College Commitent: Hayden Wakefield (2019 Salem Academy HS)
While many seniors are waiting for the season to end before making any decisions on playing at the next level, Hayden Wakefield isn’t. This week, the steady 6-foot-4, 175-pound wing ended his college recruitment by committing to Multnomah. Had he waited there might have been other opportunities, but the Salem Academy senior knew he had already found the right fit with the Lions so there was nothing other to do than go aheadand sign on the dotted line.
“I was just praying to God a lot about it and I just decided that’s where I wanted to go and where my heart was, and God just led me towards that decision,” Wakefield said. “I’m a shooter and that’s what their offensive style is, run and shoot threes. So I thought I fit in perfectly there and it would be a fun couple of years.”
Multnomah originally offered Wakefield near the end of his junior season, and then increased the scholarship money after he performed well at a camp. Linn-Benton had also been showing interest and there was the possibility of others getting involved, but Wakefield decided that no more waiting was necessary. “God put it on my heart to commit to Multnomah,” he said.
Known best for his ability to hit from the perimeter, Wakefield has been diversifying his game this season. It’s led to even better scoring opportunities – ones in which he hopes to continue to hone for the next level. “My driving has helped out a lot this year,” Wakefield said. “Everybody labels me as a shooter, so when I can drive that makes all the difference. I just want to be more aggressive on my driving, working on different moves, and keep working on my shot.”
With his signing in the books, Wakefield can now play freely the rest of the season – one in which he feels Salem Academy has the potential to go quite a long ways. “I think we can go pretty far in the tournament – we just have to take it game by game,” Wakefield said. “If we do that, we can go really far. “
Wakefield currently ranks as the #71 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2019 rankings.