Eli Van Essen, a senior at Western Christian High School (Iowa), has announced his intention to attend Dordt and join the Defender basketball program.
“Eli has been to our camps for years and loves Dordt. He had a really good senior year and was consistent all year long. We look forward to his development as a person and a player at Dordt,” said Dordt basketball coach Brian Van Haaften.
Van Essen is a 5-11 guard who averaged 9.8 points with 3.7 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game for the Wolfpack this season while earning second team all-conference honors. He was a first team all-conference soccer player and was part of a state title winning basketball team and a state runner-up team in soccer.
“I chose to come to Dordt because I have lived around the community all my life and been to many Dordt events and the environment never disappoints. Both my parents chose to go to Dordt which also had a large impact on my decision. Lastly, I chase Dordt because when I visited I felt very welcomed and everyone was friendly and only said great things about Dordt,” said Van Essen.
Eli is the son of Scott Van Essen and Abbie Johnson. He is undecided on a field of study.
