BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
SUAMICO – Bay Port football player Matt Rotter recently announced that he will continue his academic and athletic career at Division II St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Rotter, was an honorable-mention pick in the Fox River Classic Conference this past season as an offensive lineman for the 11-1 Pirates, who made it to the WIAA D1 state quarterfinals for the second season in a row.
“It’s been two years of visiting and talking to different coaches and going to camps,” said Rotter, who is expecting to redshirt his freshman year with the Huskies. “Especially these last two months it’s been running every weekend trying to find out where I would go. I was at St. Cloud two or three times. It came down to a few schools, but St. Cloud seemed like the perfect fit for me. Now that it’s over with, it’s pretty exciting – I get to see what comes next. I have a lot more time to focus on school stuff now.”
Rotter will study mechanical engineering.
Rotter said he kept in touch with the Huskies off and on for the last two years, but this past December they came to Bay Port to solidify things.
Rotter didn’t receive any Division I offers, but D2 schools Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota and UM-Duluth also showed interest. Division III schools UW-Platteville, Stout and Stevens Point were also options.
Rotter isn’t quite sure what position he will slot into, but it’s looking more like a guard as compared to the left tackle he played with the Pirates.
“All the work I did at Bay Port really helped me in the process,” added Rotter. “I felt like I was one step ahead. Bay Port stands out a lot to these college coaches when you say you come from here, just because of guys like Cole Van Lanen and Alec Ingold (UW-Madison) who came before me.”
Rotter becomes the second senior to commit to the Huskies after softball player Sydney LaPoint did the same late last year.