One of the top scorers in all of the NAIA, just so happens to be a part time grocery clerk at Publix, and big time gamer, who loves Call of Duty. While he may look like a regular guy off the floor, when Matt Simpson steps on the floor, you will know who he is!
The 6’0 guard, that grew up just 20 minutes from the Florida College campus, wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, but the coaching staff at Florida College made him feel wanted, so he made the decision to be a Falcon. Matt said that he appreciated that Coach Chase Teichmann would call or text him every day, and it helped him develop a good relationship over the course of his recruitment.
Coach Teichmann was just the assistant coach at the time, but was promoted to Head Coach this past off-season. No one was more excited for Coach Teichmann then Matt. The relationship he has with Coach is a really tight bond. Matt knows that Coach Teichmann is ready to make an impact on the Falcon program, and take them to new heights. He said that with all of the hoops they have talked, that he knows that coach and him like the similar style of play. They both like to get out and run, move the ball around, and shoot a lot of 3’s. He likes that Coach Teichmann is open minded, and listens to his players.
Having a player like Matt Simpson will go a long ways to helping any first year head coach. Matt is already a 1,000 point scorer as he averaged 23ppg this past season while shooting a blistering 56% from the field, and 41% from the 3pt line. He was also a 1st team all Southern States Athletic Conference selection, a 3x All-SSAC Player of the Week winner, a Honorable Mention All-American, and was 5th in NAIA DI in scoring last season with seven 30+ point games. He will no doubt be a focal point once again for the Florida College offense. The individual accolades are nice, but Matt has bigger fish to fry. The Falcons have failed to make the conference tournament for both of his first two years. He wants nothing more than to make it to the league tournament this year, and to make a deep run to make it into the National Tournament. Matt is ready to get back to campus, and to get to work with the new pieces that were brought in for this season.
Matt has loved his time as an NAIA player. He knows a lot of his success has been because he chose a program that wanted him. He encourages high school kids to do the same. To go ahead and go with a smaller program who shows you the most love, and who genuinely builds a relationship with you. Matt knows that they have competed with a few of the NCAA D1 programs that they have faced over the past two seasons, and said their is just as good talent all over the SSAC. Matt knows he chose the right place for him, and he has accomplished a lot in just two seasons. Now the Falcons are ready to soar into a new era with Coach Teichmann at the helm. Things are never easy in the Southern States Athletic Conference, but Coach Teichmann knows the league and having a talented guard in Matt will go along ways for them to take a big step up this season.
