'Dream come true': Peoria High guard gets offer to play basketball at Bradley

PEORIA — Leshawn Stowers finished up Peoria High's 66-61 win over Manual on Tuesday night, then walked into a postgame he'll never forget. He scored 22 points as college coaches were in attendance. Some of them were waiting for him afterward.

"I got an offer from Bradley University," the 6-foot-4 junior guard said Tuesday night. "I was asked, 'How would you like to stay home and play?'

"That's a dream come true for me. To play in my hometown, in front of my family and friends, it would be tremendous. I have to keep working, keep grinding, make sure I'm ready for it. We've (Peoria High) bonded as a team, and I think we could go far. And I'm keeping an eye on how things are going for Bradley."

And a few other NCAA Divison I programs. Stowers says Missouri Valley Conference program Illinois-Chicago was at his game Tuesday night and also met with him afterward and made an offer. UIC plays Bradley in Carver Arena on Wednesday night.

In all, the 6-foot-4 guard has offers from BU, UIC, Eastern Illinois, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Southern Illinois and Incarnate Word.

"My coach (Daniel Ruffin) told me after the game ended, 'There's someone waiting for you who wants to talk to you,' " Stowers said. "I went out there and it was Bradley, and it was so exciting. I'm grateful for that offer, for all the offers I've gotten."

More: 'A journey': How this Peoria High guard has grown into a Division-I prospect

Colleges began to offer after Stowers teamed with a pair of D1 prospects in Dietrich Richardson (Manual) and Matthew Zobrist (Metamora) on the summer basketball scene with Mid-Pro Academy. Those fellow Peoria-area prospects also have offers from Bradley, among other programs.

Stowers, a Big 12 Conference honorable mention selection last season, came into this junior campaign determined to improve his 3-point shooting and score more points for the Lions.

He is succeeding. In his last six games, he has scored 22, 20, 16, 24, 25 and 16 points.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley offers Class of 2025 guard Leshawn Stowers of Peoria High