Quaker Valley grad Ryan Stowers finds home at Bluefield State

Ryan Stowers’ dream has always been to play college basketball at a four-year school and in late June it came to fruition when he signed on to play at Bluefield State, an NCAA Division II school in West Virginia.

The journey to get there has had some twists and turns.

Stowers, a Quaker Valley graduate, did not receive a single scholarship offer in high school despite averaging 23 points per game his senior year.

So, he went the junior college route and was having a great year in 2019 at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, averaging 20 points when the covid-19 pandemic hit and cut the season short.

Sinclair suspended athletics for the entire 2020-21 school year, which left Stowers searching for another place to play.

That’s when he found Otero College, a junior college located in the southwest corner of Colorado.

Stowers made the most of his move west, averaging 14 points in 19 starts, which got him on the radar of the Bluefield State coaching staff.

After the road Stowers has traveled, it was nice to find a landing spot.

“It’s definitely special,” Stowers said. “A lot of people don’t have a home yet, because of how many people are in the transfer portal. It’s nice to know I’ll have a place to hoop.”

Stowers credited Otero coaches Ted Crass and Samuel Coleman with helping him develop areas of his game that he felt he needed improvement. With outside activities limited by the pandemic, Stowers used the time to watch hours of film and worked on his game in the gym.

The move to Colorado also helped Stowers grow off the court.

“Going out there with the mountains around me and meeting different people it was a lot different, but it was definitely something I needed,” Stowers said. “I lived in Pittsburgh my entire life so, going somewhere far away made me more independent. It allowed me to learn how to plan my life out opposed to being at home and doing the normal routine. I was able to go out there and try new things and learn different things about myself.”

Stowers first heard from Bluefield State in May and after considering his options decided Bluefield State coach Derrick Price’s style of basketball suited him best.

“Coach Price just told me he runs a high-paced offense. He wants to score a lot of buckets and press a lot on defense,” Stowers said. “I’m pretty long and I can score pretty well, so I thought it would be a good fit for me. On top of that, coach Price is a good person and someone I feel like I can get along with. He described a team that I feel like could win a lot of games.”

Stowers won’t be the lone player from the WPIAL joining Bluefield State for this season. Jeannette grad Keith Rockmore recently signed to play for the Big Blue.

Bluefield State is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and plays an independent schedule at the NCAA Division II level. Bluefield is one of the 101 Historically Black College/Universities in the country.

Stowers leaves for Bluefield on Aug. 8. He’s eager to arrive on campus and get started.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everybody and trying to turn the program up,” Stowers said. “We want to win a lot of games and open a lot of eyes.”