Kearns’ Orton accepts BYU hoop offer

Micaelee Orton hopes her basketball scholarship to Brigham Young University proves that Kearns High athletes are capable of attracting the attention of Division-I colleges.

“I really believe we can get past that stereotype and focus on what people can do,” said Orton, one of the few Kearns High athletes in recent years to earn a D-1 scholarship. “We definitely have really good individuals that play at Kearns. The years I’ve been there have been amazing.”

Orton gave her commitment to BYU on Aug. 11 shortly after visiting the campus, and expects to sign a national letter of intent in November when the fall early signing period begins. Though she has been plagued by injuries throughout her prep career, the 6-2 standout has flourished with the Salt Lake City Metro club team. Seven other Metro products are on the BYU roster.

During her first three years at Kearns, Orton has averaged nine points per game, with a career-high of 28 in a 64-53 loss to Viewmont in a 5A play-in game last season. She has only been able to play 23 of the Cougars’ 41 games over the last two years due to injury. Orton missed eight weeks with stress fractures in two of her lower vertebrae sustained during the volleyball season last year. She also partially tore her meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in her sophomore season.

Still, Orton has shown enough for colleges to consider her. Although she has mostly played center during her basketball career, she has played all five positions on the court, including point guard.

“I’m pretty quick for my height and I can handle the ball well, too,” Orton said. “With my high school team, I can beat anyone on runs. I can do anything the coach asks me to do.”

Idaho State, Weber State, Utah Valley and Southern Utah Universities were also interested in Orton before she chose BYU. Orton is already familiar with most of the Cougar coaching staff and players from having participated in their summer camps. Deciding to commit to BYU was a fairly easy one.

“There was no doubt in my mind this is where I needed to be,” Orton, 17, said. “I knew when I went there it was a different feeling than the others. BYU was my dream school, so it was definitely number one for me. It’s a big blessing for me. I knew it was the right place for me to be.”

BYU is coming off a 25-9 season in which it captured the Mountain West Conference regular season championship (15-1). The Cougars, coached by Jeff Judkins, lost in the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament to Southern California, 62-50.

“Coming from being a post, one of the hardest things for me to learn will be their motion offense,” said Orton, who will likely play both forward positions at BYU. “I’ve played with a couple of girls they recruited this year, like (Springville’s) Lexi Eaton. Their girls are doing really good.”

Orton, a four-year starter who also plays volleyball and is a key member of the track and field team, earned second-team all-state and first-team all-region basketball honors last season in leading Kearns to a 9-12 record. She averaged just over 10 points per game.

Orton plans to study sports medicine, with a focus on strength and conditioning.