3 Oconto Falls boys to play collegiate sports

Oconto Falls High School graduates Tucker Bouche, Adam Haines and Owen Huber will achieve big goals of theirs by becoming collegiate athletes in the coming months.

Bouche will play baseball at UW-La Crosse. Haines and Huber are both playing football, doing so at UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater, respectively. The trio was part of six Oconto Falls athletes that committed to colleges back on March 16.

Tucker Bouche

Bouche called his recruitment process a strange one, with an injury adding to the complications already provided by the coronavirus pandemic.

He was a part of a showcase in Appleton and had several schools interested in having him join their programs. After visiting a couple of schools, La Crosse eventually won him over.

“The campus was a big seller for me,” said Bouche, who made the decision back in November. “Also, the program is highly involved, inclusive — the coaches are awesome, and most of all, they are competitive.”

After a strong high school career — which included all-conference honors as a senior and sophomore — Bouche is excited to keep growing as a player at the collegiate level.

“I’m really looking forward to working with the pitching coach to focus on some pitches, develop some movement in my fastball, and build some more speed,” said Bouche.

Bouche will also look to learn from his soon-to-be teammates, especially upperclassmen. He hopes to spend some time on the mound in his freshman season, be effective in his innings and also work on improving the mental aspect of his game.

Adam Haines

Haines also had his pick of several collegiate teams, including a few out of state. In the end, he chose a place closer to home, adding that the coaches from UW-Oshkosh made it feel like home and were nice and helpful throughout the recruitment process.

“I like Oshkosh because everything on campus is close together and it is fairly close to home,” said Haines. “I also chose Oshkosh because my uncle (Alex Hummel) works there and I have been visiting UW-Oshkosh for awhile with him.”

Haines is excited to join a team “where everyone has a winner’s mentality all the time.”

By the end of Haines’ time at Oshkosh, he hopes to be an all-conference player, just like he was for Oconto Falls.

As a junior, Haines made the North Eastern Conference second team as a defensive lineman and honorable mention list as an offensive lineman.

A new conference didn’t slow Haines this past season, as he made the Northwoods Conference first team on both sides of the ball.

Owen Huber

Huber had a pair of UW schools looking into him, and Huber toured both before choosing Whitewater.

“UW-Whitewater really stuck out to me because of their schooling being the best business school in Wisconsin and their goal to be the best student-athlete run school makes my goal equal to theirs,” said Huber. “The sports programs push to be better in every way possible, and that’s what I want for myself.”

The Oconto Falls grad is ready for a fresh start and to meet and play for a new team. He’s excited for the challenge both on and off the field.

In the team’s challenge of playing in a new conference this past season, Huber made the most of the opportunity, being named the conference’s offensive and defensive player of the year. He was a unanimous first teamer as a running back and linebacker.

His collegiate goals are ones that cannot be measured by statistics, but instead by heart and hard work.

“Some goals I want to push to achieve are put all I have on the field, making the team and myself better,” said Huber. “I want to expand my skill level and show they recruited the correct kid for their team.”

A story on the three Oconto Falls girls athletes that plan on playing collegiately can be found at http://newmedia-wi.com/content/3-girls-oconto-falls-eager-college-athletics.