Latest news with #PrepRally
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: These offensive linemen will be throwing their weight around this season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. This week, with official football practice beginning on Monday, let's look at the players who never pass up doughnuts, steaks or pancakes — the offensive linemen. Those with ambitions of winning football championships know it starts with the offensive line. In the City Section, Birmingham has weaknesses to fix, but a big, experienced offensive line that will create openings for two promising running back transfers will be key to the Patriots' City title hopes. Leading the way is junior Pablo Granados, an improving 6-foot-4, 280-pound left tackle who started as a sophomore. San Pedro returns two All-City linemen in David Medina and Quincy Couch. Banning has Erick Hernandez, a 6-5, 260-pound senior. Kai Wheeler is a 6-2, 320-pound senior offensive tackle from Crenshaw becoming more agile and stronger. Mater Dei went unbeaten in the Southern Section last season aided by a strong offensive line, and two of the Monarchs' top blockers return in Kodi Greene and Lex Mailangi. Servite might have the best sophomore lineman in Elisha Mueller. Alabama commit Sam Utu leads an experienced Orange Lutheran line that includes junior Lucas Rhoa. Josh Haney at JSerra, Niniva Nicholson at Santa Margarita and Kaden Franco at St. John Bosco round out an impressive group of blockers in the Trinity League. Cooper Javorsky, a UCLA commit at San Juan Hills, had a great off season to surge as a player and prospect. Andre White at Rancho Cucamonga and Elisha Faamatuainu of Murrieta Valley are big men to watch in the Inland Empire. Dylan Felli of Mission Viejo is the key blocker for quarterback Luke Fahey. Blake Graham of Leuzinger is a 280-pound battering ram. As high school football practices begin Monday, three downtown Los Angeles high schools, Contreras, Roybal and Belmont, are trying to deal with the effects of ICE raids in the community. Summer practices have been disrupted. Coaches have been trying to keep players safe and calm fears of parents. Here's a look at the fears and obstacles ahead. Drone operators, managers and athletic trainers. As football practices begin Monday, coaches are relying on unsung contributors to help them manage programs. Here's a look. There's lots of challenges among City Section coaches, but the only way forward is to focus on players you have, teach them, allow them to have fun and prepare them for life ahead. Here's a look at why City coaches have stopped fighting and started sharing stories and ideas to move forward. The Westchester Del Rey softball team will be competing in the Little League World Series in North Carolina this week. Here's the report. . . . Quarterback Deuce Jefferson from Long Beach Poly has committed to Weber State. . . . Corona High first-round draft picks Seth Hernandez, Billy Carlson and Brady Ebel received a combined $16,235,900 in signing bonuses. . . . Warren graduate Angel Cervantes, a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced he would be attending UCLA. The hard-throwing Cervantes will be a key addition to the Bruins' pitching staff. The deadline to sign a pro contract is 2 p.m. on Monday. Here's the report. . . . The Perfect Game All-American Game will be held Aug. 17 at Petco Park. Among the players selected for the West team is outfielder Blake Bowen of JSerra, infielder Trey Ebel of Corona, outfielder Isaiah Hearn of Chaminade, outfielder Anthony Murphy of Corona, pitcher Logan Schmidt of Orange Lutheran and outfielder Eric Zdunek of Orange Lutheran. . . . Joseph Nava is the new wrestling coach at Santa Margarita. Ivan Buich, a former USC assistant, is the school's new boys water polo coach. . . . Defensive lineman JD Hill of Mission Viejo has committed to Northern Arizona. During her prolific high school basketball days at Windward, Jordin Canada said she wanted to become a nurse. Basketball, though, has taken up much of her time, from UCLA to spending eight years in the WNBA. This season she's playing for the Atlanta Dream, averaging 10 points a game. The former Los Angeles Times player of the year was at the beginning of the rapid growth of girls' basketball in the Southland. Here's a story from 2013 when she was The Times' player of the year. Here's a video from 2013 on Canada's guard skills in the state championship game. From a story on former Mira Costa third baseman Kyle Karros. From a story on a sportswriter switching sides. From Burlisononbasketball, a story on late summer basketball movers. From BaseballAmerica, a story on UCLA coach John Savage trying to keep building without lots of transfers. From a story encouraging multi-sport athletes in high school. 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
21-07-2025
- Sport
- 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
- Sport
- 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.
