Lorain native Seth Wilson transferring home from St. Vincent-St. Mary

Seth Wilson is coming home. The St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball standout announced June 1 on Twitter that he will transfer to Lorain High for his junior year. He said in an interview with The Chronicle-Telegram that he and his family have moved back into the school district, which would make him eligible to play immediately. Wilson was a fixture on back-to-back state final four teams for the Irish, who won the Division II state championship his freshman year and finished as the state runner-up to Cincinnati Moeller this past season, the team's first in Division I. But Wilson grew up in Lorain, and has been playing with the current Titans players since his was a kid. Shortening his commute, which was about an hour from his previous home in Westlake, was a big factor in his decision. "Being at Lorain will be closer to home and closer to family," Wilson said. "It's definitely special to be back with those guys and get the band back together." Wilson, who already has offers from Kent State, Ohio University and Akron, will give Lorain another impact player in the backcourt. The combo guard had some big moments for the Irish, most notably during their 52-44 loss to Moeller in the state championship. He was the only player on his team in double figures, finishing with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting. He also scored 14 points during the Titans' only loss of the regular season. Lorain went on to finish 23-2, losing to Olmsted Falls in the district final, one round before the Titans and Irish were set to meet again. "He's basically grown up with all the guys," Lorain coach John Rositano said. "He has a couple of cousins on the team and has played with all of them up through junior high. He wanted to come back to Lorain and play with his friends. We're excited to have him. He's a straight-A student, great kid, very respectful. "He's one of the model students, model kids that you enjoy having in your program. And obviously he's a really good basketball player." The Titans return top seniors Aaron Whitehead, Jordan Jackson and Deonte Benejan along with rising junior Aiden Brown from their primary rotation in 2019. But Lorain lost two All-Ohio players in Devon Grant — a first-team selection and Lorain County's Mr. Basketball — and Taevon Pierre-Louis, who was named to the third team. Grant averaged 26 points per game and Pierre-Louis added 18.1, along with 7.4 rebounds. Kam Davis, who started at guard, was also a senior last year. Being from the area, Wilson is well aware that the bar for Lorain High basketball has been raised during the last five seasons — the Titans have won at least 22 games every year during that span and are 114-16 with a 52-4 mark in the LEL, winning four of the last five league titles. They've advanced to five straight district finals, winning three and reaching the Division I state tournament in 2018. That season ended in the state semifinals at the hands of eventual champion Cincinnati Moeller. "I see myself just coming in and helping," Wilson said. "I want to get wins for the team and take over the tradition that we had here with (Grant), (Pierre-Louis), Devon (Andrews) and Naz (Bohannon). I just want to pick up where those guys left off." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeneyCT on Twitter.