Mentor boys basketball: Shane Zalba to play at Baldwin Wallace

After a breakout senior season, Mentor point guard Shane Zalba will continue to play basketball at the college level.

Zalba is headed to Baldwin Wallace, where he felt highly sought-after by head coach Tom Heil and his staff.

“The coaches just really wanted me,” Zalba said. “They were treating me as family, I went on a visit there, it was sweet. I just liked the campus, met some of the players, they were really cool.”

Baldwin Wallace, located in Berea, competes in NCAA’s Division III and is a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Yellow Jackets went 18-9 with an 11-7 record in league play before they were eliminated by John Carroll in the OAC tournament semifinals.

Zalba said he also received interest from the Blue Streaks.

Zalba joins a roster filled with players he competed against at Mentor. He faced Brunswick’s Michael Quiring and Cebula and Medina’s Luke Schaefer and Mike Kaminski in Greater Cleveland Conference play. Mayfield’s Alex Nahra, Beachwood’s Jordan Richardson and Kenston’s Drew Sova represent area schools on Baldwin Wallace’s roster.

Two of the Yellow Jackets’ top three scorers, seniors Cam Kuhn and Jake Fetherolf, graduate from the program. Heil wanted to add Zalba for his ability to facilitate Baldwin Wallace’s offense.

“It’s because I’ll be able to create for their scorers right now,” Zalba said. “They want to build their team around me when I’m an upperclassman.”

After he played behind Jack Korsok and Manning Trubisky as a junior, Zalba assumed lead guard duties for coach Bob Krizancic in the 2017-18 season. Zalba helped lead the Cardinals to a 17-8 record and an appearance in the Division I Euclid District final, where Mentor fell to state runner-up Solon.

The 5-foot-11 senior led the Cardinals with 17.1 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and an area-best 6.2 assists per game from his point guard position. He recorded 11 20-point games, in which Mentor was 10-1.

Zalba wasn’t surprised by his excellent senior season.

“I expected it,” Zalba said. “I wish I would’ve done it earlier. … I knew I had it in me the whole time. I just had to show it.”

Don’t miss