Los Angeles Times
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: A sneak peak of our breakdown of Southern California's top quarterbacks
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It's time to start previewing top football players for the coming season. The Times' nine-part series looking at each position begins Aug. 12, but let's start providing a sneak peek. Quarterbacks can be broken down into three groups — exceptional returnees, rising players entering their senior seasons and newcomers with potential. Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park returns for his senior year having thrown 147 career touchdowns. Bryson Beaver of Vista Murrieta surged in the off season as a college prospect before committing to Oregon after passing for 3,214 yards. Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo is an Ohio State commit with big ambitions for his senior season. Brady Edmunds of Huntington Beach enters his junior season after passing for 3,222 yards as a sophomore. He's also committed to Ohio State. Corin Berry of Charter Oak passed for 3,034 and committed to Purdue. Oscar Rios of Downey is committed to Arizona and one of the best passers and runners. Jackson Taylor of Thousand Oaks committed to Boise State. Alexander Lundsberg of Anaheim Canyon was one of the state leaders in passing at 3,646 yards. Travis Frazier of Esperanza is a 6-foot-4 senior who passed for 2,600 yards. Ryan Hopkins of Mater Dei moves from JSerra as one of the fastest quarterbacks in the state and is a Wisconsin commit. Koa Malau'ulu of St. John Bosco should continue his rise after a freshman season that saw him get the Braves into the Division 1 final. Wyatt Brown moves from Santa Monica to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame ready to test himself against Mission League competition. Cathedral's Jaden Jefferson had 2,641 yards and 30 touchdowns as a sophomore. Edison's Sam Thomson led his team to a state title as a sophomore. Santa Margarita turns to Tulane commit Trace Johnson, a transfer from Florida. Agoura gets back from injury Gavin Gray, who had more than 1,100 yards passing in four games. Chaparral's Dane Weber completed 67% of his passes as a sophomore. Dominik Hardy of Calabasas passed for 2,100 yards as a sophomore. Deshawn Laporte of Burbank had 2,600 yards passing as a sophomore for a 9-3 team. Joseph Mesa of Paraclete passed for 3,414 yards and 30 touchdowns. Isaiah Arriaza of Damien passed for 2,892 yards and was Baseline League MVP. Russell Sekona of Leuzinger is coming off a freshman season in which he passed for 1,600 yards. Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran might be the best football/basketball athlete in the Southland entering his junior season. Jacob Paisano of Hart and Brady Bretthauer of Valencia are both senior quarterbacks with strong arms and proven performances from the Foothill League. The City Section could have its best collection of quarterbacks in years, led by Eagle Rock's Liam Pasten, who had 3,602 yards passing last season. There's also Chris Fields at Carson, Jack Thomas at Palisades, Elijah McDaniel at Dorsey, Diego Montes at Kennedy, Seth Solorio at San Pedro and freshman Thaddeus Breaux at Hamilton. Speaking of freshmen, the class of 2029 quarterbacks look promising. Evan McCalister of Valencia, Ezrah Brown of Orange Lutheran and Marcus Washington of Cajon have already made positive impressions this summer. In girls flag football, Makena Cook of Orange Lutheran, injured during the girls' soccer season, is expected back this fall to lead the defending Southern Section champion Lancers. Here's the report. San Pedro is up to nearly 30 players going out for flag football. The Pirates have lost in the City Open Division finals the last two seasons. King/Drew is joining the Pirates in the Marine League this season. It's my favorite week of the summer, because Edison's Battle at the Beach seven on seven passing tournament is set for Saturday. The 9 a.m. games are some of the best matchups, with Cathedral vs. St. John Bosco and Edison vs. Santa Margarita. St. John Bosco, Mission Viejo, Santa Margarita, Servite, Los Alamitos, Palos Verdes, Long Beach Poly and L.A. Cathedral are among the schools scheduled to participate. Mission Viejo gets the favorite nod, having beaten Mater Dei in its own tournament on June 28. Action starts at 9 a.m. and ends by early afternoon. Bring a lawn chair, then sit back and enjoy lots of outstanding skill-position players. Ocean View is hosting its own tournament on Saturday. The transfer portal continues nonstop. Matt Smith, who took over starting quarterback duties during last season's playoffs as a sophomore, has left Loyola for Villa Park. Two other Loyola players have also left, defensive back Brandon Lockhart to Sierra Canyon and running back Sean Morris to Orange Lutheran. The Cubs have lost at least eight players since January. Richard Dunn, a linebacker and running back who was All-City selection as a freshman at Hamilton, has transferred to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Jordan Spigarelli, a 6-foot-3 junior quarterback, has left JSerra for Newport Harbor. Here's the transfer tracker. Rivals Garfield and Roosevelt will unveil new football fields and stadiums this fall. Construction could be finished by the end of this month. Here's a report. Unsung defensive end Andrew Williams of Fremont should serve as inspiration for City Section players this season after committing to USC last February. It's a story that gives others hope. Here's the report. The Section 7 tournament in Arizona revealed lots of top boys basketball teams for the coming season. Among the teams winning bracket championships were Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Crespi, Crean