Cole Rainwater didn’t anticipate making his college choice at this stage.
But the Lake Central junior didn’t see any reason to wait.
Rainwater, who played this season for the Indiana Fire Academy after starring at forward for the Indians as a freshman and sophomore, has verbally committed to play soccer at
Valparaiso University
. He plans to study exercise science.
The
Crusaders
went 8-9-1 in coach Mike Avery’s 11th season, including 3-5 in their Missouri Valley debut.
“As things came down, after seeing Valpo, I knew it was the right place,” said Rainwater, who cannot sign his letter of intent until February of next year. “It was the perfect time to make my decision to go there.
“I’ve had coaches in Northwest Indiana positively impact the way I play. It was great meeting with coach Avery, the soccer’s really good, and it’s a family oriented team. It just stood out different.”
Rainwater also considered DePaul, IUPUI, Indianapolis and Taylor among a wide range of schools.
He had 13 goals and eight assists as a freshman, improving to 15 goals and 20 assists as a sophomore, earning first team all-area honors each season. He left the door ajar to play as a senior at Lake Central, where his father Jereme has coached 19 seasons.
“I’m just excited about a guy like Avery who has the experience at the levels he’s reached,” Jereme Rainwater said. “Being a Northwest Indiana guy, you think you know everyone in this web, but I didn’t know him. But his sheer knowledge, sitting down and meeting with him, visiting campus, I was so impressed.
“It was like a huge family. They have a lot of international kids and I wanted Cole to experience that diversity. But it was completely his decision. He sat down, did his due diligence, and this is what he wanted. As a parent, as a family, we’re just excited it’s not too far of a drive.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff