Ever since he was in middle school, Jordan Allen was telling people he was going to play Division I basketball.

On Thursday, Allen's dream officially came true.

Allen, a senior at Dover High, signed his National Letter of Intent to accept a basketball scholarship at Rider University.

"I was always telling everybody I was going Division I no matter what," Allen said. "You just got to work for it. You've got to have 100 percent focus. It's a blessing to be in the situation like I am. I've been working for four years to get where I'm at."

Dover. From left to right. Jordan Hutchins (Delaware baseball), Jordan Allen (Rider, basketball) and Garrett Lawson (Delaware State baseball).

Allen is the first Dover boys' basketball product to sign for a Division I team since Kendal Williams at Delaware State and Pieter Prinsloo at Marist, both members of the Dover Class of 2010.

Allen is coming off a junior season where he led the state in points per game with 26.2. He ended up on the All-State Second Team and helped lead Dover to a first round victory in the state tournament.

His signing closed a gradually rise in his stock due to his hard work. He began his career at Dover on junior varsity as a freshman before working his way up to varsity by the end of the year. This summer he really made a name for himself as one of the best shooters on the East Coast with his performances with his AAU team WER1.

"I didn't put him in school he put himself in school," said Dover High coach Stephen Wilson. "I just marketed him but he's the one who gave me an opportunity to market him by making sure his academics were done first. Then we were in the gym on a regular basis. Nobody gave him a shot at first but he followed along the protocol of what our coaches put in place and now he's fulfilling his dream."

For Wilson, this is one of the moments that remind him why he wanted to be a high school basketball coach.

"You don't coach for the money," Wilson said. "You coach to help these kids reach their goals."

Wilson also said Allen serves as a great role model for the younger players at Dover.

"I'm blessed to have someone like Jordan around me," Wilson said. "His mother raised him to give him a chance to fulfill his dream. It's a lot of dedication.

And Allen wasn't the only Dover athlete to sign on Thursday.

A pair of baseball players are also going to play Division I. Jordan Hutchins signed with Delaware while Garrett Lawson signed with Delaware State.

The duo makes it 19 Senators who will play college baseball since 2010.

"They're carrying on a tradition," said Dover baseball coach Dave Gordon. "They have a lot of tools. I can see why schools were interested in them."

Hutchins, a shortstop, will join fellow Dover grad Nick Spadafino at Delaware next year. Hutchins made second team All-State as a sophomore and has been Dover's starting shortstop since his freshman year.

"He's so athletic," Gordon said. "Defensively I would rank him as one of the best defenders in the state. Then he's a great hitter. ... I think being able to reunite with Nick was the final thing for him. Being able to play together for another two years is pretty cool and hopefully they can get each other a championship and get them to where they want to go."

Lawson is a left-handed pitcher for Dover but is also a key piece in the Senator lineup with his bat.

"He's a power arm with good stuff," Gordon said. "He can also swing it and (Delaware State coach) J.P. (Blandin) liked that. He swung it well for us last year. These guys are carrying the torch for this program. As a coach you want to win games, but you also want to push kids in the right direction and I feel like we're doing that in this program."