Prep Rally: St. John Bosco was the surprise of the baseball season
Going into the 2025 baseball season, St. John Bosco was hardly on anyone's mind as a potential Southern Section Division 1 champion. It was going to be the super team, Corona, or last season's runner-up Huntington Beach. But coach Andy Rojo built the most consistent team of all, going 27-4, eliminating Corona 2-0 in the semifinals, then enduring nine innings to defeat Santa Margarita 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Miles Clark in the Division 1 final.
There were so many big moments by big-time players in the Division 1 final. Few were more impressive than St. John Bosco closer Jack Champlin, who saved the Braves' win over Corona and then threw four scoreless innings against Santa Margarita with key strikeouts in moments of pressure. He may become a starting pitcher next season, but he's got a future as a closer because of his ability to thrive under pressure and his complete confidence in being able to do the job.
The Division 2 final saw West Ranch defeat Mater Dei 2-1 behind pitcher Hunter Manning. Here's the report.
Manning finished 10-0 on the mound and is headed to UC Irvine.
The drought is over for Granada Hills softball. After losing heartbreaking championship games to Carson the last two seasons, the Highlanders beat the Colts in the City Section Open Division final 11-2. Here's the report.
Norco ended the softball season No. 1 in Southern California after a 3-0 win in the Southern Section Division 1 final over El Modena behind pitcher Coral Williams, who threw a one-hitter. Here's the report.
The Southern California regional playoffs for baseball and softball begin Tuesday, continue Thursday and end Saturday. Here's the baseball pairings. Here's the softball pairings.
Led by a talented group of freshmen athletes, Servite won the state championship in boys track and field in Clovis on Saturday. Long Beach Wilson won the girls title.
There were terrific individual performances, from Jack Stadlman of Temecula Valley winning the 400 meters to Leo Francis of Santa Margarita going 25-feet plus to win the long jump. Jayden Rendon of Carson wion the 300 hurdles. Here are the complete results.
Here's the report from Clovis on the finals. Here's a closer look at Servite's Fab Four.
Jaden Soong, a freshman golfer at St. Francis, thrives under pressure.
'I will say I like pressure,' he said.
Twice in the last two weeks, he's won playoffs to keep his season going. But the story of his first playoff win is comedy at its best.
He had left the Temecula Creek golf course at the individual championships after concluding he had failed to qualify for the SCGA regionals and had stopped at Jack in the Box while headed home. Then he got a phone call from a friend: 'Hey dude, we're in a playoff.'
He was 17 minutes away and needed to be back at the course in 10 minutes. 'We hauled it,' he said. Thankfully, there were no police cars in the vicinity as he was driven back to the course.
The playoff had started when he arrived. Players were in the fairway. He had no time to change into his golf shoes, so he played in his Nike Air Force shoes. He got a par on the first hole, then a birdie to win the playoff and advance. Last weekend, he won another playoff to reach the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.
He's ready for anything.
Brady McHenry of Buena won the SCGA Southern California regional championship with a playoff win to be the No. 1 qualifier for the state championships Tuesday at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods, won his first juniors tournament. Here's the report.
The Bradford family in Manhattan Beach loves volleyball and everyone is tall. Here's a look at their love for volleyball and big shoes.
Mira Costa won the first state Division 1 championship with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-21 win over San Jose Archbishop Mitty. Mater Dei defeated Buchanan 3-1 to win Division 2. Sage Hill won Division 3 with a 3-0 win over International.
Here's the Daily Pilot report on Mira Costa winning against Huntington Beach the previous week.
With major league baseball seeking to increase Black player participation, St. John Bosco has five Black players starting on its championship team. Here's a report.
Lots of SoCal players are participating in the NCAA baseball playoffs. Here's a look.
Brentwood sophomore to be Shaelen Sheppard has been selected to be on the U16 USA Basketball national team. . . .
Austin Maziasz, a standout basketball player at Westlake, has committed to Johns Hopkins. . . .
April Schilling is the new girls basketball coach at Oak Park. . . .
Capistrano Valley has begun building a new $21.5 million football stadium that is supposed to be completed by the spring of 2026. . . .
Chris Allen has resigned as baseball coach at Charter Oak. . . .
The JSerra doubles team of Brady Schaefgen and Riley Anson won the Southern Section championship. Freshman Andrew Johnson from Palos Verdes won the singles title. . . .
