Kent State University at Tuscarawas is announcing the signing of a 2023 Purdue Polytechnic North High School senior to their men's basketball team.
On June 26, John Sutton signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Golden Eagles.
As a graduate of Purdue Polytechnic North High School, a public charter school in Indianapolis, IN, Sutton was part of the first-ever full graduating class of PPNHS. The campus was founded in 2019 and he was also a member of the initial freshman class. He was adopted in 2006 and arrived at his forever adoptive U.S. family in 2009, as it took 3 years to navigate Haitian adoption laws. He is the first high school graduate from his Haitian American birth family.
Sutton was a varsity athlete at Purdue Polytechnic North High School all four years of high school and participated in soccer, basketball, track & field and football. In 2023, he received the Most Improved award from the inaugural seven-on-seven high school football league in Central Indianapolis. He has been part of three different AAU Championship basketball teams and scored 18 points per game his senior year to go along with an average of eight rebounds and two assists per game for the Lynx.
His community service includes; volunteering at the local food bank, helping the homeless though Habitat for Humanity, and he has also been part of an urban mission trip through his church. He enjoys math and was often asked to mentor other students and while he had to master English because Creole is his mother tongue.
He will major in Animation and Game Design at Kent State Tuscarawas.
"We are very fortunate to get a high character young man like John," said Richard Tharp, Head Basketball Coach at Kent State Tuscarawas. "His passion for competition shines through in the elevation of his skills in such a short time. He has made the most of his natural talent and to see him share his vision and skills for the benefit of others is exemplary. We are proud of his accomplishments, but we feel as John does, that he is just getting started on his incredible journey.
John Sutton with his Letter of Intent is surrounded by his family.