Former Ashland University men's basketball forward
Evan Yates could have ended up playing collegiately for Thomas More – ironically now part of the same conference as AU, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
He could have played for head coach
John Ellenwood there. Ellenwood eventually came to lead the Eagle men – and Yates came with him. The rest, as they say, is history.
Yates will be honored as one of five 2025 Hall of Famers (see release link), two Eagle Forever Award honorees and two 2024-25 AU Student-Athletes of the Year at the 2025 Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center – prior to the Eagle football team's 101
st Homecoming game at 1 p.m. vs. those same Saints at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
"A lot of shock and a lot of surprise," Yates said about being told he was an AU Hall of Famer. "Very thankful. Felt like a full-circle moment. Ashland University has been such a big part of my life. It was a great moment for me.
"I was very, very happy. First thing I did was call my mom."
Yates is the most recent Ashland men's basketball D-II All-American, having earned the distinction following the 2011-12 season (Daktronics second team). Among his other honors as an Eagle are two Daktronics first-team all-region and three All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (two first team, one second team) citations.
In the more than 100 seasons of Ashland men's basketball, no one has grabbed more rebounds (295) and more boards per game (11.3) in one year than Yates during his All-American season, and his 542 points during that campaign are 10
th-best in program history. Yates is third in Ashland men's basketball annals with 820 career rebounds, and seventh with 1,566 career points. He made more than 60 percent of his shots from the field three seasons in a row (2009-10 to 2011-12).
All of that, however, wouldn't have happened had Ellenwood not made the move from the Saints to the Eagles.
"He was the head coach there. There was a pretty nice connection. He reached out to me, and I took a visit to Thomas More. Wanted to keep my options open.
"At the last minute, after my senior year, Wood came back and said, 'Hey, I'm getting this job at a Division II school. I would love to have you be a part of it.' That's how I ended up coming to Ashland."
Yates admitted he didn't know anything about Ashland before coming to campus.
"It has a lot of character to it," he said. "It's a close-knit community. Everyone kind of knows each other there, and everyone's looking to push you forward and help you succeed. It's a very family-friendly place. That's really nice for a young student, whether they are an athlete or not. Education is amazing there, as well.
"They provide a lot for the students there."
As Yates was earning his accolades and his status among the best in the century-plus history of Ashland men's basketball, he was helping Ellenwood grow the program. While Yates was an Eagle, the team won 13, 13, 15, 13 games – setting up what over the last 11 seasons has seen 210 victories and four NCAA Division II postseason appearances.
"I knew we wanted to set something up for the future," said Yates. "We thought that was going to be a good thing for the program, which it did end up being. I thought that was a big thing for the school. That was something that I wanted to leave my mark on with the school, and help be a transition phase for the next group coming in.
"A lot of good guys, like
Wendell Davis,
Boo Osborne, came through. As we were transitioning out, things just started to click. There was a lot of connection between the older guys and the younger guys. There was starting to be a big change in the culture there, and that's what eventually led to what came next, so that was pretty nice."
That Yates-Ellenwood connection eventually led to the now-17
th-season head coach becoming the program's all-time wins leader – and Yates was one of those who were quick to congratulate Ellenwood on the honor achieved on Nov. 22, 2023.
"It's impressive. I'm glad I was able to be part of the journey," said Yates. "He's been able to do a lot. He's really comfortable at Ashland. That's his home. I'm very, very, very happy for coach."
Yates' playing career moved overseas following his time at Ashland, as he played professionally for a decade in such locales as Spain, France, Israel, Japan, Finland and Denmark.
"It's a lot different. It's a very European game," Yates said. "So a lot more finesse and skill. It was a very big change for me. A big challenge for me."
What will Homecoming 2025 be like for Yates, when he goes up to the podium and gives his Hall of Fame speech?
"A bit nervous. First time ever getting something like this," he admitted. "It will be very new for me. I just want to give a lot of thanks to a lot of people who've helped me along the road."