Roy Walker Jr., an assistant basketball coach at Westchester, has been hired as Taft's new basketball coach. . . .
Dee Pinkard is the new girls' basketball coach at St. Bonaventure. . . .
Mark Bowman, the top tight end in California if not America, has committed to USC. He was supposed to be a junior this coming season at Mater Dei but changed his classification to the class of 2026.
Irvine University won the state Division 1 tennis championship.
Griffin Canning is the best pitcher in the history of Santa Margarita. He led the Eagles to the 2014 Southern Section Division 1 championship, went on to star at UCLA and became a starting pitcher for the Angels.
But this season he's enjoying a breakthrough pitching for the New York Mets. He's 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA.
Here's a story from 2014 on how Canning pitched Santa Margarita to the Division 1 title.
Here's a story from 2015 on the 'Griffin Canning rule' in the Trinity League.
From Projectplay.org, a story looking at a survey of parents whether their kids will become pro athletes.
From the Washington Post, a story on how a gymnast ended up getting a track and field scholarship.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on three L.A. students who earned college scholarships by caddying.
From Spectrum News1, a story on USA volleyball using the 2028 Olympic Games to boost the sport.
From the Los Angeles Times, a look at how the state track championship was affected by the participation of a transgender athlete.
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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: There will be a ton of talent at wide receiver this high school football season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. Let's take a sneak peek at receivers and tight ends to watch this fall. If a college team was able to sign the receivers from Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, there would certainly be some future pros in that group. Those two schools have great depth this season with quality receiver after quality receiver. Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. is supposed to be back from injury for Mater Dei. He'll be joined by another Ohio State commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Gavin Honore is a Georgia commit. Add tight end Mark Bowman, a USC commit, and you have a special group. St. John Bosco has Texas A&M commit Madden Williams, Oklahoma commit Daniel Odom, San Jose State commit Carson Clark and super sophomore DJ Tubbs, among others. Junior Quentin Gates and senior Jalen Ross are top targets for quarterback Jaden Jefferson at Cathedral. Mission Viejo has Miami commit Vance Spafford joined by Santa Margarita transfer Jack Junker. Santa Margarita has the Mosley brothers, Trent, a USC commit, and sophomore Grant. Orange Lutheran returns Chris Flores Jr., who caught 60 passes last season, and promising junior Nico Bland. Also available is Loyola transfer Markus Kier, a Princeton commit. USC commit Luc Weaver of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has improved his strength and speed and is set for a big senior season. Sierra Canyon has USC commit Ja'Myron Baker. Troy Foster of Huntington Beach is coming off a junior season in which he caught 65 passes, 15 for touchdowns. James Leicester of Dana Hills had 13 TD catches. Damani Porras of Downey will be a key weapon for quarterback Oscar Rios after catching 15 TDs as a sophomore. Alijah Royster of Oxnard Pacifica made a huge impact as a sophomore with 13 touchdowns. Jordan Slye of Salesian is a talented two-way player entering his sophomore season. Long Beach Poly returns Kamarie Smith. Jaylen Stokes from St. Pius-St. Matthias had 16 TD catches. Jack Cunningham returns as Ventura's go-to receiver. In the City Section, Paul Turner, a transfer from Palmdale, joins Birmingham and could provide a lift for the Patriots after 15 TD receptions last season. Palisades has picked up one of the fastest athletes in the state in Bishop Alemany transfer Demare Dezeurn. It's also a terrific year for tight ends with Mater Dei's Bowman and Servite's Luke Sorensen, a Nebraska commit, leading the way. There's also 6-5, 230-pound Keawe Browne of Corona Centennial and 6-3, 235-pound Jaden Hernandez of Long Beach Poly. Andre Nickerson of Inglewood and Beckham Hofland of Los Alamitos are committed to Southern Methodist and Boise State, respectively. Bishop Montgomery's Caleb Tafua is a Texas A&M commit. Freshman Austin Miller of Bellflower is 6-4 and an impact first-year player. When it comes to special teams, Mira Costa is feeling it has a trio to turn to. Kicker Nico Talbott, punter/holder Jackson Shevin and long snapper Jackson Reach offer experience and talent for coach Don Morrow, who's going into his 37th season as a varsity head coach, 33 years at Mira Costa. Here's the report. Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara had his team participate in the Long Beach Poly passing tournament Saturday. He was asked if he remembered how to get to Poly. 'No,' he joked. It was a homecoming for Lara, who graduated from Poly and was football coach for 13 years, winning five Division 1 titles. Here's the report. