Courtesy photo West Liberty’s Zac Grossenbacher steps to the free throw line during a college basketball game last season. The former Parkersburg High Big Red has signed a contract to play professionally in Spain.

PARKERSBURG — Although the official announcement still isn’t out yet, former Parkersburg Big Red Zac Grossenbacher has inked a contract to play in Spain’s LEB Gold League.

“I’ve signed my contract and sent it to them,” said Grossenbacher, who noted the league hasn’t made public which team he’s playing for. “The LEB Gold League is the second tier in Spain. I’m in the process of applying for my visa now.

“I’m not sure why they haven’t (made it public) or what’s taking so long. I’ve kept track every day and they have announced new players they have signed.”

Grossenbacher, who lettered two years at PHS before heading to Massanutten Military Academy for his senior season, went Division I to Wofford before heading to West Liberty for his final three years, where he earned his degree in exercise physiology.

WLU reached the Division II national semifinals during his junior season (2015-16) and the ex-Big Red was named second team all-Mountain East Conference. He started all 35 games for the Hilltoppers and ranked seventh nationally in rebounds. This past season, he averaged 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

Oscar Gonzalez of Spain is Grossenbacher’s agent.

“He contacted me after the end of our season. He follows D2 basketball a lot and he knew West Liberty,” noted Grossenbacher, who has been enjoying vacation in the mountains and is now at the beach. “When Chase (Fieler) was in Spain, he (Gonzalez) talked to Chase.

“I think Chase’s agent was a buddy with this guy and they knew each other and he contacted Chase to see if I was interested in playing pro basketball. Chase actually helped me with that connection and Oscar contacted me. I went through the whole process of choosing an agent and I had two or three and I went with this guy.”

Grossenbacher said he never has been out of the country, just all over it because of basketball.

“I just had to get my passport this summer and do all that stuff,” he said. “It definitely will be a big change and a fun experience. I’m a little anxious at the same time not knowing what to expect until I get over there.

“I think my departure date is August 26th. I have pretty much a month left and I’ll be over there for eight months or so. I think the end of April is the their regular season and depending if my team makes the playoffs determines whether I stay for the month of May or not.”

Despite getting a shot at playing Division I basketball in the Southern Conference, Grossenbacher opted to join West Liberty after two seasons at Wofford. He redshirted as a freshman and then traveled with the team and appeared in 17 games the next season, which included a brief appearance in the NCAA Tournament against Michigan.

“I knew realistically if I wanted to play professionally it would be overseas,” he said. “My choice to go to West Liberty was to help my position to go overseas and kind of be an impact player and get more playing time and have a better statistical career.

“I always aspired to play professionally and hoped my dream would come true one day and it happened to work out that way. Actually, throughout the whole process I’ve talked to him (Fieler) daily, weekly and when I was deciding on an agent I talked to him a lot.”

Unless Grossenbacher does something outside of basketball he’s not supposed to be doing and gets injured, his contract is guaranteed.

During the offseason, Grossenbacher often can be found at the Elite Sports Center where he’s gathered a pretty good following.

“The whole community is super supportive, everyone there,” he said. “They always post stuff on Facebook to keep up with me and Chase. I’ve actually gotten close to a lot of parents of the kids. It’s just a really cool situation and it’s kind of nice to have that support group. I always like to say I want to give back to the game that’s given so much to me.

“Basketball has blessed me with so many opportunities to play at the collegiate level and meet my friends. As a kid you kind of always look up to people in my shoes now and you always aspire to be that person. I want to give back to the kids and kind of show them how to get to that level and talk to them and be a mentor and give them someone to look up to.”