Admission of UC Irvine’s Top Recruit Is Still Pending

Kevin Simmons, UC Irvine’s top basketball recruit, said Wednesday he has passed his college entrance exam but is still waiting to see if he will be admitted to the university.

Simmons, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward from Brooklyn (N.Y.) Tilden High, said he scored a 790 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test on his third attempt in June.

He failed in his first two attempts to reach the minimum score of 700 required by the NCAA to play college sports.

Irvine Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said the university admissions office is waiting for verification of Simmons’ test score, as well as transcripts from his summer school and New York state aptitude exams.

“That information will dictate whether Kevin is eligible,” Guerrero said, adding that he’s not sure when the admissions office will receive Simmons’ scores.

Simmons said he was recently notified of his SAT score.

“Kevin brought his score up 200 points from the second time he took it,” Tilden Coach Eric Eisenberg said. “He took an SAT prep course, and that helped him prepare (for the third test).”

However, Simmons must pass some core classes before he could be eligible, Eisenberg said.

Also, he must pass basic skills tests, required by New York state, in subjects such as history and English before moving on to college. Simmons said he recently took those tests and is awaiting the results.

Simmons led Tilden (19-7) to the quarterfinals of the state tournament last season, averaging 21 points, 17.1 rebounds, five blocked shots and 4.2 assists.

Basketball Weekly magazine ranked him among the top 65 prep recruits last year.