Kettering, Ohio — Dayton’s 2019 class was highlighted by an incredible set of prospects. Many of the city’s athletes found homes, a good handful at the division one level.
The GWOC held arguably the most elite talent to make it to the next level. Sidney‘s Andre Gordon landed a scholarship with Texas A&M. Springfield‘s Ra’Heim Moss took the reclassification route and did a year at Spire Academy, before committing to Toledo. Trotwood-Madison bred another division one athlete in Amari Davis, who spent his freshman year at Green-Bay.
But, one of GWOC’s biggest names spent their first year out of high school without a team.
In his senior season with Kettering Fairmont, Ryan Hall earned recognition as a GWOC Player of The Year.
The 6’4″, 190 pound, point guard posted a solid 17.0 ppg, 4.7 apg, 7.0 rpg, and 1.7 spg.
Unlike the majority of most highly touted basketball prospects, Hall didn’t see Varsity action until his junior season. In those final two seasons, Hall was still able to prove himself not only on the court, but also on the football field. This opened up the option for him to choose either sport to play at the next level.
Hall held division two football offers from Tiffin and Urbana, while receiving much division one and two interest with his play on the court, including offers from Mercyhurst and Walsh.
He made a name for himself outside of just the GWOC, leading his team to a huge win over nationally acclaimed team, Crestwood Prep. The school out of Canada consisted of many top recruits from around Canada and the United States.
Hall finished with a career high of 28 points on 50% from the field, 6 assists, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals. The performance surely impressed some of the scouts in attendance.
It also earned him a spot on the 2019 FTTH All-Tournament Team, alongside top recruits, Jaden Springer (D1 – Tennessee), Nimari Burnett (D1 – Texas Tech), Samari Curtis (D1 – Evansville), Terry Armstrong (Pro – NBL), and Meechie Johnson (D1 – Ohio St).
As national signing day for athletes accepting division one and two football scholarships approached, Ryan Hall had a big decision to make. What sport would he be playing at the next level?
In April of 2019, Hall made the choice to play basketball and commit to Taylor University in Indiana (NAIA Division One).
In the end, Hall decomitted and made the decision to stay in Kettering, continuing to work out and stay conditioned for a potential comeback.
Rumors swirled that he would join the hometown JUCO basketball team, Sinclair for the upcoming season. The 15-15 team already consisted of two of Hall’s former Fairmont teammates, Cade Morgan & Jack Hendricks.
The rumors were put to rest when Sinclair released a statement announcing they’d be suspending all athletics for the 2020-2021 seasons.
This was followed up by a post on social media from Hall’s former assistant coach at Fairmont who seemed to have a big influence and part in Hall’s recruitment, and a current assistant for Oakwood, Julian Grasso. The post was a video of Hall working out with the coach, with a caption stating that his recruitment was open.
Ryan Hall was ready for a return.
One month later, Coach Grasso released a statement via Twitter. “Thankful for all the interest Ryan Hall received over the past several weeks. After talking to coaches and fielding offers from all over the country, Ryan has decided to take one year to play and study at Iowa Lakes JUCO who was 26-6 last season! Please keep an eye on him!”
We wish Ryan Hall the best of luck with his future at the next level. We plan to continue to cover Hall over these next few years.
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