News

By Alex Freeman, MCC Communications Specialist

Coming from the southeast side of the state, Gabe Daniel is still learning about the higher learning institutions in the West Michigan area. 

The Erie native said before he signed with Montcalm Community College, he’d never heard of the college. The same can be said for his next stop. 

After finishing his freshman season with the Centurions men’s basketball team, Daniel, a reserve player in 16 of his 26 games played with the team, took some time after the season to weigh his options. 

“Did I really want to come back to MCC and did I really want to continue with basketball?” Daniel recalled. “But once the offseason kind of progressed, I planned on coming back to MCC and playing again. But that’s when the opportunity at Kuyper arose.” 

After the season, Daniel received a call from Centurions men’s basketball coach Zach Ingles, who told him he’d received some interest from Kuyper College men’s basketball coach Gary Bailey. The process unfolded quickly from there. 

“I called coach Bailey, had good conversations, went on a visit and lo and behold, here we are,” Daniel said. 

Daniel recently made his verbal commitment to the Cougars and plans to sign with them for the 2025-2026 basketball season in the coming days. 

“I’m beyond excited for him and his family,” said Ingles of Daniel’s commitment to Kuyper. “His best basketball is still in front of him.” 

Though he wasn’t familiar with Kuyper College until recently, Daniel said the school, which is a Division II member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, has just about everything he was looking for in a four-year institution. 

“They’re a four-year school and that’s always a great opportunity coming out of a community college,” Daniel said. “They offer sports management courses and that’s what I wanted to come to college in the first place for — it’s probably where I would have been if I left here after two years. It’s also a Christian College; my family is big on religion. It’s also cheaper in the long run for me, financially, and I feel like I can get a good education there.” 

Daniel thoroughly enjoyed his time on the court for MCC, stating that being part of the initial group of men’s basketball players to return after a long hiatus was “a really fun experience to be a part of.” Daniel started six of the first nine games of the season at the forward spot but mostly came off the bench throughout the rest of the season. Though his role changed as the team was still trying to figure out its best lineup combinations, Daniel took it in stride and did his best to adapt. 

“I’ve always been a team player. Whatever happens, I’ll deal with it, I’m not one to cause a stir,” Daniel said. “I dealt with it and went about my role and I did it to the best of my ability. It was a little difficult on me, starting and then being a reserve. But in the long run, it kind of ended up being better because I played with a chip on my shoulder. If they’re going to take me out after starting six games in a row, I’m going to go out there and give them my best 30 seconds, my best three minutes, my best 17 minutes, whatever they need. I tried to use my time to prove my starting ability.” 

“Gabe is a great student, player and teammate,” Ingles added. “He really came here and changed his body and developed. He’s a totally different player than when he got here. Gabe was a huge reason for some of the success we had and adapted nicely to whatever role we asked him to play.” 

His experience as a student at MCC was also a very positive one and he was surprised at how warmly he was embraced by people, in general. 

“I could have gone to a community college back at home that was three minutes away, but this was a whole different experience for me,” he said. "I got to meet new people, new coaches, great people around campus. I didn’t think coming up here that I’d have as many great interactions as I did, I didn’t expect that at all. People here, honestly, they’re so much nicer than back at home. I can walk around and people will be like, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ Whereas back at home, people just stare at me.” 

While Daniel intends to stick around MCC and attend summer classes, he’ll depart to Kuyper with plenty of positive memories from his time as a Centurion. 

“We broke the huddle down with, ‘Family on three,’ in high school but once you’re with a new group of guys, group one, since August, it’s great to experience,” Daniel said. “I’ll never forget these guys; I know if I need anything, I can reach out to anyone on the team and they’ll be there for me.” 

Daniel plans to major in sports management.