Instead of jumping into Purdue men’s basketball pickup games in Cardinal Court later this summer, Jamyn Sondrup will try to start some 7,000 miles from home.
The 6-foot-9 center graduated from Springville High School on May 19. The rest of Purdue’s 2026 signing class arrives in West Lafayette a couple of weeks later. Sondrup will not leave his home in Utah until Aug. 26, on flights taking him to New York City, then Paris, and finally to West Africa.
Very little basketball awaits Sondrup on his two-year mission trip in the Republic of Benin. He will work sunrise to sunset six days a week, spreading the gospel, sharing his personal testimony in the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints and performing community service.
Sondrup embraced that right of passage before he grew into a major college basketball prospect. His father and grandfather went on missions. So did numerous other family and friends.
Yet not every young person in the church, even ones committed to their faith, signs up for a mission. The decision was Sondrup’s alone. He chose to follow his faith.
After he received his posting, Sondrup’s family looked back at an ancestry test he took a few years earlier. It traced his genetics to primarily two locations. On his birth mother’s side: England. On his birth father’s side: Benin.
Whether you call that a coincidence or something more, Sondrup’s decision to delay one lifelong dream for another is a sincere one.
“I had people telling me all along the way I have every reason to not go,” Sondrup said. “Playing college right away was awesome, and I think a lot of people would do that.
“Everyone that has been on a mission all came back with stronger testimonies, nicer people, better people. Basically doing service and helping other people for two years. Thinking of me doing that makes me so happy.”
Why Jamyn Sondrup put basketball on pause for his Mormon mission
For most of Sondrup’s life, he did not foresee needing to make a decision on taking his mission. He was going for sure.
He grew up inspired by stories of what friends and family experienced on their trips. One day he would obtain his own experiences, his own stories.
Missions are not mandatory, though Springville basketball coach Justin Snell said living in a community so immersed in LDS culture can create some social pressure.
Nearly all of Sondrup’s friends belong to the church. He attends public Springville High, but also takes a one-hour seminary class during the school day. He said he tries to read scripture and say prayers nightly. Sundays are a sacred day, centered around attending church and taking the sacrament.
North-central Utah is recognized worldwide as the epicenter of the LDS Church. Springville sits about an hour’s drive south of the church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City. While Mormons reportedly make up around 65% of the state’s population, estimates place that share around 85% in Utah County, where Springville is located.
Sondrup was one of five seniors on Springville’s basketball team. All five head out on mission trips this summer.
“I think it makes the kids more mature,” Snell said. “They have an understanding where sports fits into society vs. where religion fits in. They have a fairly good understanding of what needs to come first and what their life needs to be shaped around.”
Layne Sondrup, Jamyn’s father, served his mission trip not in a foreign country but in Big Ten country – Lansing, Michigan. Whether foreign or domestic, missionary life follows the same basic structure. No watching secular movies. Only listening to wholesome music.
Sondrup believes he will have time for a workout each morning after waking up. Then, after studying scripture, he will walk, bike or drive around to meet people on the street or knock on doors.
The mission is a location, one of approximately 500 worldwide. It is also a goal — to spread the gospel.
“You’re sending them halfway across the world and you’re not going to be right there when need you and stuff like that,” Layne Sondrup said. “There is that anxiety. But you know it definitely is for good and to be able to change people’s lives for the better. It gives me a lot of peace and comfort that the people he helps, it’s going to change their lives.”
As Sondrup’s basketball talents blossomed over the years, the decision to answer that colling became increasingly more difficult.
Jamyn Sondrup was born big, grew into basketball prospect
Sondrup was born into the LDS Church, and almost as certainly was born to play basketball.
Those growth charts parents receive to gauge their child’s progress? Layne Sonrup said his adoptive son broke them — literally registering off the charts. His birth mother, a college volleyball player, stood around 6-2. His birth father, also a college athlete, pushed 6-8 or taller.
Sondrup’s first word — “ball” — is common among children of all sizes. His size, though, was always uncommon.
“A parent would come over and say, ‘I think your kid’s too old to play with my kid, my kid’s only 5,’” Layne Sondrup said. “We’d say, ‘Uh, our kid’s only 3.’”
In first grade, he played in the third-grade league. Fourth grade, though, brought a basketball breakthrough. Sondrup connected with Travis Hansen, whose son, Mason, is a classmate. Hansen served his mission in-between stints at Utah Valley and BYU. The second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks in 2003 played overseas for a decade.
Sondrup’s basketball education soon elevated to include pick-and-rolls, reading defenses and other more advanced concepts. Then he began working his way through local club teams and onto the Nike EYBL summer circuit.
It eventually became evident Sondrup had more than size on his side.
“We’re going these Nike events and they’re supposedly the best kids in the nation and Jamyn is putting up 20, 25 points almost every game,” Laynde Sondrup said. “I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got something.’”
