Northwestern football commit stars on basketball court, too, for Forest Hills Central

Forest Hills Central’s Ty Hudkins puts up a shot against Unity Christian during a summer league game in Wyoming, Mich., on Tuesday, June, 27, 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

WYOMING, Mich. - Ty Hudkins is a busy kid. 

The three-sport star from Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central isn’t home much in the summer, other than to sleep.

“Pretty much, I’m never home,” Hudkins said. “The thing is, my dad is my football and baseball (assistant) coach, so I see him all the time though.”

Ty’s parents, Greg and Stacie Hudkins, will see even less of their son starting next fall. 

Ty Hudkins recently committed to play football for Northwestern University. The 6-foot, 190-pound incoming-senior will play mostly free safety for the Wildcats.

Hudkins had 10 Division 1 offers, but he said Northwestern is the perfect fit.

“First off, It’s one of the best schools in the country for academics,” he said. “I’m going to major in business and their business school is one of the best in the world. Secondly, the coaches. They’re all like father figures to me; great guys.”

On Tuesday night, Hudkins was the basketball star. The speedy guard scored the game-tying bucket to send the game into overtime during a summer team matchup against Unity Christian. Brady Miller scored at the buzzer to win it.

“I grew up playing with all these guys, so it’s just fun playing with them,” he said. “So coming up in the clutch making that bucket was fun.”

So how does Hudkins think Forest Hills Central basketball will do in 2023-24?
“We’re a pretty small team, but we’ll play a lot of five-out,” he said. “We’re going to be scrappy and we’ve got shooters like Jonas (VanderWoude), Brendan Cargill, Quincy Henry, Brady Miller …. we have a lot of good guards. It will be a new look with Coach (Jordan) George, so we’re learning a new play style.”

Hudkins would run into a future Northwestern teammate at the Wyoming team tournament this week. Coopersville incoming-senior Gabe Van Sickle also was playing basketball. But his future will be as an offensive lineman at Northwestern.

For now, Hudkins is happy to stay busy.

“It’s really hard to balance,” he said of playing three sports. “But this is my last year, so I’m just going to push through it. I love playing football, baseball and basketball. Pretty much, every day, I do football workouts in the morning, basketball in the afternoon and (travel) baseball at night.” 

Forest Hills Central’s Ty Hudkins competes against Unity Christian during a summer league game in Wyoming, Mich., on Tuesday, June, 27, 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).