Ball State's Payton Sparks dunks past Northern Illinois' defense during their game at Worthen Arena Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Jordan Kartholl / The Star Press-USA TODAY NETWORK)
The Indiana basketball program received a commitment from transfer forward Payton Sparks on Wednesday morning.
The commitment comes just two days after he visited Indiana.
A Winchester, Indiana native, Payton Sparks spent his first two college years at Ball State. He averaged 13.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in 62 career games with the Cardinals.
Sparks is a 6-foot-9, 240-pound center. He is a terrific rebounder and very good around the rim. This season he averaged 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds. He ranked second in the MAC in offensive rebound rate (12.9) and fourth in the league in total rebound rate (17.3).
He shot 58.8 percent from the field overall, with the majority of his looks coming in the paint. He has good length and frame and was very effective at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. He ranked third in the NCAA in free throw rate (87.1) and 16th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.8). He was just a 25.5 percent (115-of-219) from the foul line.
As a freshman, Sparks was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and scored the third most points as a freshman in Ball State program history. He averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.
Sparks was receiving interest from programs such as Illinois, Florida, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Arkansas, Purdue, Virginia, Butler and others since he entreated the transfer portal.
Payton Sparks has two years of eligibility remaining.
Right now, the Indiana basketball program has two scholarship spots to fill for the 2023-24 season.
Alec Lasley is the owner of Hoosier Illustrated, a comprehensive site covering news, updates and recruiting for Indiana University athletics. Alec has covered Indiana for six years and is a credentialed media member. He has previously worked for both Rivals and 247Sports.
