Carson Vis on committing to WMU ‘I like the direction they are heading’
South Christian’s Carson Vis is guarded by East Lansing’s Jayce Branson during a team camp at Western Michigan University on Saturday, June 15, 2024. The two are teammates on the Grand Rapids Storm. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Carson Vis made the biggest decision of his young life on Tuesday. Then he went straight to the weight room to work out. The work never stops for one of the top high school basketball players in Michigan.
Vis, a senior at Grand Rapids South Christian High School, announced that he has committed to play basketball at Western Michigan University.
“I really like the coaching staff,” Vis said. “I like the direction they are heading and how they will use me. I also like how close it is to home and my family can come watch me play.”
Vis, the son of Brad and Jodi Vis, played in front of WMU’s third-year coach Dwayne Stephens on June 15 at team camp in Kalamazoo. But he said he didn’t feel any pressure to perform.
“Me and Coach D.J. have a close relationship,” Vis said. “He’s gonna tell me what I need to work on. Him watching those games didn’t matter much. He already knows what kind of player I am.”
South Christian coach Taylor Johnson said he’s happy for Vis.
“Very excited for Carson and his family,” he said. “WMU was his first (Division I) offer and never wavered in the past two years. Carson is a very special competitor who will help the new direction of the program.”
Vis got his first offer when he was a sophomore from Ferris State. Since then, he’s had offers from Bowling Green State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State, Illinois State, Saginaw Valley State and Toledo.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard averaged 18 points per game and was named First Team All-State in Division 2 last year. He also surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his career.
Grand Rapids Storm teammates during the summer of 2023, from left, Lucas Pitsch, Jake Chapman, Camden Thompson, Carson Vis and Jah Hatchett. Vis and Thompson will be teammates at WMU. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Vis took an official visit to the WMU campus last week. Once he got home he started to think that he wanted to be a Bronco.
“I had no idea until last week when I took my visit,” he said. “I thought ‘this is starting to get real and I should make my decision.’ I boiled it down to a few schools and I always went back to Western. And I thought ‘that’s the spot for me.’ I thought it was perfect.”
One of his new teammates will be a familiar face.
Whitehall’s Camden Thompson, who plays with Vis on the Grand Rapids Storm, committed to Western Michigan for basketball and football last week.
“Obviously, you want to go to a place that has other good players coming in,” Vis said. “Me and Cam don’t play the same position though. I like playing with him on my Storm team. He’s an athlete. I really like Cam. We like get along.”
Vis and Thompson have played together for the past three seasons on the Storm. Another West Michigan star, Northview grad E.J. Ryans will be a freshman guard at WMU this fall.
Western Michigan was 9-9 in the Mid-American Conference last season and 12-20 overall.
Vis said its a relief to finally make his decision.
“It does feel nice,” he said. “It is nice to get it off your shoulders. Recruiting can be tough.”
South Christian’s Carson Vis gets a hard time from teammates Jake Vermaas (0) and Sam Medendorp after winning MVP honors in a holiday tournament on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
