It is that time of the year (fall) when many top-rated prospects around the country will soon announce their college decisions. Some will wait until the Early Signing Period to make their decisions, while, for others, verbal commitments will be announced before the actual signing of a national letter of intent. Sandra Day O'Connor High School's talented 6-foot-8, 215-pound senior Michael Simcoe became a hot commodity for many college programs this spring and, especially, summer. After already possessing numerous offers for himself, Simcoe recently decided to trim down his list of college suitors to (7) different colleges that he will focus on for his college decision. After considering each of these programs, Simcoe has decided to give an early verbal commitment to a member of the Big-West Conference.
Simcoe recently released his list of (7) colleges - Washington, Cal, Northwestern, UC-Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, UC-Irvine and Yale. While Simcoe did not seem to have a clear leader at this point in his college recruitment, he did, as he has now given a verbal commitment to UC-Santa Barbara and Head Coach Joe Pasternack and his men's basketball coaching staff. While each of these programs seemed like good options for Simcoe, his decision to sign with UC-Santa Barbara makes a lot of sense.
The UC-Santa Barbara staff has worked very hard to recruit the state of Arizona for many years now, and the hard work is certainly paying off for them, as they also landed Jason Fontenet last year (2023). Fontenet is currently entering his sophomore season for UC-Santa Barbara.
Quickly this spring, Simcoe became one of the more sought after recruiting targets in the West for Division-I programs to pursue. He became one of the hottest prospects in the West, after having a strong spring and summer, while playing on the Under Armour club circuit with a loaded group of talented prospects for the AZ Select UAA Under Armour-sponsored program. Simcoe is one of the most attractive looking prospects in the West's 2025 Class - a prospect definitely on the rise in the West and a prospect that could break the Top 100 player rankings nationally. Simcoe is a very nice talent with excellent promise for the future. He is fundamentally sound, and can play inside and out - very attractive attributes.
Sandra Day O'Connor will be one of the state's elite teams to watch for next high school season, after a season last year where the program emerged as one of the sate's top teams. This season will be the program's best chance to win it all, as they are one of the state's most talented teams. Simcoe had an impressive junior season for himself in leading his Sandra Day O'Connor High School (21-10) program to a big 6A State Championship Runner-Up finish. Simcoe's strong play all season helped this team to numerous big wins, as he led his team in numerous statistical categories. He looks ready to have a huge senior season.
Congratulations to Simcoe and his family, as well as the Sandra Day O'Connor and AZ Select basketball programs on this accomplishment from our staff here at Arizona Preps.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Simcoe is one of the most attractive looking prospects in Arizona's 2025 Class - a prospect definitely on the rise in Arizona's junior class in the West. Simcoe is a very nice talent with excellent promise for the future. Standing at 6-foot-8 and possessing a strong, muscular frame, Simcoe has a lot to offer as a college prospect. He is also very skilled and has a nice left-handed shooting stroke that allows him to step outside with range and make shots. He has a nice release on his shot, and can get his shot off nicely against defenders, although he rarely sees someone his size in Arizona high school basketball competition. He has very good low-post footwork as well, and, with his left-handed prowess, is able to make plays around the basket effectively, as he is difficult to stop around the basket or inside the paint. Simcoe is also a very strong rebounder that keeps the ball up high for put-backs and is a strong finisher at the rim. He is a very good overall athlete and has good lift off the floor. He runs the floor very well and gets good low-post position in transition. He is a well-rounded and fundamentally sound performer that is well beyond his years physically and plays with very good confidence.
