RECRUITING

Columbia City's Hazen has a Big East offer, range of interest

Kyle Neddenriep
Brachen Hazen

The recruitment of Columbia City's Brachen Hazen could be one of the most interesting to follow among in-state players in the 2016 class.

Hazen, a 6-8 junior, picked up an offer from Creighton after an EYBL event in Lexington, Ky., two weeks ago. It is the biggest offer to date for Hazen, who also recently claimed offers from St. Joseph's and Utah State. Ball State, Illinois State and Valparaiso and a number of Mid-American Conference programs are also making a strong push for Hazen, who is also getting interest from high-major schools like Clemson, Georgetown and Cal. Butler has also reached out his father and said they'd like to track him this summer.

"Right now I'm really wanting to go as high as I can but I also want to be able to play right away and make an impact on the team I go to," he said.

Creighton is intriguing to Hazen. Former Bluejay star Doug McDermott was one of his favorite players growing up and he hopes to take a visit to Creighton this summer. Hazen said he plans to sit down with his parents at some point this summer and map out a plan for his official visits.

"These past two weekend in the EYBL have been pretty big for me," he said. "I've been playing pretty well."

Hazen led Class 3A Columbia City to a 19-win season and its first sectional title in four years. He was named to the south group of IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Star team.

"That was really big for us and our community," he said. "They were really supportive of us. It was awesome. I felt like I made an impact on the inside and was a post presence the entire year. I felt like I did a lot of damage on the inside and rebounded really well, too. That's one thing I really wanted to improve and transition that into my senior year."

Hazen plays a bit of a different role with the 17U Spiece Indy Heat, moving to the perimeter for outside shots or driving to the basket.

"(College coaches) see me as a three or four," he said. "They like my motor and how I'm kind of athletic and can get up and get a rebound and shoot pretty well."

Valparaiso is one of the schools recruiting him the hardest, Hazen said. He took a visit there last month and plans to get back again.

"When I went to Valpo I didn't get to see a whole lot of the campus," he said. "I saw a basketball workout and a little bit of the academic setup. That's one place I'd really like to get back to and take a good look at."