Josh Van Lingen, a senior to be at Western Christian (Iowa) High School, has announced his intention to attend Dordt College and join the Defender basketball program.
Van Lingen has been a rare three-year starter for the Western Christian basketball team and has averaged double digits in points and rebounds the last two seasons. Van Lingen scored 19.0 points per game with 12.8 rebounds per contest in 2014-15 and blocked 59 shots. He was a first-team all-state basketball selection last season and helped Western to a state tournament berth.
As a sophomore Van Lingen averaged 16.6 points per game with 10.7 rebounds and blocked 51 shots and helped Western to a state title. He claimed first-team all-conference honors in both 2014 and 2015 and earned All-Northwest Iowa Review honors those two years as well. The 6-7, 225 pound forward broke into the lineup as a freshman and scored 11.5 points per game with 5.7 rebounds per contest that season. He earned second-team all-conference honors in 2013.
Van Lingen has scored 1,185 points in high school and is Western’s career leader in rebounds with 740. He’s a National Honor Society member and on the honor roll at Western and also played football for the Wolfpack.
“We are excited to add Josh to our basketball program and campus community at Dordt College,” said Dordt College coach Ross Douma. “Josh has had an outstanding career at Western Christian under coach Jim Eekhoff and we look forward to watching him excel during his senior year. In three years in a Wolfpack uniform, Josh has made a significant impact for that storied program. The past several summers Josh has also played AAU for the Dakota Bucks, who were coached by Scott Van Egdom. Having Josh commit early is a tremendous way for us to begin recruiting for the class of 2016. Josh not only excels on the basketball court, but is also an exemplary student in the classroom as well. We look forward to seeing Josh grow and develop in all areas of his life while at Dordt College.”
Josh is the son of Jeff and Nancy Van Lingen of Sioux Center, Iowa.
