Federal Way High School senior Cole Dickerson has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at the University of San Francisco next year, according to Eagle head coach Jerome Collins.
“He just fell in love with the place,” Collins said. “This is a dream come true for Cole.”
Dickerson chose San Francisco over several schools, including Portland State, Pacific, Portland, Idaho, Eastern Washington and Washington State. San Francisco plays in the competitive West Coast Conference along with schools like Gonzaga and St. Mary’s.
The 6-foot-7 Dickerson will sign his national letter of intent on Nov. 11 and will be joined by teammate Isiah Umipig. Umipig verbally committed to play at Cal-State Fullerton last month.

Dickerson was the most consistent player for Federal Way all season long last year during their run to the state title. The forward led the Eagles in scoring at 17.5 points a game. He finished in double figures in 28 of Federal Way’s 30 games. Dickerson also led the Eagles in rebounding at 8.21 a game and blocked 56 shots during the regular season. He also shot 66 percent from the field (166 for 253). During Federal Way’s postseason run, Dickerson was named to the Class 4A state All-Tournament Team after averaging 17 points in their four victories in Tacoma.

Dickerson finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots during the Eagles’ quarterfinal win over Walla Walla and 18 points in the title-game win over Garfield.

This will be the fifth year in a row that a Federal Way player has signed with a Division I college program. Terrell Smith inked with the University of the Pacific in 2006, Pooh Williams signed with Utah State in ‘07, Aaron Broussard signed with Seattle University in 2008 and Jeff Forbes is currently a freshman at Eastern Washington University.

There will be more to come on Dickerson’s commitment.