Bolivar's Kyle Pock is southwest Missouri's prized basketball recruit. Here's who is after him.

Kyle Pock is one who likes to deflect attention to others, but he's found that difficult to do lately.

The Bolivar basketball star has received plenty of attention since he was a freshman,  receiving interest from college coaches across the region and, eventually, the country.

After a big game, he'd deflect to his teammates. Whether it was leading Bolivar to a state championship runner-up finish in 2021 or winning a Blue and Gold Tournament title later in the year, he only wanted to make it about others.

In recent months, Pock has been able to put his selflessness aside as he's traveled the country looking for his college destination.

"It's been cool going to see all of these different places because everywhere is different, you know?" Pock said. "You never know what a place is like until you go. So it's definitely been fun."

Whichever school ultimately lands him is going to be very happy.

Pock is now considered the area's top basketball recruit following former Kickapoo standout Zaide Lowery's decision to transfer to La Lumiere in Indiana for his senior year. Pock has been considered one of the top players in the area from the second he put on a Liberator uniform.

Pock now sits with more than 1,700 points and 700 rebounds in his career with another year to go. The 6-foot-6 standout can play anywhere on the court as he's developed exceptional guard skills and is someone who is hard to stop when he decides to go to the basket. He's also committed to playing on the defensive side of the ball.

The rising senior said he hopes to have his college decision made by late October and definitely before his senior season tips off. The four schools recruiting him the heaviest right now are Missouri State, South Dakota State, Indiana State and Princeton.

More schools can jump on late as he plays on one of the best AAU teams in the country on the MoKan Elite 17U EYBL squad alongside five-star recruits who are ranked among some of the top players in the nation.

"All of these places are completely different," Pock said. "I'm not really sure if I want to go super far or if I want to stay home. I'm not really sure. I'm just kind of seeing everything and getting a view of everything."

South Dakota State

Pock had a recent visit to Brookings when the Jackrabbits offered him on June 20. SDSU has long been after Pock and sent coaches to Bolivar to watch him play multiple times this past season.

"I really like coaches putting time into me," Pock said. "South Dakota State is one of them. One of their coaches was down here for three-to-four high school games this year. They just really invest time into me and that's really big to me."

South Dakota State has been considered one of the top mid-major programs in the country over the last decade. Head coach Eric Henderson is going into his fourth year after leading the Jackrabbits to a 30-5 record while going undefeated in the Summit League. The program has been to the NCAA Tournament six times since 2012.

"They're a historically good program over the last 10 years," Pock said. "They had been recruiting me a lot and I definitely needed to go up there because I've never been to South Dakota before."

Indiana State

The Sycamores' interest in Pock spiked recently after watching him play. The school quickly got him on campus where he visited this past weekend.

Pock appreciated the history of the program, noting seeing the Larry Bird statue out front, along with what it's trying to build. The Sycamores are going into their second season under head coach Josh Schertz after going 11-20 and finishing ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference during his debut season.

Princeton

Pock also took a recent visit to Princeton which has also put time into him. For someone who has an interest in going into biomedical engineering, there might not be a lot of better options than the Ivy League school.

Princeton has had success on the basketball court which included a 23-7 record this past season with an Ivy League regular-season title. It's the school farthest away from home but it's his best choice if he was to focus on academics.

Missouri State

The Bears were the first to offer Pock in August 2020 with current associate head coach Jase Herl running the point on his recruiting in addition to fifth-year head coach Dana Ford.

Extremely close to his family, Missouri State is the closest option for him. Pock noted the amount of time the Bears have put into him in addition to his two recruiting visits to campus, multiple games he's attended and practices he's been to.

He's watched the Bears' different approaches to recruiting over the years. Heading into 2022-23, MSU currently has 14 newcomers with three being scholarship freshmen.  The Bears currently have two open scholarships for the 2023-24 roster.

Watching the movement in the transfer portal from team to team has caught Pock's attention but his intention with his recruitment is to find somewhere he wants to be for his entire collegiate career.

"It's definitely crazy," Pock said. "I think it's hurt high school recruiting just a little bit just with the number of people in the portal these last couple of years. I definitely want to go to a university and be there for four years and not even mess with that craziness."

The months ahead...

More schools will have an opportunity to see Pock throughout July when he plays with his MoKan program. The team has notable events in July with a showcase in Kansas City and the prestigious Peach Jam tournament in South Carolina.

Pock called July his "last big month" of recruiting before everything slows down and he can think about his options in order to go to the right place.

Individually, Pock's focusing the most on his defense and the little things in his game. If he gets those down, he knows he'll have an opportunity to contribute to winning immediately.

Targetting the end of October or early November to make his decision, Pock will take in the last few months of the added attention before he puts it on the rest of the Liberators heading into his final season.

"For me, my No. 1 thing is the people and the relationships," Pock said. "So do I like the coaching staff? Do I like the guys they have there? And then the rest of the pieces with academics and basketball. All of these places I've gone, they're completely different in their own aspects. Princeton, super high academics. And then schools like Indiana State and South Dakota State are super high basketball schools."

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Kyle Pock: Bolivar basketball star updates his recruitment