Calvin Christian basketball standout gets a Division I football offer

Calvin Christian junior Matthew Elderkin averaged 14 points per game for the 24-2 Squires this season. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Matthew Elderkin figured he’d eventually start getting college offers from basketball coaches and making recruiting trips.

But he never expected to get a Division I offer … for football.

The Grandville Calvin Christian junior got an offer from Cornell University on Monday.

“I think, my teammates knew (I had talent),” Elderkin said. “But it still shocked them that someone from Calvin Christian could get an offer from a Division I school.”

That’s because Calvin Christian isn’t a football school. They were 4-5 last year and didn’t field a team in 2021 due to lack of players. 

But the 6-foot-5 Elderkin, who plays wide receiver, made 57 catches for 943 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Squires.   

“A few months ago, I made a football highlight reel and posted it on Twitter,” Elderkin said. “I had a few schools respond to me and Cornell was one of them. They started talking to me a month ago.”

Calvin Christian junior Matthew Elderkin and his father, John Elderkin, pose at the football stadium during a visit to Cornell University on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Elderkin).

Elderkin, the son of John and Renee Elderkin, has been one of the better basketball players in the area the past two seasons. He averaged 14 points and 4 rebounds per game for the 24-2 Calvin Christian team. He plays travel ball for the Grand Rapids Storm. 

But it was hard to pass up a trip to Ithaca, N.Y., to see the Cornell campus.

“I talked to my dad and he said he’d love to go,” Elderkin said. “We drove through Canada. It took us 8 1/2 hours to get there. We arrived on Sunday night and had the visit on Monday. I knew it was a prestigious school. You can tell it’s a beautiful campus and they push academics.”

Elderinkin has a 3.8 GPA this school year.

“My freshman year I really wanted to play football in college,” he said. “But recently it was all basketball. But I’m starting to get interest from football coaches now.”

Calvin Christian junior Matthew Elderkin goes up for a dunk against Holland Christian on Dec. 22, 2022. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).