HAMILTON — Nik Copenhaver had a communicative bond with former Campbell University assistant baseball coach Tyler Shewmaker just before entering high school.
The college recruiting process had been off to an early — and successful — start for the recent Badin graduate.
“We kind of built this relationship,” Copenhaver said. “I was talking to Campbell the most out of all the other schools that were interested in me.”
But that changed when Shewmaker left to be an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
“Things sort of fell through there,” Copenhaver said.
Copenhaver, a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher, continued to receive attention from collegiate scouts as he made his way through prep ball. So he was still in good shape on that end.
“Fast forward, I decided to commit to Washington State,” said Copenhaver, who was attracted to the coaching staff at WSU and the way they developed their pitchers.
Copenhaver signed with the Pac-12 program in November and was able to focus on an anticipated deep run for Badin his senior year.
He went 5-1, had a .76 ERA and helped lead the Rams to a 29-2 record and trip to the Division II regional finals before they fell 2-1 to Chaminade Julienne.
No less than a week later — and right smack in the middle of Badin baseball’s youth camp — Copenhaver found out Washington State’s head coach and pitching coach left for Wichita State.
“We lost the Friday before and had camp the following week,” Badin coach Brion Treadway said. “He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, did you hear my (Washington State) coaching staff is leaving?’ I said, ‘What? No, I didn’t. What are you going to do?’
“I honestly think Nik was very satisfied and content with going to Washington State,” Treadway added. “He loved their coaching staff and the way they did things out there.”
“I just wasn’t going to go out there to get stranded if I didn’t know if I was going to be in good hands or not,” Copenhaver noted. “I had to get my NLI removed.”
“I asked him, ‘Do you want me to make some calls?’” Treadway said. “I went ahead and did it.”
Treadway reached out to Vanderbilt and chatted with Shewmaker about bringing Copenhaver on board.
“I guess the rest is history,” said Copenhaver, who signed with the Commodores this past weekend.
“When I first found out about all of this going down, I was kind of confused. Then we put some things together. Shewmaker went to Vanderbilt. I’ve had that connection since I was 14. It all worked out in my favor in the long run.”
“It’s early June. He just graduated. He had everything lined up and ready to go,” Treadway added. “There was a minute of, ‘Oh my gosh. What’s going on here?’ But it all worked out because he’s a tremendous talent.
“I think Vanderbilt is one of the top destinations for a college baseball player, and Nik Copenhaver can compete at that level. I’m super excited for the opportunity that he will get there.”
Copenhaver said he plans on studying economics or a Vanderbilt-specific degree in Human Organization and Development.
Copenhaver finished his career at Badin with a 12-5 record, 2.34 ERA and 204 strikeouts. He didn’t serve up a single home run.
Butler County high school student-athlete college commits (list taken from conference websites and knowledge of commitment):
Baseball — Braylon Bailey, Middletown, Wilmington College; RJ Anderson, Middletown, Miami University Middletown; Carson French, Lakota East, University of Cincinnati; Braeden Fry, Lakota East, Ohio Christian University; Ethan Gagliardo, Lakota East, Miami University Middletown; Danny Sergent, Lakota East, Ohio Northern University; Drew Tower, Lakota East, Wilmington College; Alex Bemis, Monroe, Gannon; Brady Heagen, Monroe, Otterbein; Aiden Sargent, Monroe, Miami Middletown; Colton Hunt, Edgewood, Ashland University; Ashton Hopewell, Badin, Danville Area CC; Lucas Moore, Badin, University of Louisville; Nik Copenhaver, Badin, Vanderbilt University, Justin Hoevel, Badin, Lincoln Trail; Aiden Van De Hatert, Badin, Lincoln Trail; Rodney Rachel, Badin, Lincoln Trail; Brycen Fox, Badin, Mount Union; Caleb Jackson, Badin, Bluffton; Diego DeCello, Badin, Marietta; Corbin Ausman, Badin, Frontier; Sean Miller, Badin, Manchester University; Ethan Stone, Hamilton, Thomas More; Jordan Zapata, Hamilton, Miami University Middletown.
