IHCC athletes sign with four-year programs
Jan. 4—OTTUMWA — Five student athletes from Indian Hills Community College have announced their signing to four-year universities.
Davontae Hall, a two-year member of the IHCC men's basketball program, has signed to play at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Hall helped lead the Warriors to the national tournament as a freshman and has been instrumental in leading the nationally-ranked Warriors through the early stages of the 2023-24 season appearing in 45 career games and averaging nearly 10 points per game this season alone.
As a freshman, Hall was twice named to the ICCAC All-Academic Team and was a member of the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year. Hall will join a UMKC program led by head coach Marvin Menzies who is in his second season at the helm of the program.
Gaspar Glaudas, the top-ranked golfer in the nation as a sophomore, has signed to golf at Stetson University in Florida starting next season. Glaudas was a key member of the 2023 Indian Hills men's golf team that captured the NJCAA Division I national championship earning first-team All-American honors as a freshman and earning a spot on the GCAA All-Freshman team.
As a sophomore, Glaudas has been named the GCAA SwingU Golfer of the Month while earning four ICCAC Athlete of the Week honors. Glaudas was named to the ICCAC All-Academic First-Team as a freshman and was a member of the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year.
Led by head coach Danny Forshey, Stetson is coming off a fourth-place finish at the National Golf Invitational tournament in 2023. Stetson posted four top-five team finishes this fall season, including top honors at the USF Invitational.
Maggie Paiva, a two-year member of the Indian Hills volleyball team, signed the most unique four-year letter joining Southeastern Louisiana University to play on the school's beach volleyball team. Paiva helped guide the Warriors to back-to-back trips to the national tournament as a versatile contributor throughout her career in Ottumwa appearing in 78 career matches over the past two seasons, serving a multitude of roles.
Paiva finished her career with 82 service aces and 340 total digs. As a freshman, she was twice named to the ICCAC All-Academic team and was a member of the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year.
Under head coach Collin Wilson, the Lions are set to enter their fifth-year of competition. Most recently, Southeastern Louisiana competed in the Southland Conference Beach Volleyball Championship in 2023.
Jose Miguel Ramirez, the reigning NJCAA Division I men's golf individual national champion, has signed to play golf in the same state he won the national title last spring joining Wichita State University. Ramirez has been a key member of the Indian Hills men's golf team over the course of the past two seasons becoming the sixth individual national champion in school history while leading the Warriors to its seventh team national championship.
As a freshman, Ramirez was twice named to the ICCAC All-Academic team and was a member of the NJCAA Academic Team of the Year. Under fifth-year head coach Judd Easterling, the Shockers have captured four top-10 finishes throughout the 2023 fall season, including a first-place at the team's home event in October
Nathan Smithburg, a Fairfield native, has signed to play baseball at the University of Oklahoma. Smithburg has been a primary contributor to the Indian Hills baseball pitching staff helping to lead the Warriors to the NJCAA Region XI championship as a freshman.
The left-handed hurler tied for the team lead with 20 appearances out of the bullpen and posted a 3-2 record with a 2.97 ERA while posting a 12.76 strikeout-per-nine inning rate. Smithburg is set to join one of the premiere programs in college baseball in Oklahoma as the Sooners have posted 11 trips to the College World Series, including a runner-up finish at the 2022 World Series. Smithburg will suit up for seventh-year head coach Skip Johnson, regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in the country.