Even at the high school level, big men often need time to develop the skill necessary to jump to varsity. Sondrup started for Springville from Day 1, averaging over 14 points per game as a freshman. He showed up with more advanced footwork inside and a more developed game outside, knocking down 3s while trailing plays in transition.
Sondrup’s 986 career rebounds are second most in Utah high school history. While he played center almost exclusively for Springville, he also worked off ball screens for pick-and-pop opportunities. Through those years with Hansen’s teams he developed strong court vision — so much so that Snell encouraged him to be less selfish and lean into his low-post dominance.
“He was definitely the best big in the state of Utah, which if you’re not going to double team him he could easily hit the 30-point mark and cause people major problems,” Snell said. “One of the things that impressed Purdue so much is how much of a willing passer he is.”
High-level scholarship offers came from BYU, Utah, Mississippi State, Washington and Purdue. His two major decisions — whether to take the mission, and which school he should pick — began to converge. Sondrup thought disclosing his mission plan would narrow options for that other decision.
That backfired when every coach he told was supportive of the decision.
“It was super hard,” Sondrup said. “I knew it would be a risk going out on mission and not playing for a little bit.
“But think it was the right choice for me. Being able to develop on a mission and become stronger and wiser and smarter, hopefully I’ll become even better at basketball than if I went straight there.”
Why Purdue basketball felt Jamyn Sondrup is worth the wait
Sondrup was a borderline top-100 prospect per some recruiting sites coming out of the first EYBL circuit weekend last summer. While playing in a high school event soon after, he tore multiple ankle ligaments.
As he recuperated, his prospect rating fell, and so did the intensity of his recruitment — with one exception.
“It was like a ghost town,” Layne Sondrup said. “No one really cared.
“Purdue was just there. ‘How you doing?’ They really took the time to get to know us and know the family and really study Jamyn’s game.”
Painter liked Sondrup’s game from the beginning. The true education came in explaining the logistics of the mission. The last Boilermaker to take an LDS mission, Curt Clawson, did so in the early 90s, and prior to transferring to Purdue.
Sondrup called assistant coach P.J. Thompson to let him know he would be putting school off for the mission. Thompson called Layne Sondrup for more details. Then Painter called dad for further clarity.
At the end of that series of connections, Layne Sondrup said Painter responded, “Dude, that’s awesome.”
As much as Purdue likes the prospect Sondrup is today, it is also intrigued by the person he will be in two years.
“When he goes on the mission, he’s looking to come back a better person, and he’s going to be more mature,” Thompson said. “Talking to people outside of the family and people around the family who are important in his life, that’s what Jamyn is looking to do.”
Purdue needed size in its 2026 signing class and considered several candidates. It would not have taken two, though, to enroll this summer. Sondrup’s decision allowed Painter to take both him and Sinan Huan, a 7-foot-1 top-70 prospect who arrives with the rest of the incoming freshmen in June.
Sondrup has, to this point, been most comfortable defensively at center. His goal is to develop a more well-rounded game and also be an option at the 4 at both ends of the floor.
“He can shoot the 3, he can pass really well, he’s a physical presence,” Thompson said. “If he can get himself into elite shape and prove he can guard multiple positions and multiple coverages on the perimeter, I think he’s a guy who can play multiple positions. You’ve got to have multiple bigs and you’ve got to have the versatility to play people at multiple positions as well.”
Why Jamyn Sondrup believes he made the right choice
Sondrup plans to pack a basketball among his belongings when he departs in August. He won’t have much time or opportunity to play organized basketball for a couple of years. So he’ll concentrate on dribbling and ball handling. He also plans to bring some resistance bands and do some defensive work on his own.
Utah is nearly twice as large as Benin in size, but has less than a quarter of its population. The country scores well in safety and human rights compared to some neighboring countries.
Instead of learning the Purdue playbook this summer, Sondrup will continue his Duo Lingo courses in French — the language spoken in Benin. The country is known as the birthplace of the Voodoo religion, a legacy still present in the culture and customs. The nation, though, is predominantly Christian.
Most of the country is considered safe for Americans, though the U.S. state department issued a “do not travel” advisory for the northern and northeastern border regions. Somewhere between one-half and one-third of the country lives below the national poverty line.
Anyone putting off the relative comfort of college life for a mission makes a sacrifice. Most are not also passing up revenue share income, chartered flights around the country and the prestige of walking campus as a Boilermaker basketball player.
In two years, Sondrup will join Tippecanoe County’s LDS Church community — much smaller than what he grew up around in Utah. He could have picked a school closer to home, one with a larger Mormon population and a stronger cultural connection to his beliefs.
Much as you might expect from someone with a missionary’s heart, though, he sees that as another part of the Purdue opportunity.
“If they don’t want to hear it, that’s totally fine,” Sondrup said. “If they are interested, if I tell them what I believe in and everything, maybe that has an effect on them in some way.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: This recruit will delay career to strengthen Mormon faith. Purdue basketball sees advantages
Reporting by Nathan Baird, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
