When Anthony Sciarroni (Columbus, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales [Alderson Broaddus at Findlay]) filled out information for an academic award in high school, he listed his future goal as playing for a mid-major Division-I college basketball team and making a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament.

While only time will tell if the second part of that goal will come to fruition, the first is achieved for the former Valparaiso University football player, who has joined head coach Roger Powell Jr.’s Valpo men’s basketball program as a walk-on for the 2023-24 season.

“I’ve always wanted to play basketball in college,” Sciarroni said. “This has been a dream of mine. I played both football and basketball in high school and couldn’t decide which I liked more. I had the time of my life playing college football; I would do football over again 1,000 times if I could.”

Sciarroni’s college football journey started at Alderson Broaddus at Findlay and continued with three seasons sporting the Brown & Gold starting with the Spring 2021 campaign. He spent three seasons as part of Landon Fox’s defense, earning the team’s Koenig Award for outstanding sportsmanship and character as a senior last year.

“When I look back at my time here, I’ll remember the brotherhood of Valpo football,” he said. “I made friends that I’ll have for a lifetime. I still pop into Coach Fox’s office from time to time. I’m pumped for the football season; it’s going to be cool to sit back and watch. Having time off in August right now is really strange for me.”

Although his primary focus has been football in recent years, he never left the game of basketball entirely. He’s gone back to his high school gym to get shots up with his mother rebounding for him. Following the 2022 football season, Sciarroni became a practice player for the Valpo women’s basketball team. He then approached men’s basketball assistant coach Pat Baldwin about the idea of becoming a manager or walking onto the team. He started as a student manager this summer and his play in practice helped him earn a spot as a walk-on.

“A lot of what we’re focusing on is togetherness and meshing,” Sciarroni said. “Everyone understands that we’re a new team with only three returning players. The returners have been doing a great job of showing us the way. A big focus for Coach Powell is bonding together. He stresses working on yourself and being part of something bigger than yourself within the team.”

At St. Francis DeSales High School, Sciarroni was a four-year letter winner in basketball and was a team captain each of his final two seasons. He was named to the all-conference first team and the regional all-star team his senior year in addition to winning a sportsmanship award. He started every game during his final three prep seasons. After finishing his undergraduate degree in exercise science, Sciarroni is pursuing a master’s in sports administration with a desire to enter a career in coaching.

“I want to work as hard as I can as a walk-on to make our team as good as it can be,” he said. “I have a coach’s mindset. I want to make our players as good as they can be and do my part to help put us in a position to win a championship.”