Braden Smith smiles as he signs an autograph for a fan during a ceremony honoring him and football star Dillon Thieneman Wednesday at the Grand Park Events Center. (Richie Hall)
Westfield star athletes honored in Grand Park celebration
By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – A Westfield sports hero returned home to a celebration on Wednesday.
Braden Smith was one of the honorees at a special ceremony that took place at the Grand Park Events Center that evening. Smith was a star for the Shamrocks’ basketball team and just finished four highly successful years at Purdue University, leading the Boilermakers to a national runner-up finish in 2024, his sophomore year.
Over 100 people were at the Events Center to celebrate Smith and his fellow Westfield graduate Dillon Thieneman, a Shamrocks football star who played at Purdue and the University of Oregon. Westfield Mayor Scott Willis was on hand to announce that April 22 was “Braden Smith Dillon Thieneman Day,” with both men receiving plaques commemorating the day.
Thieneman could not attend the event, as he is in Pittsburgh preparing for the NFL Draft, which begins this evening. Former Westfield football coach Jake Gilbert accepted Thieneman’s plaque on his behalf. Theieneman prepared a short video, thanking the fans and coaches, as well as Grand Park and its partner Skylake Adventures for the event.
Former Westfield football coach
Jake Gilbert speaks about Dillon Thieneman after accepting a plaque on his behalf. Thieneman is in Pittsburgh attending the NFL Draft. (Richie Hall)
Smith said a few words before participating in a shootaround with some of the young basketball fans at the event, then spent some time signing autographs.
“It’s awesome seeing people here,” said Smith. “I think that’s the biggest thing that makes Westfield and Purdue so special is the community.”
Smith helped the Shamrocks to their first-ever sectional championship in boys basketball in 2022, during his senior season and was also named Mr. Basketball. He became an instant star for the Boilermakers, playing every single game during his four seasons at Purdue.
Smith also set a record for the ages this year, becoming the NCAA’s all-time assist leader. He finished his career with 1,103 assists.
“I still have to pinch myself a little bit that Braden Smith’s the all-time NCAA assist leader and what’s he done in his career,” said Westfield boys basketball coach Shane Sumpter.
Sumpter is confident that Smith will be selected during the NBA Draft, which takes place June 23 and 24. He said that Smith’s height of 6 feet doesn’t matter, noting that he “plays a lot bigger than he’s listed because his arms of so long.”
“He’ll be in the NBA, and he’s going to be a great player and he’s going to have a really good NBA career,” said Sumpter. “I just don’t have any doubt about that.”
Along with putting Westfield on the map, Smith hopes to be an inspiration for young players that are “similar” to him who go to schools like Westfield to “be able to go do whatever they want and achieve their dreams,” whether it’s basketball or anything else.
“I think for me, my job is to pay it back and for people to have that understanding that it’s possible and that they can do the same,” said Smith.
High pick
Thieneman could probably say the same. The 2023 Westfield graduate totaled 246 tackles during his Shamrocks career and helped the team to a pair of Class 6A state runner-up finishes and another sectional title his senior year.
At Purdue, Thieneman won the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year award, setting Boilermaker records with 74 solo tackles and six interceptions. He transferred to Oregon for his junior year, where he made 96 combined tackles.
Gilbert remembered seeing Thieneman as an elementary school player.
“He was just so focused, locked in all the time,” said Gilbert. “For an elementary kid, he was always pretty serious. He loved football from the beginning. He thought he was going to be a football player for a living.”
That dream may soon be realized. Chris Pflum of SBNation predicts that Thieneman will be a high first-round pick, calling him “a smart, versatile, and explosively athletic safety prospect.”
Gilbert said the potential of two pro athletes from Westfield “speaks a lot to Westfield High School, the athletic department, Tavio Henson as a strength and condition coach, the community and coaching staffs that poured into them. But it still speaks the most about what those kids did.”
“The credit still goes to Dillon and Braden,” said Gilbert.