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame had two former players taken in the MLB draft, making it 29 players since 1993 chosen during the Tom Dill coaching era. The Knights have had more players selected before that, including Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell and Tim Foli, who was the No. 1 pick in 1968. . . . Corona ended up with four players taken in the draft after Ethin Bingaman was taken in the 20th round by the Diamondbacks. . . . Mira Costa senior pitcher Garrett Jacobs has committed to UCLA. . . . USA Baseball announced the 88 players invited to its 18U national team training camp. Here's the list. Ontario Christian girls basketball standouts Kaleena Smith and Tatiana Griffin will compete in August in the Overtime Select women's basketball league. Both will be captains. . . . Former Villa Park principal Dr. Kenneth Miller is the new executive director of athletics at Mater Dei. Here's a release from the school. . . . The Southern Section announced its final transfer totals for the 2024-25 school year, and there were a record 7,099 transfers. That provides a strong indication that when the final state transfer total is released, it will exceed 17,000 for the second straight year. The CIF continues to debate whether there needs to be changes to its transfer rules, such as a one-time free transfer. But a proposal is months, if not years, away from from being introduced. . . . . Orange Lutheran's baseball team has added two big-time LSU commits as transfer students in 6-foot-5 pitcher Cooper Sides from Red Buff and infielder CJ Weinstein from Huntington Beach. . . . CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti is set to become president this school year of the National Federation of State High School Assns. . . . . The AAU Beach Volleyball Player of the Year is Mira Costa sophomore Christian Chow. His sister, London, won the same award in 2012. . . . Kenneth Bell is the new boys basketball coach at Arleta. . . . Mike Minjares is returning for a second stint as baseball coach at St. Bonaventure. . . . Windward girls basketball coach Rachel Schrote has resigned to pursue other coaching opportunities, according to athletic director Tyrone Powell. She will be replaced by assistant Dante Dixon on an interim basis for the upcoming system. It's a difficult coaching position dealing with parents and expectations. . . . SoFi Stadium will be the site for several high school football games the week of Aug. 21-22. South Hills has confirmed it will face El Rancho on Aug. 22. Mayfair and Yorba Linda are also expected to play in one of the scheduled games. . . . Former JSerra and UCLA Cody Schrier is performing well in the minor leagues for the Miami Marlins. The 13th round draft pick in 2024 is batting .270 this season having played for two teams and has 22 stolen bases. Here's a story from 2019 about the Schrier brothers facing off in high school. From the Washington Post, a story on a travel basketball team that's a social media sensation. From UWHuskieswire, a story on former Gardena Serra and UCLA tight end Caleb Wilson. From a story on former Corona High standout Brady Ebel taking batting practice at Dodger Stadium as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: Top Southern California high school running backs to watch this season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. Let's take a sneak peek at running backs to watch this fall. As much as everyone likes to pass these days in football, the running backs are the ones that can lead to victory or defeat. If you can't run, you probably won't win on a night the line can't protect the quarterback. The City Section has two running backs coming off fantastic sophomore seasons in Edward Rivera of South East and Ceasar Reyes of Garfield. Both have been working hard this summer to improve their speed and strength. Reyes could benefit from a new all-weather field opening at Garfield. Journee Tonga of Leuzinger is the little engine that could. He rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 29 touchdowns as a 5-foot-8 junior. Brian Bonner of Valencia and Deshonne Redeaux of Oaks Christian are speedsters committed to Washington and USC, respectively, and capable of breaking away for touchdowns if defenses give them any kind of openings. AJ McBean of Mira Costa is a 205-pound bruising junior running back with improving speed and power. Maliq Allen of St. John Bosco showed moments of brilliance as a sophomore and gained 1,003 yards rushing. Jaxsen Stokes of Sierra Canyon showed he was a big-play weapon in the making as a sophomore. Justin Lewis has taken his talents from Thousand Oaks to Mater Dei, so let's see how the transition goes. Sean Morris, a Northwestern commit, has left Loyola for Orange Lutheran. Noah Penunuri of Rio Hondo Prep had 1,965 yards rushing. Zander Lewis has moved from Ontario Christian to Corona Centennial, joining leading rusher Braylin Drake and super sophomore Malaki Davis. Jorden Wells moves from the freshman team to varsity at Servite. His speed could make immediate impact. Kevika Martinez of La Habra is coming off a sophomore