It's been a busy fall, winter and spring for college commitments from Bloomington area athletes, so here is the first in a series of looks at who is moving on to the next level from NCAA Division I to III and NAIA. We start with Bloomington South.

Football

Jarrin Alley to Butler

Senior Jarrin Alley had just one year as a starter and made it count, piling up big numbers (and small ones such as just four interceptions in 273 attempts) while leading the Panthers to an 11-win season and a regional title.

And while progressing through his reads for college, it came down to Butler, Dayton and Valparaiso, all members of the NCAA Division I Pioneer League. It was Butler in Indianapolis where Alley ended up making a connection.

"It's just a great school and the football team is really competitive," Alley said. "And I love the coaches. I think all the players I talked to all loved it. They had nothing but great things to say about how much they loved the coaches and what a great environment it was.

The 2023 Herald-Times Offensive Football Player of the Year had to stay in the moment and do what was best for the team but also knew after getting a limited amount of reps as a sophomore and junior as a backup he'd have to be ready to shine this past season and he did, tossing for 2,738 yards and 38 touchdowns.

"During the season, I was focused on winning games," Alley said. "But I also knew I needed film. After the season, I was able to really send film out and get in touch with coaches. And all three schools that were my last choices were really great schools."

Alley plans to enter Butler's business program and raise the Bulldogs' fortunes as well. Butler has gone 7-4 the past two years (beating both Dayton and Valpo in 2023, by the way). He follows in the footsteps of former North standout Andrew Huck, who played QB at Butler from 2008-11 and left No. 2 on the school's all-time passing list.

"I'm super excited," Alley said. "I love playing football and the chance to play another four years has been my dream.

"With college football, everybody is really good. It'll be really competitive, I just have to be ready to compete and I'm excited for that. I think it'll make me a lot better."

Ralph Rogers to Ohio Dominican

One of the things that defined Ralph Rogers as a linebacker last year was his quick decision-making that allowed him to get to the ball well before anyone else. Deciding to play college football, or take on a job at HFI, took a bit more deliberation, but, like he was on the field, once he was committed, it was full speed ahead.

"I was debating the process," Rogers said. "I didn't know if I wanted to continue to play."

The coach from NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican in Columbus reached out and that helped Rogers, the Herald-Times Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023, make up his mind. Rogers led the Panthers in tackles this year with 125, 81 of them solo.

"He was really impressed by my film," Rogers said. "He said we'd love to have you come visit. I went with my mom and it was a nice school.

"It's a private school, so it's not very big. It's in Columbus, which I like. I didn't think I'd get much better than that. My goal is to maybe play a year or two and hope I can transfer."

Rogers is considered a bit undersized to play linebacker at the next level, but his speed and instincts lend themselves perfectly for a hybrid safety/backer position. "I'll play where they need me to play," Rogers said. "I'm just trying to play football and have a good time. They call the spot 'nickel'. I'll be filling the C gap and dropping back like a linebacker."

Rogers says he'll be a business major and was drawn to the school by the smaller class size and a connection with the coaching staff that saw his upside. Head coach Kelly Cummings was a former defensive coordinator at Toledo.

"I was shopping at Target and got a message on Twitter," Rogers said. "It was (assistant coach James Lee). He called me and explained every part of my game, so I knew he had watched my film.

"I just felt excited about it. I kind of just want to go prove to people I can play at my size like I've played the last four years. It's another challenge but it'll be fun to learn another position."

Drew Crum-Heiftje to Marian

Marian and assistant coach Steve Tutsie got a jump on the competition and it paid off with Drew Crum-Heiftje, who committed to the NAIA powerhouse.

"They were the first school that reached out to me," Crum-Heiftje said. "I met coach Tutsie at an IU camp in the summer. He was super cool and got me hooked up with the business school. It was a good choice.

"I had been talking to UIndy and Hillsdale and UIndy offered after I was committed. Marian gave me a lot more attention and I never got another official offer from anyone else. They stayed in touch with me, even after I broke my arm (in the sectional final vs. Seymour)."

Since the program's inception in 2007, the Knights have won eight conference titles and made the playoffs 12 times.

"It seems like they really take it serious there," Crum-Heiftje said. "They always have a really good team and a winning record. The coaches are super good. It's a Catholic school and my mom's Catholic. The school's not super big so there's a lot of room for more personal learning."

Crum-Hieftje played a lot of spots at South, starting with quarterback as a freshman and then safety and a bit of receiver. Marian will likely start him out on defense and he's naturally willing to play anywhere, but he's more of an offensive-minded player and hopes he'll get a shot on that side of the ball while living out the dream of being a college athlete.

