Former Decatur High School and Federal Way High School point guard Michael Hale III will continue his basketball career in Texas in the fall.

The 5-foot-9 Hale recently committed to play at the University of Texas-San Antonio next season. Hale is currently a sophomore at Northern Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene.

Hale had a stellar career at Northern Idaho, a national junior college basketball powerhouse. He led the Cardinals in scoring this season at 17.9 points per game and earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) second-team All-American honors for the second consecutive year.

Hale helped lead the NIC men’s basketball team to a 50-13 overall record the past two seasons and a Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) title last year. As a freshman, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals a game, helping Northern Idaho finish eighth at the NJCAA National Tournament.

The University of Texas-San Antonio made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this season. The Roadrunners beat Alabama State in the First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, 70-61. Texas-San Antonio was then blown out by the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 75-46, as a No. 16 seed.

The UTSA Roadrunners have won three Southland Conference tournaments and three regular season championships. The team has made three NCAA Tournament appearances in its history.

Texas-San Antonio will join the Western Athletic Conference, which includes schools like Fresno State, Utah State and Louisiana Tech, on July 1, 2012.

Hale chose UTSA over programs like Utah, Hawaii, Creigton, Montana, Portland State and Idaho.

Hale transferred to Federal Way High School from Decatur before his senior season and led the Eagles to the program’s first-ever Class 4A state championship. Federal Way downed Garfield in the 2009 state title game after rolling to the South Puget Sound League and West Central District championships.

Hale averaged 14.4 points a game and led the SPSL in assists at over seven per game as a senior.

The trip to the 2009 state tournament was Hale’s third during his prep career. He was the starting point guard at Decatur during his sophomore and junior seasons.

While at Decatur, Hale was a first-team, All-SPSL selection after averaging 14.2 points, three rebounds and five assists. He was an All-SPSL second-teamer after his sophomore season.