SAUGATUCK, Mich. — Brook Simpson is playing her senior season at saugatuck. Not the place she thought she would graduate from, but after a family move brought them closer to the lake shore, she’s happy to finish her high school career as a blazer.
“I wasn’t too scared to move honestly. I like new change and stuff so I was down for it. The environment overall here is just so much better. I love it here. I feel like everybody is so supportive and I didn’t really have that at my old school. So it’s just nice to see a different side of everything,” said Brook.
Head Coach Kevin Tringali said that Brooke and her younger sister Mylah, fit right in.
“I knew instantly, getting to know her from the first couple times that she was going to fit in with our team. Not only that, I have really good seniors in Elsa and Jen this year so adding her as our third senior, it was seamless. There was not a lot of tension, there wasn’t any animosity. That’s what I really like about this particular group. They’ve embraced it. No one felt threatened by her coming here. They knew she was going to help us get to where we wanted to go to as a basketball player. And the fact that she’s a great kid just made it a perfect fit,” said Tringali.
Brook and her family picked up and moved to Saugatuck over the summer and while she was excited for the change, she still wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to play basketball.
A year and a half age she had ACL surgery and then soon after, also tore her meniscus. She opted to heal that on its own but she was unsure if she’d make it back to the court.
“It’s been super hard not being able to play. I didn’t even know if I would get to play again because I didn’t know how everything would heal. So I’m just actually grateful that I’m able to play again. But yeah, it was really hard,” said Simpson.
That’s why her most recent accomplishment is so sweet.
On January 19th Brook hit the 1,000 point mark. A feat that many players reach, but she did it with unique circumstances.
Her freshman year was ended early due to the pandemic and she only played nine games. She played her entire sophomore year, but then missed all of junior year from her injury. So she racked up 1,000 points in just 43 games.
“There was definitely a time of doubt. I didn’t know if I’d get to play my senior year. So I didn’t know. I knew I was on track to hit 2,000 point so that would’ve been a really big deal but I think this is even sweeter because of the people I’m accomplishing it with. Just all the support that I’ve had,” said Brook.
“She’s beyond humble. There are times in games where she’s all about sharing the ball and getting her teammates engaged. So those are just the two things that stick out in my mind and she’s just an unselfish kid. She takes whatever the game asks her to do and handles it with poise and pride and a ton of class,” said Tringali.
Brook holds several division one offers but hasn’t made her college decision yet. Saugatuck has just one loss on the year so far and is sitting at 2nd in the SAC Central. They have high hopes for the post season.
“I think our team is very fun to watch. We have different assets to the team, like it’s fun to watch because we all play different. But the Breslin would be a huge deal to me, you know, that’s the dream” said Simpson.
Brook and the Blazers have just a few weeks left of the regular season. They’ll travel to Bridgeman on Tuesday.
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