Wheaton, Ill. - Wheaton College head men's basketball coach Mike Schauer has announced his team's recruiting class for the 2016-17 season. The five students, hailing from five different states, have submitted a deposit to attend Wheaton College in the fall, with plans of playing for the Thunder men's basketball team.

Mike Schauer (PICTURED LEFT) states of the newcomers to his program, "Wheaton Basketball is excited to add these five young men to the program. It is a smaller recruiting class than we normally add but given the fact we won't have any seniors on our roster next year we intentionally pursued a smaller group. However, these five are all quality players and a strong fit for a unique place like Wheaton.  All five of them have the opportunity to contribute at some point during their career and a couple of them have All-CCIW potential." Schauer concludes, "Given how well we played on our recent trip to Israel and Palestine while starting four rising sophomores and one rising junior I am very optimistic about the direction and the future of the program. People are going to enjoy watching this group play over the next couple of years."

The newcomers with plans to join the Thunder in 2016-17 are:

Aston Francis  (Tyler, Texas/All Saints Episcopal High School) – A transfer from Tyler Junior College (Texas), Francis is a six-foot-one-inch guard. During his senior year at All Saints Episcolpal High School, he averaged 23.0 points and five assists per game, while shooting 42% from three-point range and 83% from the foul line.  Francis, was named East Texas MVP and TAPPS First-Team All-State, leading his team to the State Finals.

Corbin Lenderink (Phoenix, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy) – Lenderink is a six-foot-five-inch wing. He averaged 10 points per game as a senior and shot 43% behind the three-point arc, while helping Scottsdale Christian to a State Championship in Arizona. He picked up All-State honorable mention recognition in his senior campaign. 

Jake Mlagan (Brownsburg, Ind./Bethesda Christian High School)  – Mlagan is a six-foot-three-inch guard that averaged 24.5 points, four assists and four rebounds per game as a senior in 2015-16.  He scored more than 1,000 career points and he was named to the Indiana Top-60 following his senior year.
 
Spencer Peterson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian High School) – Peterson is a six-foot-six-inch forward that averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists per game in his final high school season. He was named as a First Team All-Conference honore and Second Team All-State following his senior year.
 
Anajuwon "Jay" Spencer (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Christian High School) – A six-foot-eight-inch forward, Spencer averaged 9.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior at Chicago Christian. He was a three-year starter and earned All-Conference accolades as a senior. Spencer helped lead his team to its first Regional Championship in eight years by scoring 18 points with eight rebounds in the championship game.