"It's a true blessing from God, who I have to thank first for giving me the athletic ability to get this far," he said. "It has to do with how good an athlete you are, but I also put in a bunch of work, so it's awesome. I've dreamed of being able to help my family out with a scholarship so they don't have to pay for it all.

"It's a blessing Marian offered me and now I want to prove the schools wrong who didn't."

Noah Fox to DePauw

Like opposing running backs, Noah Fox's recruitment didn't get very far once he got a hold of it. The defensive lineman stuck with NCAA Division III DePauw in Greencastle to continue his career.

"Their defensive line coach reached out early on," Fox said. "I went to a game last year and they were interested in me. They were the first school to tell me they really wanted me and that meant a lot. I went on a couple more visits and met the staff.

"I was just drawn to that school. It's a great school and the facilities are nice. I think it's the best option for me."

Fox plans to study kinesiology and get into exercise science. He also might have a different playbook to study when he arrives.

"The past couple of years, they've run almost the identical defense to what we ran at South," Fox said. "But now they have a new defensive coordinator (Tiger grad Ryan McElwain). They wanted me as a defensive end in a 4 technique, but I don't know if that will change.

"It made me feel good that they wanted me. I hadn't gotten a lot of attention. They also have a winning program (going 10-1 last year) and a great culture."

Track and field

Ivan Lynch to Dartmouth

Not long ago, Ivan Lynch thought competing for an Ivy League school was a long shot. But with a little work, he's now headed to Dartmouth to continue throwing.

He was unsure how to go about the recruiting process but was receiving emails from Division II and D-III schools and Lynch started reaching out to the places he was interested in. With his grades and his rising numbers in the shot and discus, he wanted to aim higher and found himself on the radar of several elite schools from the East Coast.

Near the end of last summer, he made a tour of several of them, taking unofficial visits and meeting coaches. Then he came to Dartmouth and throws coach Jeff Forino. "He was probably the most knowledgeable coach I've met about throws in track and field. He didn't start out in throws but got into human performance, which is what I'm interested in studying in the future. I was asking him questions about training and he was giving me great answers. I enjoyed my conversation with him."

After his trip, he narrowed his choices to Columbia, Lehigh, Appalachian State and Dartmouth.

"I had a great time everywhere I went," Lynch said. "But Dartmouth just stood out. I loved meeting all the people and the academics stood out as well. Then it was a question of price or very good academics." App State or Dartmouth, and then Lynch made the decision to go into the Army ROTC program at Dartmouth, which took care of the financials. "Balancing that with athletics and academics might be a challange," Lynch said. "But I have faith in myself."

Being a college thrower is what he's been after since he got to high school. He plans to study biological sciences, with an aim to be a college throws coach. "I try to help the guys on the South team and I enjoy seeing them improve," said Lynch, whose career bests are 166-6 in discus and 48-9 in shot put set on Tuesday.

Discus and hammer are the two primary events he'll compete for the Big Green and he might even pick up some more outdoor events as well in the mountains of New Hampshire.

"I felt like I was at home," Lynch said. "The indoor facilities were phenomenal. And I'm assuming, yeah, I will learn how to ski."

D'Andre Black to Cincinnati

For D'Andre Black, track, compared to football, is a non-contact sport. Well, as long as his trailing leg makes it over the hurdle cleanly. He saw a more durable future in running even after a spectacular senior season at wide receiver for the Panthers, a welcome one after his knee injury midway through his junior year.

He struggled to make it back in time to impressively medal at state in the 110s and has big goals in both hurdles events this season. From there, it's on to the University of Cincinnati.

"I didn't know if I wanted to do football or track," Black said. "I picked track and Cincinnati was the first people to contact me my junior year after I didn't start running. I took my first junior day visit there and fell in love with it. No other school treated me like they did. The city aspect of it was cool, too. And the team, the coaches, they seemed like family and care about their runners, which was very big to me."

Especially coming off that football injury and now a hamstring issue this spring. Both of his parents are athletic trainers. The Bearcats like Black's high upside once he gets a chance to solely focus on hurdles. "They saw a lot of potential," said Black, who plans to major in business finance and likes the possibilities for internships and job possibilities going to school in a bigger city brings.

"It means a lot to me," Black said of the opportunity to be a college athlete. "My father has been a trainer at IU and hanging around with those athletes and wanting to be like them in some shape or form, it's cool to see it come full circle."

Swimming

Tamara Kun to Duquesne triathlon

Swimming and running is just part of what Tamara Kun will be doing in college, signing with Duquesne's competitive triathlon program.