season in which he gained 1,021 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. There are other transfers that must fill out paperwork to decide whether they will be eligible immediately or have to sit out the first part of the season. The summer passing season ended Saturday with Mission Viejo once again being best behind quarterback Luke Fahey. The Diablos went 7-0 in the Edison seven-on-seven tournament. Here's a report. Santa Margarita, under first-year coach Carson Palmer, made its first appearance and there's lots to like about what the Eagles will have available this fall, from an all-star coaching staff, to the Mosley brothers, Trent and Grant, to new quarterback Trace Johnson. The season opener matching Mission Viejo against Santa Margarita on Aug. 22 is shaping up as the best opening football game this fall. Hamilton is planning for big improvement after a 2-9 rookie season for coach Elijah Asante and has a freshman quarterback, Thaddeus Breaux, who Asante is calling 'The Franchise.' Here's the report. The City Section wants its perpetual football trophy back from Narbonne, which has to vacate its 2024 title for rules violations. Unfortunately, the trophy is apparently missing again. This is a repeat from when Narbonne had the trophy in 2018 and it went missing until being found in a dumpster in 2021. Here's the report. Several of Southern California's best girls' flag football players will be competing this weekend at the NFL Flag Championships beginning Thursday in Canton, Ohio. They're playing for an all-star club team representing the Chargers from Southern California, the Conquer Chargers. Madi Lam, who will be a senior at Santa Margarita, is the team's talented quarterback. Also on the team is Hayli McIlroy from Crean Lutheran, a receiver and defensive back, and center Shelby Nguyen from Marina. Two recent graduates are key players — Sophie Guitron from Mira Costa and Aaya McLyn from Long Beach Poly. It was a big Sunday for Corona High baseball, becoming the first high school to have three first-round draft picks. Pitcher Seth Hernandez was taken No. 6 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shortstop Billy Carlson was selected No. 10 by the Chicago White Sox. Third baseman Brady Ebel went No. 32 to the Milwaukee Brewers. Here's a report. Kevin Smith, the former baseball coach at South Hills and Mt. San Antonio College, is the new head coach at Los Altos. ... Mike Voelkel has stepped down as baseball coach after 18 seasons at Palisades. He no longer has a field after the school put temporary bungalows on the field for the next five years to help the campus recover from damage of the Palisades fire. ... Running back Brian Bonner of Valencia committed to Washington. ... Harvard-Westlake baseball coach Jared Halpert and athletic director Matt LaCour will be in Atlanta on Tuesday to watch former Wolverines Max Fried and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the MLB All-Star Game. Here's a report. . . . A double first base will be required beginning in 2027 for all high school baseball games. Here's the latest rules changes. ... Electronic communication by softball players have been clarified in new rules for the sport. Here's the report. ... Gary Meek, who was a Hall of Fame football coach at Esperanza, died on Thursday. He was 76. He was head coach for 17 years, won two section titles and was inducted into the Southern Section Hall of Fame in 2023. ... St. Bernard guard Joshua Palmer has committed to UC Irvine. His father is UCLA assistant Rod Palmer. ... Sierra Canyon's basketball program has added 6-foot-7 Brannon Martinsen from JSerra and 6-2 DeLan Grant from St. Francis. ... Jason Crowe Jr., the standout basketball player at Inglewood, is scheduled to announce his college choice on Friday. ... Jason Edgmond has resigned as girls basketball coach at Beckman. ... Eddie Arnett is the new athletic director at Ontario Christian. ... Redondo Union has an opening for softball coach. ... Mathis Dritz, one of the top girls basketball players in Ventura County last season at Westlake, has transferred to Fairmont Prep. ... Receiver Jonah Smith of Santa Margarita, a UCLA commit, will miss his senior season because of a knee injury. ... Cameron Chinn is the new baseball coach at Los Alamitos. He's a former Edison coach. ... It appears that Palisades' football team won't be able to use its home stadium this season. The team has scheduled three home games at Santa Monica College. Troy Williams, a two-time City Section player of the year from Narbonne in 2011 and 2012, is helping coach at El Camino College this summer with his former offensive coordinator, Tim Kaub. Williams plays quarterback for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League. Here's a story from 2011 about Williams' potential. Here's a story from 2012 about Williams' continuing progress. From the Washington Post, a story on a high school hiring a former NBA player as its general manager for basketball. From a story on the rise of Max Fried with the New York Yankees. From the New York Times, a story on how youth sports is a $40-billion business. From a story on former St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez at Columbia. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Corona graduate Brady Ebel. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
