Apr. 26—HENDERSON — On Tuesday, Crossroads Christian senior Ben Gladieux officially signed his commitment to Stetson University — a Division I school in central Florida — to play basketball.
In his four years at Crossroads, the 6-foot-9 big man scored nearly 1,000 points and shot down more than 400 rebounds. In his senior year, he denied 41 shots in the 28 games he played.
Gladieux considered transferring from Crossroads his freshman year, but instead he moved on and remained at Crossroads with coach Scottie Richardson. During his senior year, he helped the Colts win the conference championship trophy and a spot in the state playoffs.
Gladieux’s decision to persist with Crossroads after the year of COVID was undoubtedly the turning point in her career. Deciding to “trust the process” with Richardson and continue to make the 40-mile journey from Raleigh to Henderson, Gladieux grew four inches and quickly transformed into an elite young talent.
“I came here as a weak little boy and I think I’m going to leave here a man,” Gladieux said at his signing day press conference.
Gladieux’s older brother, Mason, also played college basketball, attending Division III school Trine University. With the influx of college players leaving Crossroads (Richardson has sent 12 players to college on a basketball scholarship since 2021), the program has become a marketing arm for the school.
“To get to this level, you can’t just show up to practice,” Richardson said. “You have to work.”
The program’s blue-collar mentality is what attracted Gladieux to coach Richardson, and Ben has bought into the Colts’ culture from day one – on and off the court. Gladieux was accepted to all 11 schools he applied to, including The Citadel – a prestigious military college in South Carolina – solely based on his academic resume.
Gladieux will get her next big basketball opportunity this summer when she travels to Greece to compete with the U.S. Under-20 National Team.
