Recruiting Report: Brady Kuchinka (2016)
Update from 11/24/15 by Alex Conover Brady Kuchinka and Lake City came out and took care of business in their season opener against Winona Cotter. They won 58-47, and Kuchinka led all scorers with 26. Assistants from Waldorf and Gustavus…
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Continue ReadingUpdate from 11/24/15 by Alex Conover
Brady Kuchinka and Lake City came out and took care of business in their season opener against Winona Cotter. They won 58-47, and Kuchinka led all scorers with 26. Assistants from Waldorf and Gustavus along with Olaf’s head coach watched from the bleachers.
After spending much of last year ranked in Class AA, the expectations for Lake City are to get to state.
“We have good depth and solid starters I believe,” Kuchinka said. “Matt Kjos is a solid defender. Jesse Oliver can stroke it and is huge; you don't wanna run into him. Eli Custer is a great force on defense and rebounding. Mitch marien is also a solid PG.”
And Kuchinka of course is the spark that gets this group going. He led the Tigers to a 22-3 record in last year’s regular season, averaging 20.3 PPG. He’s been on several colleges’ radars for a few years now.
“I’ve heard from Winona State, the NAIAs, Gustavus, St. Olaf and Williston State. My options are still all open,” Kuchinka said. He holds offers from Iowa NAIA programs Waldorf, Morningside and Dordt.
Update from 8/14/15 by Alex Conover
After finishing his second year with Wear Out The Net 17U, Brady Kuchinka of Lake City had nothing but positive things to say about his experience with the club. The squad finished 33-15 and No. 8 in the final NHR grassroots 17U rankings.
“It was a fantastic year overall,” Brady said. “I couldn't have spent it with a better group of guys. Coach Nicols is great. He's a lifetime friend as well as all of my teammates. The program helped me so much. I am extremely happy with my choice to play for the WOTN program.”
Now it’s time to turn his focus to senior year and his college choice. He’s got offers from both four-year NAIAs (Dordt, Waldorf) and jucos (DCTC), and his goal is to visit as many campuses as possible in order to make an informed choice.
“I’m going to visit Upper Iowa soon, and later on in the school year I’ll probably take visits to the NAIAs,” Kuchinka said. “Morningside wants me for a visit, and I like St. Olaf and Williston State as well.
“When I visit a campus, I just like to think about how it feels and if I could see myself there.”
Brady will likely set some Lake City records during his senior year, and NHR is looking forward to seeing how far he can help the Tigers go in Class AA.
Update from 5/6/15 by Alex Conover
Brady Kuchinka (Lake City, MN) is now in his second season as the Wear Out The Net 17U point guard, and he continues to impress NHR with his burst, energy, and ball management. In our minds, he’s sitting right on that D2/D3 fringe, but there’s still a mysterious lack of WIAC/MIAC interest.
“I've been hearing from St. Thomas, St. Olaf, Gustavus, Williston State, Upper Iowa, NE Nebraska CC, UM-Duluth, and I have gotten letters from West Point and Air Force,” Kuchinka said. “I've been to Gustavus and St. Olaf a lot for camps already, and I’ve previously been to Upper Iowa and will be going there again soon.”
One cool thing about Brady is that his grandparents are at every single game of his, at least the ones that are in Minnesota. When I visited a WOTN training session recently, his grandpa was right there in the bleachers, watching practice.
With that in mind, you might think that location would be a high priority in Brady’s recruitment, but he says it’s not.
“I'm not too strict about staying in Minnesota,” Kuchinka said. “I’m pretty flexible about going anywhere. And there’s no preference at all over D2 or D3… I just want to go where it feels right.”
Until then, he’s just enjoying life with his friends at WOTN.
“This year, we have a bunch of great and talented guys on our team,” Kuchinka said. “They are all a fun bunch of guys as well, which makes this summer’s team that much better.”
Update from 7/2/14
We’ve seen our fair share of sports injuries at NHR. But Brady Kuchinka (#57 in NHR’s class of 2016 rankings) and how he hit the floor after getting his eye poked at the Great Plains Alliance had us genuinely concerned.
We were glad to hear that it wasn’t serious.
“I came down with a rebound, turned, took a dribble, and a guy was right there,” Kuchinka said. “He tried to steal it and got me with his fingers. It’s much better now.”
With his eye back to full health, Kuchinka is gearing up for some impending camps. He’s getting lots of positive reinforcement from college programs after a good run with WOTN’s 17U squad.
“I'm attending UM-Duluth and Sioux Falls elite camps this summer,” Kuchinka said. “And also coach has had a handful of colleges say they will watch in July.”
His coach at WOTN tells NHR that Drake and NDSU plan on watching a game or two of Brady’s in Milwaukee at NY2LA. Overall, the reception he’s gotten to this point has made the first season of AAU very much worth it.
“I love it,” Kuchinka said. “It really brings a lot of experience and a bunch of new learning opportunities for me that I need. And definitely better competition, which is great. I enjoy it.”
Kuchinka plays his winter ball for Lake City H.S.