Kun, who competes in track and cross country, swam the 200 individual medley and the butterfly for the girls' swimming team. During the off-season, she competed in triathlons and went back to Europe last summer (her family moved here from Hungary) for two months to participate in some events.

Last August, she went to the USA Triathlon National Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and placed 24th in the Junior Elite Female category (age 16-19). She trained with a group in Chicago, so she's happy to be closer to her future teammates.

"So finally in college, being grouped together as a team is so awesome," Kun said.

Duquesne, an NCAA Division I program in Pittsburgh, competed in the Atlantic 10 and just started its women's triathlon program last fall. The season wrapped up with their appearance in the national finals in early November. The race consisted of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike leg and 5k run.

"I started doing triathlon because I was good at every one of them (running, swimming biking), but not really good at any one of them," Kun said. "Like I was going to be a super runner."

Very few schools offer the sport but her performance drew suitors. Duquesne offered athletic and academic scholarships and her visit sewed it up.

"It's really exciting," Kun said. "I can't wait to finally get my own life. I'm going into nursing, so I can't wait to do that too. It's really amazing."

Lucy Tait to IU rowing

No experience necessary.

The Indiana women's rowing program is always on the lookout for high school athletes who can bring the physical traits they'll need to be successful on the water and swimmer Lucy Tait fits the bill. She's been on rowing machines, but never on the water.

"I haven't rowed before but they look for people who are tall and strong," Tait said. "Since I'm a swimmer, I have lots of upper body strength so they were looking for that and they asked me if I'd be interested in this. I was like, 'Yeah.'"

Tait was the sectional runner-up in the 50 free and also swam the 100 free and was the freestyle anchor for the 200 medley relay and lead off for the 200 free relay, both squads making it to state. She was planning to go to IU anyway and said she plans to study biochemistry.

"It's kind of scary but I'm kind of excited because it will be a completely new thing," Tait said. "I went on my visit and everyone there was so nice. The coaches were super nice. I've always been an athlete so I've always had that. It gives me structure in my day.

"I think I decided because I love participating in sports and having a team and that community. I'll be going to this new school and have tons of friends automatically."

Boys basketball

Zach Sims to IU-Southeast

Zach Sims is hoping to stretch his legs at Indiana University-Southeast in New Albany.

He saw the NAIA program as the best fit all around, from the style of play and coaching to staying relatively close to home. He had decided the junior college route was not an option, and in the end, neither were other offers he'd gotten from schools in Texas, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

"I talked to the coaches about how I'd fit in the program," Sims said. "Is the coach too strict so I can't enjoy my time there, but is he strict enough but also fun to be around? With coach Wiley (Brown) I feel like he gave me that. He also played in college and in the NFL (with the Eagles).

"I think there's more opportunity for me there in the future rather than going 10-15 hours away not knowing."

His visit confirmed everything for him. Sims was South's second-leading scorer at 10.6 ppg while hitting 31 3-pointers and shooting 79% at the line. The more free-flowing, uptempo pace the Grenadiers play also suits him well.

"They had a very beautiful campus," Sims said. "The cabin dorms were amazing. The players all seemed like really chill people and fun to be around. The class ratio was small and they seemed grateful for me to be there. They made me feel welcome.

"They don't have the major I want but I'll be studying business and after four years, I can go learn the hardscaping and building stuff (pools, decks, driveways, retaining walls). For now, I want to play basketball."

Alex Shaevitz to Franklin

Alex Shaevitz seldom sits still, no more so than during his senior season. He gave football a go at receiver before taking over a starting role with the basketball team and then eschewing baseball this spring to compete in track, where he's had good success picking up long jump and high jump.

He'll keep leaping in college, committing to play basketball at NCAA Division III Franklin, though track was an option.

"What narrowed it down was the connection I had with Franklin's coach," said Shaevitz, referring to Chris Hamilton, who took over in April in 2022. "And it's the one sport I enjoy the most because it's the one sport where you can just go into a gym by yourself, no matter what the weather is and play. The gym's always open to get some shots up."

Basketball provided the best place to utilize his athletic skills and competing in track this spring will give him the time to build up his upper body before he moves on. The location nearby was also favorable for Shaevitz, who plans to study business. The 6-4 forward averaged 6.6 points and led the team in rebounding and blocks and hopes to be a versatile piece for Hamilton.

"I played the 5 man at South and I can run and move, so the biggest thing is being able to guard multiple positions, 1-through-5," Shaevitz said. "I was doing that at South, so my chances of playing as a freshman are higher."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Here are the latest college commitments by Bloomington South athletes