Reagan sees college interest on upswing
Last week, the University of Puget Sound became the first college to officially offer Easton Reagan. For the Scottsdale Desert Mountain senior guard, it provided tangible proof of his dream emerging into reality.
“It’s been very exciting,” Reagan said Saturday night, moments after leading the Wolves to a 53-44 win over Peoria. The win marked Desert Mountain’s fifth in six games at the three-day Summer 64 tournament.
It was an event, Reagan said, that he expected to be a marquee “opportunity to get in front of (college) coaches.” Over three days at Gilbert High School, neither the college interest nor Reagan’s own performance disappointed, as he averaged 23 points per game in front of a slew of coaches.
For Reagan, the performance is rooted in a goal to play college basketball that he’s held since his freshman year playing for Mark Schumaker at Desert Mountain. Back then, Reagan was an undersized shooter with little else to his game. Part of his development since can be attributed to him spurting into a 6foot-4 frame, enabling him to use his quick release to fire 3-pointers over defenders.
But according to Schumaker, the change hasn’t been entirely natural.
“Being that he had that skillset, he’s been able to add to it and he’s been doing his work in the weight room and in the offseason, just getting bigger and stronger,” Schumaker said. “And now he’s rebounding and finishing at the rim and just being able to do those things consistently versus just playing on the perimeter.”
Reagan’s skill development, too, has enabled him to take the next step into becoming a college prospect. The summer after his freshman year, Schumaker began to employ Reagan as the Wolves’ primary point guard, forcing him to develop his ball-handling and playmaking.
The result is a player comfortable making penetrative passes into the paint, dishing off the drive and scoring at all three levels.
“There’s a different between a playmaker and a scorer,” Schumaker said. “And I think playmakers have much more potential at the next level than just guys that can score because the level gets harder so if you can’t make plays for other people, you’re gonna struggle.
“I talked to him a lot too. Wherever he goes, he’s not gonna come in and be a guy that’s gonna average 20, 25 his freshman year. So he’s gotta be able to find ways to get other guys involved and do little things that are gonna help,” he added. “Because very few colleges are recruiting a guy that’s gonna come in first year and average a ton of points. He’s trying to get on the floor by defending, rebounding, facilitating for our guys and obviously hitting shots when he has the opportunity.”
The college interest was slow to come for Reagan. His first calls from coaches at the next level came just a few months ago. And at a time when many prospects are committing to schools, he received his first offer just last week.
But this month, his recruitment process has kicked into overdrive. A 33-point showing against 2023 fourstar Darius Carr at the Section 7 Team Basketball Camp meant the week leading up to the Summer 64 was filled answering dozens of phone calls, ranging from Division I to NAIA.
“Easton wants to go where he can play,” Schumaker said. “He’s not trying to chase a level, he’s trying to chase minutes. So he wants to go where he has a chance to compete. Not be given minutes but a place where he can compete for minutes.”
Some of his top choices right now are Division II opportunities, including Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) and a group of Cal State schools.