Boys basketball — Lebron Bennie-Powell, Lakota East, Franklin College; Darius Cunningham, Middletown, Clark State College; Izaiah Day, Middletown, Taylor University; Nate Dudukovich, Lakota West, Thomas More University; Charles Hollandsworth, Middletown, Defiance College; Jaylen Jenkins, Lakota West, Defiance College; Jack Kronauge, Lakota East, Rollins College; Jason Lavender, Lakota West, Mt. St. Joseph University; Julian Mitchell, Lakota East, Taylor University; Keatrick Thomas, Middletown, Clark State College; Peyton Smith, Edgewood, Bluffton University; Cooper Matthews, Hamilton, Franklin College.
Boys golf — Spencer Curran, Fairfield, Spring Arbor University; Ben Myers, Middletown, Miami University Middletown.
Boys lacrosse — Carter Barrett, Lakota West, University of Cumberlands.
Boys soccer — Tanner Back, Middletown, Trine University; Kobe Foster, Lakota East, Indiana University East; Keylin Hyman, Middletown, Indiana University East; Zach Johnson, Middletown, Bluffton University; Ethan Volk, Monroe, Mt. Saint Joseph; Ashton Benner, Edgewood, Mt. St. Joseph University; Jaiden Earls, Ross, Ohio Northern University; Noah Neu, Cincinnati Christian, Anderson University; Aiden Gabbard, Hamilton, Penn State at Kensington.
Boys tennis — Anthony Shalakov, Lakota West, US Military Academy.
Boys track — Nicholas Costas, Lakota West, Tiffin University; Jack Ferguson, Lakota West, Wittenberg University; Max Martindale, Lakota West, Wittenberg University; Brayden Rice, Lakota West, Ashland University; Jacob Crowthers, Edgewood, Minot State University; Henry Hoblitzell, Talawanda, Miami University; Logan Howard, Talawanda, Thomas More University; Anthony Roseman, Hamilton, Thomas More.
Boys wrestling — Tyler Bryant, Lakota East, Mt. St. Joseph University; Cooper Skelton, Lakota West, Ohio University; Laban Green, Monroe, Wabash; Bobby Dadabbo, Hamilton, Ohio Wesleyan.
Cheerleading — Gavin Usrey, Lakota West, University of Kentucky; Reese Mershad, Middletown, University of Cincinnati; Lonny Pennington, Middletown, Central State University; Gracie Richter, Monroe, Northern Kentucky University.
Football — Kofi Bobie, Lakota West, Centre College; Mitch Bolden, Lakota West, US Military Academy; Michael Brankamp, Lakota West, Centre College; Ronan Casanova, Middletown, Marist University; Lemond Chambers, Middletown, University of Findlay; Ray Coney, Fairfield, East Tennessee State; Jordan Jackson, Fairfield, West Virginia; Josiah Jackson, Fairfield, West Virginia; James Thomas, Fairfield, Bowling Green State; Luis Canedo, Fairfield, Flyght Prep Academy; Kavi Bivins, Fairfield, Central State; Dalton Davis, Fairfield, Iowa Community College; Mike Figgins, Fairfield, Flyght Prep Academy; Isaiah Glover, Fairfield, Walsh; Matthew Humbarger, Fairfield, Notre Dame College; Ki’Arran Love, Fairfield, University of Indianapolis; Harrison Mensah, Fairfield, Central State; Collin Robinson, Fairfield, Thomas More; Matt Toledo, Fairfield, Notre Dame College; Hassan Robertson, Hamilton, Notre Dame College; Sam Darla, Lakota West, Otterbein University; Kellen Davis, Middletown, University of the Cumberlands; Josh Fussell, Lakota West, Northwestern University; Malik Hartford, Lakota West, The Ohio State University; Scott Johnson, Lakota West, Hanover College; Alex Key, Lakota West, Marian University; Aaron Khayo, Lakota West, Mount Saint Joseph University; Majaden Lewis, Middletown, University of Findlay; Ben Minich, Lakota West, University of Notre Dame; DeMarco Powell, Middletown, University of Cumberlands; Christian Printup, Middletown, University of Cumberlands; Austin Siereveld, Lakota East, The Ohio State University; Bryce Taylor, Lakota East, Lake Erie College; Aidan Troutman, Lakota East, Hanover College; Bryson Bastin, Ross, Thomas More University; Tavionne Crosby, Edgewood, Wilmington College; Mason Green, Edgewood, Indiana State University; Ryan Iams, Ross, University of Indianapolis; Evan Swartz, Edgewood, Wittenberg University; Jake Valerio, Edgewood, Wittenberg University; Jaye Warren, Ross, Mt. St. Joseph University; Jackson Martin, Badin, Dayton; Reece Anzalone, Badin, Findlay; Braedyn Moore, Badin, Wisconsin; Kaden Starks, Badin, Georgetown, Ky.; Daymeon Pennington, New Miami, Ohio Wesleyan; Ebony Curry Jr., Hamilton, Youngstown State; Gabe Verdon, Hamilton, Lock Haven; Kaden Bennett, Hamilton, Flyght Prep Academy; Jaylan Garrett, Hamilton, Iowa Western CC; Demario Pendleton, Madison, Marietta.
