College Commitment: Clayton Whitman (2019 Lynden HS)
Right after the summer ended, Clayton Whitman knew it was time to get down to business with his college recruitment. The athletic 6-foot-4, 190-pound wing from Lynden High School had whittled down his list to two schools and got set to take official visit to both college campuses. After making trips to each, he took his time making his decision and in the end he decided he’ll be playing close to home.
On Monday, Whitman announced that he will be signing with Seattle Pacific. “It was definitely a tough choice – I thought about it a lot and it was super close,” Whitman said. “I’d say that one of the biggest reasons is it was a lot of small things – it wasn’t just one major thing. It just felt like the best place for me. I felt better on campus there, it felt like the better fit. That was probably the biggest reason.”
Whitman had visited both Seattle Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene before making his choice. Seattle Pacific was the first school to offer Whitman a scholarship, and that love certainly paid off with his commitment. The fact it’s close to home didn’t hurt either. “That was one of the smaller things – that was like a bonus,” Whitman said. “I wasn’t trying to factor that in as a major thing for (my decision), but that was a cool thing that a lot of people around here can come in and watch.”
Also of note is the fact that Whitman will be joining two fellow Washingtonians as incoming freshmen as Shaw Anderson of Kelso and Zack Paulsen of Curtis have also committed to the Falcons. While he has yet to meet Anderson, Whitman has gotten to know Paulsen better through the recruiting process.
“It was super exciting as I hung out with Zack on our visit to Point Loma actually,” Whitman said. “I had met him before he had come to a tryout thing for my AAU team and we kinda talked there. He’s definitely a cool guy and I’m excited to play with him for sure.”
Whitman is an athletic wing who can really score around the basket and finish above the rim. He’s still working on his ball skills as he knows he’ll need that at the next level. “I’m just excited to get there and get better before the next season and hopefully get some minutes my freshman year,” Whitman said. “I want to improve as much as a I can with the ability that I do have. I want to be able to compete at that level – that’s my goal.”
But first things first – there’s one more year of high school basketball and he’s looking forward to it. “I’m just excited because I didn’t really get to play last season in the regular season,” Whitman said. “So It will be exciting to get out there with all my friends again and make just one last good run.”
Whitman currently ranks as the #15 player in the PrepHoops Washington Class of 2019 rankings.