Pine-Richland 2027 QB Aaron Strader Jr. Talks Commitment to Kent State
Aaron Strader Jr., one of the top quarterbacks in the WPIAL, has made his college decision.
On Easter day, Strader made the decision to close down his recruitment and to give a commitment to HC Mark Carney and Kent State. When making this decision, Strader also held offers from Syracuse, Miami of Ohio, Central Michigan, Akron, Marshall, Temple, Sacramento State, Youngstown State and Hampton University.
“When I called the Kent State coaches to let them know about my decision, I felt the mixed emotions of relief and excitement,” Strader tells Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I was excited because there’s where I decided to go to college, which I’m really excited about. I would say the relief part comes from how hard recruiting is now a days and being able to make this decision will take a lot of relief and stress off of me.”
With it still being the off-season, with the possibility to still make spring visits and official visits throughout the summer, I asked Strader what went into making his decision on Kent State in April.
“A lot of things went into my decision. The first thing is that that the Kent State coaching staff is a really good coaching staff. Throughout this process, they treated me extremely well, were always checking in on me and keeping in touching. They showed that they really wanted me.”
“Last season was Coach Carney’s first at Kent State and really turned the program around,” said Strader. “Coach Carney is someone that I want to play for, and they were the team that showed me the most interest and made me feel like a priority so that’s why I picked them.”
In 2025, Strader (6’0″, 180) was one of the most dynamic players in the entire WPIAL as he passed for 2,217 yards and 34 touchdowns, while also rushing for 762 yards and 12 touchdowns. He believes that the Kent State offense was a perfect match for his skill set.
“Kent State’s RPO game and the way they use the quarterback in the run game was important. I’m a dynamic runner and they like to really get their quarterback involved in their run game. Along with that, they allow their quarterback to take shots down field. Coach Carney is an offensive minded guy and I like that.”
“It’s been a dream of mine to be a D-1 quarterback pretty much since I started playing so know that I know that it’s happening and I’m getting a free education to go along with that, it really means the world to me.”
Now that the most important decision of his life has been made, Strader’s focus will now turn to two things- 1) having the best senior season possible 2) try and help recruit more WPIAL players to Kent State.
“I honestly think that the main thing I can improve on this season is my leadership, just being more vocal around everyone. Being a guy that everyone on my team looks up to and can go to for any reason.”
“I’m the first person to commit to Kent State in 2027 so I feel like it’s now my job to get guys to commit,” said Strader. “I’ve noticed that Kent State offered a few other guys in the WPIAL from the 2027 class and those are guys that I’m going to try and get after and try and get to commit.”