Girls basketball — Derranae Aldridge, Middletown, Hocking College; Madison French, Lakota East, Miami University; Star Owens, Lakota West, Hiram College; Savannah Smith, Lakota East, Hillsdale College; Allie Stueve, Middletown, Indiana University East; Paige Frazier, Monroe, Miami Middletown; Alexis Lovejoy, Monroe, Wooster; Jessica Moore, Edgewood, Bluffton University.
Girls crew — Payton Woody, Lakota East, Indiana University.
Girls cross country — Kayla Compton, Fairfield, Wright State University; Lauren Mang, Lakota West, Northern Kentucky University; Jocelyn Willis, Lakota East, University of Cincinnati.
Girls lacrosse — Amelia Shirk, Lakota East, Lake Erie College; Anna Wells, Lakota West, Thomas More University.
Girls soccer — Morgan Blanchet, Lakota West, Thomas More University; Camryn Broz, Lakota West, University of Cumberlands; Lucy Carlin, Lakota East, The College of Wooster; Erica Cox, Lakota East, Eastern Kentucky University; Asia Espiritu, Middletown, West Liberty University; Leah Fisher, Lakota West, Ohio Dominican University; Shelby Parker, Hamilton, Terra State University; Olivia Rogers, Middletown, Indiana East University; Lindsey Bevak, Monroe, Mt. Saint Joseph; Samantha Chaney, Monroe, Mt. Saint Joseph; Ava Gray, Madison, Austin Peay; Rylie McKinney, Monroe, Marshall; Brooklynn Miltenberger, Monroe, Xavier; Keirra Thompson, Monroe, Siena Heights; Chelsey Hair, Ross, Hanover College; Savannah Holmes, Ross, Kent State University; Estella Varner, Ross, Mt. St. Joseph University.
Girls swimming — Sara Glosson, Lakota West, University of Toledo; Julianne Hobson, Edgewood, Davis & Elkins College; Maren Patterson, Talawanda, Queens University of Charlotte; Alaina Reynek, Ross, Wilmington College.
Girls track — Haley Troy, Lakota West, Wittenberg University; Haley O’Brien, Talawanda, Wright State University.
Girls triathlon — Morgan Barnes, Ross, Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Girls volleyball — Natalie Dieball, Lakota East, Ohio Wesleyan University; Henlie Krause, Fairfield, Ashland University; Emma Sicking, Fairfield, Mount St. Joseph University; Kaileigh Schneberger, Ross, Wilmington College; Mallory Witsken, Edgewood, Mt. St. Joseph University; Emma Weiseman, Monroe, Marietta; Kate Oates, Cincinnati Christian, Hope College.
Softball — Tionna Bright, Lakota West, Notre Dame College; Leilah Ferrari, Lakota West, Denison University; Tessa Koziel, Lakota East, Miami University Hamilton; Alayna Crouch, Ross, Thomas More University; Lilly Iden, Talawanda, Hope College; Adisyn Johnson, Ross, Thomas More University; Halee McDade, Talawanda, Bluffton University; Maddie Webb, Edgewood, University of Southern Maine CC; Erin Beeber, Badin, Marietta; Katelyn Polido, Hamilton, Edison State; Jaycee Taylor, Hamilton, Edison State.
