Mike Simonson is heading into his fifth season at the helm of the Seattle Pacific women’s program.
Simonson was elevated into the head coaching spot on June 27, 2018 after Julie Heisey ended her 13-year career in charge of the Falcons. Inheriting a team that graduated its entire starting five, had the SPU in the hunt for a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament all the way into the final weekend of the season.
Among the eight wins for Seattle Pacific in 2018-19 was a 61-59 decision against Western Washington in Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons were down 29-11 near the midpoint of the second quarter before storming back.
During the 2019-20 campaign, SPU had a pair of impressive comeback victories. In a home game against Alaska Fairbanks, the Falcons were down by 14 at 26-12 late in the first quarter. By the fourth quarter, they had built a 22-point lead on the way to an 83-70 victory. Then in a late-season game at Western Oregon, Seattle Pacific was down by 12 in the first quarter. Despite finishing with its three leading scorers on the sidelines with injuries – two of which happened during the game – the Falcons pulled out a 55-53 win on a Natalie Hoff buzzer-beater.
The 2020-21 season was the most unusual in SPU's history because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Games didn't start until mid-January, and the Falcons wound up just a 14-game schedule. Their final record of 7-7 included a 66-61 homecourt victory against GNAC power Northwest Nazarene. They took Western Washington, always one of the conference's top teams, to overtime in Brougham Pavilion before falling two points short, 59-57.
Last season, the Falcons got off to a 3-0 start, including a 54-52 victory against West Region opponent Humboldt State. Then, they opened GNAC play with a 69-65 victory against a Central Washington team that would go on to win the conference tournament title and advance to the NCAAs.
In the GNAC Tournament, Seattle Pacific rolled past Alaska Fairbanks in the play-in round, 78-48, before falling to Alaska Anchorage in the quarterfinals, 57-50.
Before taking over the head coaching role, Simonson served as the lead assistant coach for two seasons under Heisey.
Simonson came to Seattle Pacific in 2016 after nine years in various positions with the Washington State University men’s program.
At WSU, Simonson started out as a student manager. He then moved up to head student manager / video coordinator. After a stint as video assistant, he became the program’s coordinator of operations.
His time with the Cougars included five years working under head coach Ken Bone, who was the head men’s coach at Seattle Pacific for 12 seasons (1990-2002).
During Simonson’s two seasons as the lead assistant, Seattle Pacific went 19-11 in 2016-17, then jumped to 23-8 last season, playing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament title game and qualifying for the NCAA West Regionals.
A native of nearby Edmonds and a 2006 graduate of Meadowdale High School, Simonson graduated from WSU in 2011, earning a degree in social sciences with an emphasis on history.
When he’s not focusing on basketball, Simonson enjoys running. He and former SPU star and assistant coach Suzanna Ohlsen trained for and then raced in the 2017 Seattle Marathon.
MIKE SIMONSON'S COACHING LEDGER
Season Overall Pct GNAC Pct. Standings Postseason
2018-19 8-19 .296 7-13 .350 8th None
2019-20 8-20 .285 6-14 .300 8th None
2020-21* 7-7 .500 0-0 .000 Canceled None
2021-22 12-18 .400 7-11 .389 7th GNAC quarterfinals
* Season shortened due to COVID-19. No GNAC schedule. No postseason tournaments.