Allegany's Chorpenning signs with Waynesburg
Mar. 21—CUMBERLAND — Allegany guard Caiden Chorpenning has always wanted to play college basketball, and on Monday afternoon he made that vision a reality.
After four years of varsity basketball with the Campers, the 6-foot-3 standout signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his basketball career at Waynesburg University.
"It's been my dream to play college basketball all my life," Chorpenning said. "I started in fifth grade, so it's nice it finally worked out for me."
Waynesburg, founded in 1849, is a private university of around 1,800 undergraduates in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. It has been a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference of the NCAA's Division III since 1990.
There are currently 11 members of the PAC, and Washington and Jefferson is the conference's defending men's basketball champion.
Waynesburg is coached by Tim Fusina. The Jackets finished 5-19 (3-17 PAC) in Fusina's fourth season at the helm in 2022-23.
Chorpenning also received interest from Juniata College and St. Mary's College of Maryland.
"It's a small college, so I kinda liked that," Chorpenning said of Waynesburg. "I know some people that went there from Southern and Frankfort. They seemed like they were the most interested in me. I might get to play some there."
Chorpenning will join a roster that also features a collection of former area standouts in junior Jansen Knotts (Frankfort), junior Bryson Wilt (Southern) and freshman Ethan Glotfelty (Southern).
Knotts was third on Waynesburg in scoring at 10.9 points a game, and Wilt led the team with 42 assists and 31 steals.
Chorpenning comes to Waynesburg after helping guide Allegany to a 17-7 finish and a trip to the Class 1A West Region I title game. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game his senior year for coach Tedd Eirich.
The 2022-23 season was his third starting on varsity — fourth including the 2020-21 campaign which was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a freshman on varsity, Chorpenning averaged 10.5 points and 6.6 boards a game for coach Jon Irons. Last year, Chorpenning tallied 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists a night as a junior, his first of two seasons playing for Eirich.
Chorpenning was an All-Area first-team selection last year and an All-Western Maryland Athletic Conference pick as a freshman.
"It's a nice day when you get to coach these kids, and then they're able to continue their basketball at a college," Eirich said. "This is what he's always wanted to do, and it's just good to see his family happy about it and he's happy about it.
"He's got good size for where he's going to. He's a great shooter. He's a good kid and he's going to be very coachable at the college level. His coach is gonna love coaching him, and he's going to give every effort he has. He's going to be a great addition to Waynesburg."
Chorpenning played for several Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams but notably for the Potomac Valley Phenoms, coached by Perry Kennedy.
He played for Braddock during middle school and for the AAU team West Virginia Burn based out of Morgantown, West Virginia, winning states and placing 14th nationally.
