Just a month after helping the Montgomery County boys basketball team turn in one of its best seasons in program history, Jake Stellwagen has found a new place to play basketball next year.

The MCHS senior signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Millikin University, an NCAA Division III school in Decatur, Ill., on April 26 at the MCHS gymnasium. He will join a Millikin program that finished 9-16 last winter and is coached by Kramer Soderberg, who was a teammate of MCHS boys basketball coach Scott Kroeger at Lindenwood University years ago.

“It’s a lot like here (MCHS),” Stellwagen said. “It’s not too big. They’re like a big family. Everyone supports each other.”

Stellwagen plans to major in exercise science at Milliken. He has already set big goals for his new school.

“I want to find a good and successful career for my future,” Stellwagen said. “I want to be able to thrive in an environment again and play basketball at a high level.”

Stellwagen plans to prepare for his freshman basketball season at Millikin during the summer. The 2024-25 basketball season starts in November.

“I’m going to really have to hit the weight room hard and get in shape,” Stellwagen said. “I’m in shape, but not in college shape.”

Millikin is a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Big Blue won nine conference titles and made three NCAA appearances in their program history. Their last winning season was in 2021-22, when they finished 14-12.

Stellwagen joined the MCHS basketball team this winter after playing at Verona for the last three years. His first and only season with the Wildcats was a memorable one as he lifted his team to its first trip to the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown since 1974. He earned all-Eastern Missouri Conference and all-district honors after averaging 16 points per game.

“I’m going to miss it quite a bit,” Stellwagen said.

Stellwagen said he enjoyed his time at the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown, where the Wildcats finished fourth. He scored a combined 21 points in the two games against Summit Christian Academy and Thayer.

“It was really fun,” the senior said. “I wish I could go back to the Final Four. It was a crazy environment.”

Stellwagen finished with 102 three-pointers. He made 354 career treys, the fifth most in Missouri high school basketball history.

“I didn’t really know until my coach from my old school (Verona) texted me about it,” Stellwagen said. “He said I should be in the top five. So I really looked into it. I was like, ‘Dang, that’s pretty cool.’”