When I went on my visit and met their coaches, I knew that Platteville would be my home for the next two years. I’m looking forward to seeing a higher level of competition.”

Cooper Hasz

Former Rochelle student-athlete Cooper Hasz is set to make the leap from the NJCAA level to the NCAA Division III level for the upcoming 2024-25 men’s basketball season. After two solid seasons with the Kishwaukee College team, Hasz has committed to continuing his academics and his basketball career with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers next year.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward appeared in 29 games for the Kishwaukee College men’s basketball team during the 2023-24 season, helping the Kougars to a 17-14 overall record. Hasz made a strong impression as a freshman, averaging 5.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field over 31 games played.

“Platteville is coming off of a great basketball season,” Hasz said. “I looked at all of their academic programs and their electrical engineering program, which was a big requirement for me... When I went on my visit and met their coaches, I knew that Platteville would be my home for the next two years. I’m looking forward to seeing a higher level of competition.”

Prior to his time at Kishwaukee College, Hasz was a four-year member of the boys basketball program at Rochelle Township High School. A former ‘B’ team player as a freshman, Hasz worked his way into a significant varsity role during his senior season, when the Hubs went 22-12 and won an IHSA 3A Regional title as well as the Interstate 8 Conference title.

“Coach [Tim] Thompson and coach [Jared] Johnson were the first coaches who really believed in me and saw a future in basketball for me,” Hasz said. “I’m not sure if I would still be playing basketball if it wasn’t for them. They helped me a lot and I’ll always be grateful for them.”

Hasz earned 12 starts during his freshman season with the Kougars. The former Hub enjoyed a breakout performance in Kishwaukee College’s game against Bryant & Stratton College on Jan. 28, 2023, when he scored season-best 16 points while grabbing a career-best 21 rebounds. Hasz added a 12-point, 11-rebound performance against Sauk Valley as well as a 16-point, 11-rebound effort against the Aurora University JV team during his freshman season.

“I had no idea what to expect going in,” Hasz said. “I earned a lot of opportunities on the basketball end and I liked that Kishwaukee College was a smaller school in terms of academics. I think my basketball IQ has gotten better every single year and I’m starting to understand the game at a different level. Physically, I’ve dealt with injuries on and off in almost every offseason, but this offseason is one where I haven’t had to deal with as many injuries, so I’ve been able to get in the gym as much as I can. I’ve added about 25 pounds of muscle since high school.”

Hasz remained a regular contributor during his sophomore season at Kishwaukee College, helping the Kougars more than quadruple their win total from the 2022-23 campaign, when the team went 4-27 overall. Hasz, who intends to study electrical engineering while attending Wisconsin-Platteville, totaled 77 rebounds, 48 points and 11 blocks during his sophomore year.