score driving to the basket or shooting from the outside."

"Ryan is an outstanding student and his Christian faith is a priority in his life," Flemming added. "He has the potential to be a leader on our team and on our campus."

In addition to playing basketball, Seesholtz has been a member of the soccer, track, and cross country teams at Georgetown. He holds the school's soccer records for most goals in a season and in a career, and he was a regional qualifier in both track and cross country. He is a member of National Honor Society and Student Council, and he was selected as a Scholar-Athlete all four years. He is also active in Christ in Youth and his local church, Georgetown Church of Christ.

"After searching many colleges and universities, it just seemed that Mount Vernon was the place I needed to be," said Seesholtz of his college choice. "I really like the coaches and the players. They all treated me like one of their own when I visited, and it just made me feel comfortable."

MVNU is coming of a 20-13 season in which the Cougars qualified for the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament for the second straight year. The team has posted 20 wins in six of the past seven seasons and also qualified for the NAIA Division II National Tournament three times. The Cougars won the NCCAA national title in 2002.