Peglegs RB/LB Aiden Bailey Commits to Play College Football at D2 Monroe, Highlighting Program’s Growing Recruiting Focus

After a dominant senior season, Peglegs running back and linebacker Aiden Bailey has committed to continuing his football career at Monroe University, an NCAA Division II (D2) program in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, on a full scholarship split between an academic award and an athletic grant. This commitment marks a major milestone for both a budding young player and a Stuyvesant football program expanding its recruiting presence amid continued improvement on the field.

Bailey, a two-year varsity starter, earned PSAL All-3A Conference honors as a running back after rushing for over 800 yards on 112 carries and seven touchdowns. He also played a significant role defensively as the team’s first option weakside linebacker, recording 27 tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions, including a pick-six in a 35-18 win over Lehman Campus.

Offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Cameron Simerau, who has coached Bailey since he was a sophomore on Junior Varsity, says that Bailey is just as impressive off the field as he is on it. “[He is] a guy that you know, without question, is always going to empty the tank for his teammates, and beyond that, just a phenomenal young man that is as real as they come. [He is] a natural leader whose soft-spoken nature lends to his words holding weight and leading by example,” Simerau said.

Monroe, a New Rochelle, NY-based institution with a student population of roughly 8,000, is in the middle of a significant transition: it is moving from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA, colloquially JUCO) to the NCAA D2 level this fall for the 2026-27 academic year. Long established as one of the stronger junior college programs in the region, Monroe has used its JUCO platform to send players to NCAA programs at all three division levels. Now, with its D2 debut on the horizon, the Mustangs have already begun collecting talent from the New York City area, including A. Philip Randolph running back and linebacker Ahmed Toure, whom the Peglegs faced in the playoffs this past season in a 50-14 loss. Bailey will be joining Toure at Monroe, where the team hopes to successfully make the leap to the next level.

Bailey’s rise at Stuyvesant was not immediate, but developed through opportunity and adjustment, as he eventually became a productive and reliable contributor. As a junior, he was unexpectedly thrust into the starting role at running back, a sudden change that forced Bailey to quickly adapt as a key piece of a rising 3A team in active playoff contention. He finished with a respectable 428 yards on 82 carries and five touchdowns, but it was not enough, as the Peglegs finished 4-4 and missed the playoffs on a coin toss.

The ending of that season stung, but rather than letting it fester, Bailey used it as fuel to support a regimen of intense offseason training to return better. “Last year, we fell one step short of playoffs, and everyone kind of had a big chip on their shoulder, especially myself, when I felt that if I was better, then I could have had a better season, or we could have gone to the playoffs,” Bailey said. “So from there, I started putting in as much effort as possible, whether it was spring ball or winter workouts, whatever it took to get back.”

Simerau saw that shift firsthand, and credits it not to anger, but to Bailey’s focus and dedication to improvement. “The thing I love the most about Bailey is how even-keeled he stays,” he said. “His success in his senior season had little to do with any pent-up frustration. It had everything to do with him embracing a growth mindset, and being laser-focused on his own development.” This mindset and resulting improvement proved very beneficial for Bailey, as it helped attract the interest of several college programs, believing it would serve him well at the next level. That trajectory culminated in his offer to Monroe, which he officially committed to in February.

Beyond his own success, Bailey’s commitment is the most visible sign of a broader shift in how Stuyvesant football is positioning itself. The program has become increasingly intentional about connecting its players with college opportunities, and it is starting to show. During the current NCAA Contact Period, several D1 programs, including Cornell, Villanova, Stony Brook, and Lehigh, have all come to Stuyvesant for in-person visits with Class of 2027 prospects, with more expected in advance of the last day of school. Simerau, when asked about the possibility of more students receiving offers, was very optimistic. “Since the football season ended, I’ve had contact with literally hundreds of college coaches from all over the Tri-State and coast to coast about our Stuyvesant Football student athletes,” Simerau said. “Based on college interest and conversations I’ve had with college staffers, I anticipate at least seven or eight Class of 2027 student athletes having opportunities to continue their playing career at the college level if they so choose. I anticipate at least another four to five will draw similar interest in our ‘28 class.”

The pipeline is already visible in the underclassmen around Bailey. Junior lineman and co-captain Yonatan “JD” David holds an offer from D3 Carleton College and has been invited to several D1 Ivy recruiting events, including Cornell’s junior day. Junior wide receiver and safety Isaac Sprung is another Pegleg drawing Ivy-level interest, having already gone to multiple gameday visits. Both are part of a generation of Stuyvesant players for whom a path to college football is increasingly real, in large part due to what Bailey has achieved. “In the moment, you don’t really think what you’re doing has an impact on Stuyvesant history or others around you, but it’s really cool to think about how all of this is paving the way for Stuy recruits in the future,” Bailey said. Simerau acknowledged that Bailey is indeed paving the way, and believes that influence to be exactly the point. “He is an example of a four-year player in our program who has shown younger guys what is possible, and we all cannot wait to see it come to us in the future,” he said.

For Stuyvesant football, the excitement feels appropriate. Despite producing high-level football talent in the past, including the likes of racial pioneer Dave Myers and Rose Bowl-winning lineman Lance Olssen, the program has long operated in the shadow of the school’s academic identity, a perception that has often underestimated its football history and upside. Though on-field struggles have occasionally reinforced that perception, recent results suggest a shift might be underway. With a playoff berth and multiple All-Conference and All-City selections last season, the Peglegs are beginning to reestablish themselves both within the school community and as a competitive program more broadly. Simerau expressed that he sees no contradiction between academic excellence and athletic success at the school. “In my eyes, Stuyvesant’s academic reputation and the potential for sustained success on the football field go hand in hand,” he said.

Bailey’s commitment, in many ways, symbolizes a program trying to reclaim and redefine what Stuyvesant football can be. For now though, the program is simply proud of one of its own. David, who has watched Bailey lead both on and off the field throughout their time together, summed it up plainly: “[Bailey] is a phenomenal leader who always steps up when you need him and has an amazing heart,” he said. “I’m confident he’ll do great things at Monroe.” Simerau was equally effusive. “All that to say, we are darn proud of Aiden Bailey,” he said. “And it’s safe to say there will be some Stuyvesant gear in the stands at Monroe beginning this fall.”