photo by: Conner Becker/Journal-World

Bishop Seabury junior Chase Honarvar puts up a shot during the sub-state title game with Centralia on Mar. 2, 2024, at Highland-Doniphan West High School in Highland, Kansas.

The 2023-24 basketball season brought a lot to Bishop Seabury center Chase Honarvar. In addition to being the Kansas 1A defensive player of the year and helping the Seahawks reach the state championship game, Honarvar got noticed by college coaches.

A few months of visits and offers later, Honarvar committed to Lake Forest College, a Division III school outside of Chicago.

“It sounded like an awesome program,” Honarvar said. “I got the chance to go out there on a visit, and the campus was beautiful. Everyone was super nice, and I just fell in love with that place.”

Honarvar wanted to make sure that he had his spot on the team secured, so he quickly told the team that he would commit. It was a big relief for Honarvar to secure his spot and commit to a school before the high school basketball season starts. A lifelong dream was fulfilled.

“It’s every kid’s dream, obviously, getting to play as long as you can at the best level you can,” Honarvar said. “Ever since I knew about college, that was what I wanted to do.”

Lake Forest is a northern suburb of Chicago, just a 45-minute drive from the heart of the city. As a basketball player, there are few cities with a greater basketball history, thanks to the Chicago Bulls. Honarvar said he took a 10-minute drive to see Michael Jordan’s mansion while on his visit.

One thing that Honarvar can do is block shots. He averaged 7.5 blocks per game, along with 15.2 rebounds and 14.7 points per game. His defensive prowess is what Honarvar hopes to bring to Lake Forest next year. Adding to that, Honarvar is hoping to develop his game around the perimeter, both offensively and defensively. As a 6-foot-7 center/forward, Honarvar knows he’s going to need to be a strong wing player at the next level.

“I want to be known as the guy that’s going to lock down their best player,” Honarvar said. “And then offensively, I want to be the distributor. I don’t need to go out there and score 20, 30 points a game, but I want to be able to do what it takes to get my team in the right spot.”

Education played an important role in deciding which school to go to for Honarvar. He plans on majoring in business management and wanted to go somewhere he could be challenged. Lake Forest answered that, while also providing what he felt was the best opportunity at basketball.

“All of the schools I was looking at are really high academic, and Lake Forest is a really good one,” Honarvar said. “I have a great college counselor at my school that helped me figure out which ones are the best for academics. And Lake Forest was both great athletically and academically, so it fit me pretty well.”

Before he gets there though, Honarvar has one final year with the Seahawks. Last year’s team went all the way to the state championship game and lost to South Gray High School 76-63. This year, Honarvar and the team are looking to take the next step and finish with a state championship.

Honarvar and the Bishop Seabury Seahawks will start their season on Friday, Dec. 6 against St. Mary’s Academy at Bishop Seabury at 7:30 p.m.