Ottumwa -- Ivan Aurrecoechea, who helped lead Indian Hills to a pair of Region 11 titles and back-to-back trips to the NJCAA national tournament, will continue his college career at New Mexico State University.  The 6'8" native of Madrid, Spain signed his letter-of-intent with the Aggies this week. 

As a sophomore at IHCC, Aurrecoechea averaged 13.1 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the field.  He had 15 double-doubles and was named to the all-region first team for the second year in a row.

The powerful Aurrecoechea had a tremendous close to his freshman campaign, producing nine double-doubles over the final 12 games.  That stretch included a 20-point, 22-rebound effort against a top-ten rated Moberly (Mo.) team, and 25 points and 16 boards in a road victory at State Fair (Mo.).  His best statistical game as a soph was 26 points and 25 rebounds at home against Harcum (Pa.).

For his two seasons at Indian Hills, Aurrecoechea posted averages of 11.4 points and 10.4 rebounds and he leaves IHCC as the second-leading rebounder in school history.

"It's great to see Ivan find a school that he's excited about attending," said IHCC coach Hank Plona.  "He had a great career here at Indian Hills and was looking for a place where he could have two more impactful seasons helping a winning program.  I think he's done that by choosing New Mexico State.  Ivan is an outstanding young man to be around on a day-to-day basis, and is a great player and a tenacious competitor.  We look forward to watching him continue his academic and basketball career at NMSU and keep getting double-double after double-double."

New Mexico State head coach Chris Jans said about his newest recruit, "We are thrilled that Ivan made the decision to join our program.  Ivan plays with a lot of passion and toughness and will quickly become a fan favorite for our Aggie fan base.  His ability to rebound the ball, score around the basket and team-first mentality will allow him to impact our team immediately."

New Mexico State won the regular-season and tournament titles in the Western Athletic Conference in 2017-18.