Several Oxford residents have impressive streaks of attendance at home Miami University sporting events, but one Edgewood High School senior has a claim to fame that no one else has.

John Cornett, 18, has never missed a home Miami men’s basketball game in his entire life and he will take that streak into next season after watching the RedHawks play their final home game of the season Saturday afternoon against Kent State.

“It’s pretty crazy. It’s something hard to believe,” Cornett said. “I’m definitely a fan, but I do not consider myself a die-hard fan. I root for Miami. I like Miami. I’m not one of those guys who always screams at the refs.”

Cornett was born Dec. 23, 1994 and his father, Jack Cornett, said he was at his first Miami basketball game just days later and has not missed one since. Back then, Jack Cornett and his wife, Brigitte, had two season tickets and as John grew older and needed his own seat, they bought two more season tickets for the seats next to theirs and now John uses that fourth seat for friends or other relatives.

His memories are largely of the good times in Millett Hall and success of Miami teams, not of specific games and not all at home.

“The thing I remember most was Doug Penno hit a three-point shot to send them to the NCAA,” he said.

While he was not at that 2007 MAC tournament championship game, he saw it on television and called it his most memorable game when Penno hit that shot at the buzzer in the Mid-American Conference tournament in 2007.

“It sticks out,” he said.

He has fond memories of former players Michael Bramos and Julian Mavunga.

Another memory is this year’s induction when Ben Roethlisberger was added to Miami’s Hall of Fame.

He was young when Wally Szczerbiak played at Miami and does not have memories of those games, but knows he was there and was also there when Szczerbiak and the RedHawks played in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen game in St. Louis.

Jack Cornett, an attorney, graduated from Miami in 1975. He went with his father, a UK fan, to New Orleans to watch Miami play in the NCAA tournament in 1999. The two decided they would not miss the Sweet Sixteen round in St. Louis the following week when Miami and Kentucky would face each other.

They went to Missouri and took John with them, letting him be a part of Miami history even though at age 4, he was not really aware of the significance.

His mother, Brigitte, a native of Austria, said she and her husband were married in 1984 and came to live in this country. She quickly fell into the Miami basketball routine with her husband and enjoys seeing the games, with fond memories of some of the star power in Millett Hall

“I knew nothing about basketball — or baseball — but I was lucky,” she said. “I got to watch Ron Harper play. John got to watch Wally (Szczerbiak) play. I got to see Wally and Ron play.”

John is a pitcher and first baseman for the Edgewood baseball team and last Friday was included on the 2013 roster announced at the school, which will mark his fourth year of varsity play for the Cougars. He moved onto the varsity roster in the middle of his freshman season and has played there since.

He played 12 varsity games as a freshman, hitting .345 with three doubles and 14 rbi.

Cornett’s varsity debut was memorable, too.

“My first game on the varsity, I was pitching and gave up the lead. Then, I pinch hit for a senior and hit a double to get the lead back in the top of the seventh,” he said. “That senior is now the freshman coach.”

While he hopes to play college baseball and still has this spring season to complete a solid high school career, Cornett is also a part of Little League World Series history, which was recognized at last year’s LLWS as one of the 10 best plays of all time. Unfortunately, he was not the one making that play, but was definitely part of it.

He played for the Hamilton West Side team that went to the 2007 Little League World Series and faced the Massachusetts team in their first game. Cornett came up to bat in the bottom of the final inning with a runner on third base and his team trailing 3-2. He hit the ball over the fence, but the outfielder ran to the wall, reached up and over the wall and caught the ball, ending the game and depriving Hamilton of an opening-game win.

That play was number three on the ESPN greatest plays of the year list that year as well as being recognized by the Little League World Series as one of the 10 best of all time. It resulted in Cornett being interviewed on ESPN by Orel Hershiser and is a popular online video, which he has seen replayed many times. What is his thought when it plays?

“I think about what might have been if it had gone farther,” the Edgewood senior said.

He shares his father’s enthusiasm for Miami basketball and hopes to be accepted at Miami when letters go out March 15. That would permit him to extend his attendance streak, but his first love in sports is playing baseball, which he would like to do at Miami, if at all possible.

“I would love to play at Miami,” he said. “I’ve played on Miami’s field several times. My school team played against Badin on Miami’s field. It was pretty cool.”