One of the top performers from this year's spring and summer recruiting periods is on the rise. Sandra Day O'Connor High School 6-foot-7, 205-pound senior guard Colton Watson had an excellent showing this club season with another very talented version of the Arizona Select club program. Organized by legendary Arizona basketball aficionado John Ortega, the AZ Select had a terrific showing on the Under Armour club circuit, and Watson was a big part of the program's extreme success. As a result, Watson has seen his college recruitment begin to take off with numerous college programs now in hot pursuit of the talented and bigger guard prospect. Watson has received two offers to his credit, but is worthy of many more, as he is a serious talent with excellent size, skillset and deceiving athleticism.
Over the past couple seasons, college coaches flocked to recruit former Sandra Day O'Connor product, Michael Simcoe, who eventually signed with UC-Santa Barbara. Now Colton Watson takes center stage in his college recruitment, which deserves to be similar to the recruitment of Simcoe. Watson is a unique talent in his own right as a result of his unique size and skillset for the guard position. He has excellent versatility as a player, and his best years are still well ahead of him.
Currently, Watson has offers from Cal Baptist University and Portland State, while many more programs are expressing interest in him, so more offers could be realized soon. He is definitely a high school prospect that is very intriguing to college programs, regardless of the NCAA Transfer Portal, due to his unique package of attributes that make him a very intriguing prospect. Watson is one of the top overall prospects in Arizona's 2026 Class, and his unique level of upside makes him an attractive prospect.
Sandra Day O'Connor was very talented as a team last season, and even with the graduation of Simcoe, they will be a formidable group again this season. The program is consistently one of the top overall programs in the state. Last season, Sandra Day reached the semi-finals for the Open Division State Championship, before falling to eventual Open Division State Champion Perry High School (76-57), and compiled a 20-9 overall record on the season, amidst a very tough schedule throughout the season.
This season Sandra Day O'Connor will be right back in the hunt again for a 6A State Championship, and will also be among the favorites to compete for the Open Division State Championship. Watson will be the catalyst for his program this season, and I look for him to post very impressive numbers this season, in the process.
I will continue to follow the recruitment and play of Watson during the fall and his senior season. It will be very interesting to see when Watson decides to pull the trigger on his college recruitment, but he is worthy of much more college recruitment for sure. This is another one of my favorite prospects in the state - regardless of class.
Arizona Preps Scouting Report: Watson has excellent versatility as a player and as a college prospect. He is able to play multiple positions on the floor, including the point guard position. At 6-foo-7, Watson is a very big guard prospect, which is a very attractive attribute for a player. He enjoys having the ball in his hands and making plays off the dribble for himself and his teammates. He is also very agile and athletic - able to finish plays at and above the rim over defenders. He is a good shooter of the basketball with range on his shot, which sets up his drives to the basket. He has a solid mid-range game that is improving, and he is good in transition and in the open floor, where he likes to push the ball up the court. His size and skillset will allow him to play in a college system that plays a half-court style or an uptempo style of play. A very intriguing prospect with excellent upside.
