On Monday evening, Sam Mickelson announced his college commitment. The 6’7” forward of Madison Memorial High School (WI) and DeNard Bros Pro, chose to stay in-state at Wisconsin-Whitewater for his college career.
“I was really impressed by Whitewater’s strong community and reputation with their athletics,” Mickelson first responded with why he decided upon Whitewater. “The coaching staff is great and everyone that I’ve met is super nice. And I could tell and feel like they that they really wanted me. They came to at least ten or so games and always made sure to talk to me after and make that connection with me…I also really enjoyed their athletic facilities and the campus just seemed like the right fit to me.”
The commitment comes after Mickelson took his visit to the Whitewater campus back in November which he called great. “I met some of the team and had lunch with them and got to ask questions about whatever I wanted. I also went around and saw all of the campus and got to meet one of the business professors, which is what I’m wanting to study as of right now. And then I got to sit in and watch an early season practice and see how things worked. Overall, it was a great tour, and I had a great time,” he said about the visit.
In each of his sophomore and junior seasons, Mickelson earned himself first team all-conference honors. As well for honors, he was only one of two boys in Wisconsin nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game. In addition to UW-Whitewater, Mickelson was being recruited by programs at both the division two and three levels. Amongst them included Kentucky Wesleyan, Southwest Minnesota State, and a few schools in the University of Wisconsin system.
“I feel like I can come in a definitely start making an impact right when I get there,” Mickelson said about his future fitting in Whitewater. “I think that they will be able to use me in a bunch of different ways with my versatility and size which I’m very excited about.”