September 1, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Pence finds future home with Illinois State men’s basketball

Folks in St. Joseph have seen Ty Pence grow up before their eyes.


From a literal standpoint to his development on the basketball court.


The St. Joseph-Ogden High School senior will stay close to home with his next basketball
destination once his time with the Spartans ends in 2023.


The 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing recently verbally committed to play college basketball at Illinois State after holding double-digit Division I offers during the recruiting process.


“It is close to home, so I will be able to play in front of my family and friends, which is very
important to me,” said Pence, who plans to major in either sports management or business at Illinois State. “It was more of a family decision. We talked about it a lot, and in the end, we all decided that ISU was the best fit for me.”


Pence has already topped 1,000 career points at SJO in his first three seasons, and he
averaged 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season with the Spartans.

SJO finished 23-10 last season and won a Class 2A regional title, the first for the program since 2018.


At Illinois State, he’ll join a new coach in Ryan Pedon. The former Ohio State and Butler
assistant coach, who was also part of the Illinois staff for two seasons under John Groce in the
mid-2010s, is about to embark upon his first season with the Redbirds for the 2022-2023
season.


“I have a really good relationship with the coaching staff,” Pence said.


By the time Pence arrives at Illinois State for the 2023-24 season, the SJO product is optimistic he can help the Redbirds turn their program around. The Redbirds haven’t reached the NCAA tournament since 1998, last posted a winning record during the 2018-19 season and last played in a postseason event in the 2017 NIT.

For now, though, Pence is relieved to have the nearly two-year recruiting process complete
since Western Illinois became his first D-I offer in October 2020. Other offers from the likes of
Illinois, Iowa State, Wake Forest, Butler, Belmont and Loyola Chicago ensued, among others,
but the in-state school won out in the end to land of the state’s more talented players in the
Class of 2023.


“The process was very hard,” Pence said. “It is more of a business, and that side of it is hard for a lot of people to understand. At some points in the process, I was very overwhelmed, but I tried my best to keep pushing through it and just enjoy playing basketball.”


With his AAU career complete after playing the past few summers with the Midwest Prospect
Academy and his college decision made, Pence can turn his attention to one final season with
SJO. The Spartans are set to open the season Nov. 23 against Linton-Stockton (Ind.) at the
Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions in Washington. SJO’s home opener is slated
for Nov. 29 against Cissna Park as part of the eight-team Toyota of Danville Classic that SJO
will host.


“It is a huge weight off my shoulders,” Pence said. “Now, I am able to just play basketball and
focus on getting better. I want to continue to improve my game, while making sure the Spartans are playing to the best of our abilities.”

Banner
Related Posts

SJO baseball hits 20-win mark, pushes win streak to four games

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

Every year Josh Haley has coached the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team, the Spartans have won at least 20...

SJO baseball defeats Westville

March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team avoided its first losing streak of the season with a win on Thursday...

Thanks for the memories

November 9, 2019

November 9, 2019

We asked the St. Joseph-Ogden Cross Country team to share their favorite memories from the 2019 season. Here are their...

Martinie, Brooks lead SJO girls’ basketball past Rantoul

February 1, 2024

February 1, 2024

When the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team is making three-pointers at a high rate, watch out.The latest example of the...

Get to know SJO Volleyball player Peyton Williams

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? I think what makes our team so successful is the determination...

Armstrong sparks SJO girls’ basketball, Spartans stay unbeaten with win against rival Rockets

February 19, 2021

February 19, 2021

A good outside shooter can open up a basketball team’s offense.In more ways than one. Add a second presence from...

Student-Athlete of the Month Rylee Sjuts

September 3, 2019

September 3, 2019

Every month in season coaches at St. Joseph-Ogden High School nominate athletes to be the student-athlete of the month. A...

SJO girls’ basketball makes lifetime memories with run to state

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

Shortly after the Class 2A girls’ basketball state championship game, the story made its rounds on social media. And it...

10 things you don’t know about me…the SJO girls basketball team

February 22, 2019

February 22, 2019

After this weekend, Maclayne Taylor will have 12 state medals and has been apart of five team state trophies.  ...

McDonald on cusp of 400th win as SJO volleyball continues success

September 11, 2023

September 11, 2023

A historic night is potentially on tap Monday at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.SJO volleyball coach Abby McDonald, in her 16th...

SJO girls’ track and field ready for sectional meet on Friday evening

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

The first few weeks of a track and field season are sometimes about finding out what runners to slot into...

Weaver, Miller help SJO football stay unbeaten

September 10, 2019

September 10, 2019

A close game in the fourth quarter ended the way the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team wanted last Friday...

Pence looks to the future with scholarship offers

July 6, 2021

July 6, 2021

By Jim Cotter Growing up in the shadows of the University of Illinois, it was always a dream for Ty...

Seeley’s hat trick leads SJO soccer to first win

September 10, 2019

September 10, 2019

Prolific goal scoring highlighted both of St. Joseph-Ogden High School’s soccer matches last week. One went in favor of the...

Knott, Meyer win conference titles for SJO

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

The Illini Prairie Conference track and field meet took place over two days because of inclement weather. But when it...

Comments
Leave a Reply