New York Times
13-07-2025
- New York Times
Chicago White Sox first-rounder Billy Carlson is used to playing in the spotlight
Over the last two years, few high school baseball programs have garnered more attention than the Corona (Calif.) Panthers. California state champions in 2024, the Panthers came into this season with a chance to make history as the first high school program to have more than two players selected in the first round. Advertisement At the center of all of that success was shortstop Billy Carlson, a local kid who not only led the Panthers on the field but also recruited several of his teammates into the program. Now, he'll be working to bring similar success to the Chicago White Sox as their first-round pick. Coming off that state title in 2024, the Panthers finished the 2025 regular season ranked first in the state but lost in a CIF Southern California semi-final upset to St. John Bosco. It was a disappointing ending to Carlson's Corona career, but overall it was a dream four years for him and the program, which he helped bring to prominence. A Corona native who spent all four of his high school years at the school, Carlson became a recruiter for the program, helping to convince Seth Hernandez — the consensus top high school pitcher in this year's draft and the No. 6 selection — to transfer to Corona for his final two years at the school. Two other 2025 draft prospects, Brady Ebel and Ethin Bingaman, also transferred into the program. With several more high-profile prospects in the pipeline, the Corona program should continue to be in the national conversation even after this season. 'It was a lot of attention but it was good for the city of Corona and for the high school,' Carlson said at the MLB Draft Combine in June. 'Hopefully Corona has a lot of good years coming ahead.' Carlson came into the season as one of the top high school shortstop prospects in the class. Scouts kept a close eye on him all season, but he had the benefit of not being the only player on his team that scouts were coming out to see. 'It's been cool to lean on them if it gets sometimes overwhelming, because it can be,' he said. 'Every single practice, there's at least one scout there with eyes on you. So there's never not eyes on you. I think it's helpful to have four other guys going through it with you. I could see how it can get really overwhelming if it's just you by yourself, kind of going through that.' Advertisement That said, Carlson and his Corona teammates used the attention as way to keep themselves sharp throughout the season. He lived up to the all of the preseason expectations, hitting .365 with six homers and 34 RBIs in 31 games as a senior. 'We kind of enjoyed the attention. We kind of thrived off of it,' he said. 'If anything, it helped us because you're always playing with something on the line.' Like many star high school shortstops, Carlson was a two-way player, using his plus arm strength on the mound as well as from the six-hole. He showed major-league potential as a pitcher, hitting 97 mph with his fastball, but is adamant that his future is on the dirt. Offensively, Carlson hit for average and got on base at an above-average clip his last two seasons at Corona, and he showed enough in-game power that he projects 'to get to 20-plus homers if he can shorten up his swing enough to make consistent contact,' according to The Athletic's MLB Draft expert Keith Law. On Law's final top 100 draft prospect Big Board, Carlson ranked 11th. Among high school position players, he ranked fourth. Carlson has a college commitment to Tennessee, but he's not likely to get to Rocky Top. 'I think (professional baseball) is the next big step in my career,' he said. Whether it's in professional baseball or at Tennessee, Carlson is excited to take advantage of the training and coaching resources at those advanced levels. Though the 6-foot-1 Carlson spends a lot of time off the field working on his conditioning, he isn't looking to break any lifting records at the weight rack. 'If having big legs was the key to hitting bombs, I'd probably be last in line for that,' Carlson joked. His work in the weight room is more intentional, focused on core strength and flexibility. 'I like to tell teams this, that I'm like a greyhound dog. I'm not really like a pit bull so training like a pit bull isn't too smart for me. I think that could ruin what makes me good,' he said. Advertisement That core strength and flexibility has helped him become a plus defender at shortstop, so advanced that he had a stranglehold on the position at Corona even with Ebel — another top shortstop prospect — on the Panthers' roster. Law called Carlson 'a wizard on defense, with great instincts, range in both directions, and excellent hands, along with at least a 70 arm (on the 20-80 scouting scale).' 'I feel like if you are doing good training, it's going to show up on the field,' Carlson said. (Phot: Tracy Proffitt / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
