Providence Picks up A Third Commitment from Southern California Academy: This Time it's Small Forward Donovan Santoro
Class of 2023 small forward Donovan Santoro announced his commitment to Providence on Friday afternoon, a week after visiting PC’s campus. With his commitment, Santoro became the third player in the class of 2023 to pledge to Ed Cooley and his staff — and the third from Southern California Academy (SCA).
News of Providence’s interest in Santoro was first broken on The Providence Crier podcast last month, when SCA head coach Julius von Hanzlik was on to talk about the commitment of Santoro’s teammate, skilled big man Drew Fielder.
Apparently, Providence saw enough of Santoro in practices to offer him a scholarship, and now the 6’8 shooter will add needed depth on the wing. He will play alongside a pair of the fastest risers in the class of 2023 this season in PC commits Garwey Dual and Drew Fielder.
Santoro played for one of the best high school teams in Texas last year, Westlake-Austin — a group that lost in the state’s 6A semifinals in a wild double overtime game against a McKinney team that featured a top 20 guard in Jakobe Walter (a Baylor commit) and Texas pledge Alex Anamekwe.
Much like Dual and Fielder, Santoro was under-the-radar throughout the 2021-22 high school season, coming off the bench for Westlake in the playoffs. Regardless, Santoro made a pair of last-second buckets in both regulation and overtime after star Jaden Greathouse (a wide receiver commit of Notre Dame) fouled out.
The McKinney game ended in shocking heartbreak for Westlake, as they were whistled for a technical late in regulation which allowed McKinney to tie the game. Then Anamekwe stole an inbounds pass at the end of double overtime and threw down a last-second dunk to win it.
These 20-minute highlights provide a good look at Santoro. Noted for his jump shot, Santoro had a measure of success off the bounce in this one. Where he looked to struggle was in terms of more physical play, and staying in front of quicker guards defensively. He had two jump shots blocked early, but looked to settle in after that.
Santoro is a player capable for knocking down five 3-pointers in a game, or throwing down a windmill in transition.
Here is footage of him playing against Vanderbilt commit Noah Shelby and top 100 power forward Micah Robinson:
It’s not hard to see the appeal for Providence’s staff. There aren’t many players at 6’8 who can potentially take defenders off the dribble and shoot with range. With physical development he could turn into a versatile option for Cooley and his staff down the road.
Still, there is a lot to learn about Santoro moving forward, and will aim to provide reports throughout the season.
“By being at Providence, I will be surrounded by the best hoopers and hooping staff in college basketball, so I think being in the position will push me to be the best I can be and learning every day,” he told Adam Zagoria.