Cornerstone’s connection with Wayland High runs deep
Wayland natives Cory Ainsworth (30) and Carter Nyp (15) have been teammates for six years. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Kim Elders has coach hundreds of basketball players in his 30 years at Cornerstone University.
But in the past 13 years, there seems to be one constant: There is usually a Wayland High School grad on the Golden Eagles roster.
Elders has coached at least six Wayland natives since Wes Hudson arrived on campus in 2010.
“Wes is Mr. Wayland,” Elders said. “He’s doing a good job with the (Wayland) girls team. Wes opened the door for us and others followed. We hope to continue to tap into Wayland as they continue to produce good players.”
Wayland native Wes Hudson played at Cornerstone University from 2010-14. He won an NAIA National Championship and scored more than 2,000 career points. (Photo courtesy of Cornerstone University).
Hudson, an All-American in his four years, opened the door for Justin Pepper, Alex Lyle, Dillon Aten and active players Carter Nyp and Cory Ainsworth.
“It was a big thing,” Nyp said of Hudson’s career. “It raises the awareness of the (Cornerstone) program and what he was able to do here. My brother went here. He played basketball at Wayland and graduated in 2015. He didn’t play basketball here, but it raised my level of awareness of the school. Then I started getting recruited around my junior year.”
Carter Nyp, a fifth-year senior, is second on the team in scoring. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)
Ainsworth and Nyp played two years together with the Wildcats.
“I started getting recruited the end of my junior year,” Ainsworth said. “I’d known that Carter was going here so Cornerstone was always on my radar. Then Wes Hudson also went here and played really well. So Cornerstone was always an option.”
It’s worked out well. The 6-foot-8 Nyp is in his fifth year at Cornerstone and is second on the team with 14.8 points and six rebounds per game. He had a career-high 37 points against Madonna.
“He’s gotten better every year,” Elders said of Nyp. “He used to be just a 3-point shooter. Now he’s a complete player. He’s become a leader for us and the guys really listen to him.”
Cory Ainsworth, a senior, leads Cornerstone in scoring and rebounding this season (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Ainsworth, a 6-foot-9 post player, is in his fourth year. He leads the team with 19.2 points and 8 rebounds per game.
“He’s progressed leaps and bounds,” Elders said. “He came in as a good post player and now he’s a great post player. He’s dominant. Hard to stop.”
Said Nyp: “When Cory gets the ball in the post, it’s fun to watch him go to work. When he gets the ball in the post, he’s going to score nine out of ten times.”
Hudson played from 2010-14 and helped the Golden Eagles win the 2011 NAIA National Championship. He is seventh in career scoring with 2,036 points.
“I coached Wes when he played on the same AAU team with my stepson,” Elders said. “So that was back when they were in seventh grade. So that started the process of Wes coming here.”
Hudson is currently the girls basketball coach at Wayland. His father, Mike Hudson, coached all six of the Cornerstone-Wayland players before retiring in 2019.
“Mike was a great coach,” Elders said. “He knew the game and taught the game well. What he instilled in his players, carried over into our program.”
Cory Ainsworth, left, and Carter Nyp have played together for four years at Cornerstone and two years at Wayland High School. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
