Ankeny Centennial senior Trae Houser has committed to play baseball at Northeast Iowa Community College, while Ryan Buffington and Logan Wildebour of Ankeny are both headed to Indian Hills Community College. All three players committed over the weekend.
Houser said he talked to a number of schools at different levels before making his decision.
“It was tough to decide if I wanted to go a four-year right away or go to a two-year instead, so I kept my options open to any school,” he said. “There was a lot of things I liked about NICC. With it being a new JUCO, everything was brand new and really nice. The campus was clean and felt like a good fit as soon as I stepped on campus. Talking to the coaches they have the same goals that I have for myself, and that’s to make me a better player than I came in as and to help me grow as a human being while being at college. It’s also nice knowing I have one of my former teammates there. I also wanted a place I knew I’d be happy with if baseball wasn’t going good or I wasn’t able to play if I got injured.”
Houser helped the Jaguars to a 24-14 record last season. He went 3-3 on the mound with a 1.65 ERA, racking up 29 strikeouts in 34 innings of work.
Houser also batted .265 with five RBIs. He was named to the CIML Conference third team.
Buffington and Wildebour also saw some action on the mound in 2025. Buffington played in 19 games, helping the Hawks to a 14-25 mark.
Wildebour went 1-0 with a 1.24 ERA for the Jaguars, allowing just one earned run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He then transferred to Ankeny.