Wheaton Academy’s Hayden Schroeder grows to be one of state’s top sophs: Suburban Life boys basketball notes

Hayden Schroeder could dunk in the seventh grade.

The Wheaton Academy sophomore is 6-foot-8 with shoes on, and he isn’t done growing.

He’s rated by some as a top-four sophomore in Illinois.

Wheaton Academy’s basketball program has fielded some good teams over the years. It’s perhaps never had a player like Schroeder.

“This is someone that immediately raised the level of our basketball program,” third-year Wheaton Academy coach Daniel Smith said. “This is a kid who, taking over, any coach would love to have as a cornerstone.”

Led by Schroeder, Wheaton Academy is 11-6 heading into tonight’s Chicagoland Christian Conference game with Aurora Christian. The Warriors play at conference co-leader Christ the King next Tuesday. If that record doesn’t sound overly impressive, consider that five of the six losses after an 8-0 start came to Class 4A opponents, including ranked teams Benet and Hinsdale Central. Wheaton Academy is one of the smaller programs in 3A.

“We said let’s build a nonconference schedule so that by late February we’re ready to play whoever we need to play,” Smith said. “I’m happy with where we are at. We started off hot, took some lumps. It’s a matter of getting their focus where it needs to be by mid-February. We feel good – we’re heading into the bulk of our conference schedule."

Senior guards Tyler Smith and Sam Thomas are the engine, and Wheaton Academy starts two sophomores – Schroeder and Jackson Snyder, a transfer from Geneva.

“We’re young, but we’re athletic, we are trying to play fast,” Smith said. “The biggest difference from this year to last is we could score the ball, but we gave up points. This year a goal was to try to build a defensive identity.”

Hayden Schroeder is the third sibling to come through Wheaton Academy. His oldest brother, a volleyball player, graduated in 2023, and he has a sister who is a senior. Hayden considered going to Benet or St. Laurence, where his dad went to school, before opting for Wheaton Academy.

“I’ve been playing basketball my whole life since I was able to walk,” Schroeder said. “Seventh and eighth grade was when it really took off. Freshman year was when I really could see myself playing at a high level.”

Smith first met Schroeder in eighth grade. The next year, Schroeder was averaging 18 points and eight rebounds for Smith’s varsity team as a freshman.

“It surpassed my expectations,” Smith said. “He doesn’t shy away from the moment, and I saw it right away in summer league. He’s a kid who is not afraid of anybody. His hands, his feet, his ability to put the ball in the basket. If we had him in a regional final as an eighth-grader, we probably win a regional. I knew immediately he had things you cannot teach.”

Schroeder came to Wheaton Academy 6-foot-4 but is now 6-8, and his doctors say he could still grow to 6-9.

He’s averaging 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Warriors. He scored 41 points against St. Rita at the Hinsdale Central tournament at Christmas, and Smith is quick to note he did it in three quarters.

“He is unstoppable in transition, he runs like a deer, and he has amazing hands. If he beats you down the floor he will dunk on your head,” Smith said. “Our guards are being spoiled; they put it in the area of his hands, it will probably be an assist.”

Schroeder has worked on his jumper, and is shooting 40% from the 3-point line on the season.

“My trainer Mike Brooks, we’ve been working on that since sixth grade, and my AAU team the Illinois Wolves has been big on that,” Schroeder said. “He knows I can score inside, but the next part of the game was ball-handling and shooting. It makes me a lot harder to guard.”

Schroeder is ranked Illinois' fourth-best sophomore prospect by Chicagoland Prep Hoop behind Kenwood guard Devin Cleveland, Bolingbrook guard Davion Thompson and Warren guard Jaxson Davis.

Those three are household names. Schroeder, who doesn’t hold a college offer yet, likes to see his name up there.

He could be Wheaton Academy’s first Division I player since 2010 graduate Tim Rusthoven, who played collegiately at William & Mary.

“I don’t want to stop. My goal is to be No. 1,” he said. “Those guys are really good, I’ve seen them play, we all know each other, all three are really good. My goal is to keep getting better and eventually be No. 1.”

Conference showdowns

A number of big conference showdowns are on tap for Friday night.

Geneva, a game ahead of Wheaton Warrenville South in the DuKane Conference race, hosts the Tigers. IC Catholic Prep hosts St. Laurence in a matchup between teams unbeaten in the Chicago Catholic White. And Downers Grove North and Glenbard West, two of three teams in the West Suburban Silver with just one league loss (Hinsdale Central is the third) face off in Downers Grove.

Shootout Saturday at Benet

Benet will once again be host Saturday to the When Sides Collide Shootout, one of the biggest and best events of the season.

Benet faces Rich in the finale at 7:30 p.m., preceded by Marist-Waubonsie Valley at 2:30 p.m., Bolingbrook-Warren at 4 p.m. and DePaul Prep vs. Homewood-Flossmoor at 6 p.m.