Lutheran, Sierra Canyon and Orange Lutheran. Among the new stars emerging were junior Davy Harris of Windward and junior NaVorro Bowman of Notre Dame. Bowman received a scholarship offer from UCLA. Brentwood's girls' team made a positive impressive at the CaliLive competition. Guards were standouts in the CaliLive boys competition. Jason Crowe Jr. (Inglewood), Luke Barnett (Mater Dei), Joe Sterling (Harvard-Westlake), Kaiden Bailey (Santa Margarita) all indicated they are ready for big senior seasons. Notre Dame or St. John Bosco will be the the No. 1 team to start the season. Transfers have moved into Crespi, JSerra, Campbell Hall, Sierra Canyon, La Mirada and St. John Bosco, adding to already talented teams. But plenty more transfers are expected before school begins next month. Cleveland has added St. Bonaventure's Charlie Adams, who was a star freshman last season. The MLB amateur draft begins Sunday in Atlanta, and it should be a good draft for Southern California products. Corona pitcher Seth Hernandez and Corona shortstop Billy Carlson are both likely first-round picks, if not top 10 picks. Hernandez was the Gatorade national player of the year and is a two-time player of the year by The Times. Great Oak infielder Gavin Fien is another likely first-round selection. Shortstop Quentin Young of Oaks Christian is another potential first-round pick. Pitcher Angel Cervantes of Warren, a UCLA commit, is expected to be taken in the first three rounds and sign. Here's a look at ESPN writer predictions. Here's an MLB mock draft. Also, for the first time, two Harvard-Westlake grads have earned spots in the MLB All-Star Game. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and Max Fried of the New York Yankees can wear their old Wolverine caps. Good things happen when volleyball players from Loyola and Mira Costa join together. The MB Surf club team won the 18 Open division championship at the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Florida. It's owned by Loyola coach Mike Boehle. His sons, Parker and Davis, coached the team. The MVP was Mira Costa's Andrew Chapin. All-tournament picks included Grayson Bradford from Mira Costa and Blake Falbusch from Loyola. MB Surf also won the 12 Open division title, so watch for future Loyola and Mira Costa players. Kendall Omoruyi, the top-ranked girls' volleyball player from the class of 2027, has enrolled at Sierra Canyon. She's a Nebraska commit who attended Casteel High near Phoenix. Jackson Eisenhower, the pitcher of the year in the Mission League from Crespi, has committed to Colorado Mesa. . . . Megan Hall has become an athletic director at Harvard-Westlake. She previously was at Notre Dame Academy. . . . Defensive end Richard Wesley of Sierra Canyon, previously committed to Oregon after a fancy social media video of taking a swim with Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, has committed to Texas. . . . Huntington Beach receiver Troy Foster has committed to Colorado State. . . . Crespi defensive lineman James Moffat has committed to Princeton. . . . Cathedral receiver Jalen Ross has committed to Idaho State. . . . Corona Centennial offensive lineman Jakob Mckindley has committed to Northern Arizona. . . . Servite tight end Luke Sorensen has committed to Nebraska. . . . Mission Viejo defensive back Jeron Jones has committed to Washington. . . . Khary Wilder, the standout defensive lineman from Gardena Serra, has committed to Ohio State. . . . Offensive lineman Mateo Bilaver of Chaminade has committed to UNLV. . . . Kyle Sanders, a 6-10 sophomore at St. Bernard, has transferred to Campbell Hall. . . . Trinity League boys basketball has decided to hold a post-regular season tournament and will play each league team once during the regular season. . . . Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has completed a project adding new bleachers to its gymnasium. . . . AJ Garcia, the former football coach at Ayala, is the new athletic director at Chino. . . . Former Bishop Montgomery and UCLA guard David Singleton is the new assistant coach at UCLA. . . . Joe Hoggatt, the baseball coach and athletic director at Bishop Amat, is leaving to become an assistant commissioner with the Southern Section. . . . The City Section is up to 85 schools planning to have flag football teams this fall. . . . Jesse Mercado is the new boys basketball at Villa Park. . . . Here's the All-CIF softball team. . . . Senior Kai Staniland of Ventura has committed to Point Loma Nazarene for women's basketball. . . . The South Bay will be the site for the LA Throws Cup on Friday. . . . A new skatepark has opened in San Juan Capistrano. . . . Nico Young was the premier distance runner in Southern California running for Newbury Park, and now he's one of the best in the world. He set an American record in the 5,000 meters on June 12, running 12:45.27. Here's a story from 2019 on his climb through the high school record books. Here's an interview from 2020 with Young discussing the future after the pandemic ended his season. From a story on Long Beach Poly's campus beginning a six-year, $450 million upgrade. From a story on the rise of former Harvard-Westlake outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Chatsworth guard Alijah Arenas discussing his accident. From a story on the rise of former Thousand Oaks shortstop Jacob Wilson, who made the All-Star Game. 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
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: Pitcher Seth Hernandez of Corona is The Times' baseball player of the year... again
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. It's awards time for high school baseball and softball. Pitcher Seth Hernandez of Corona is The Times' baseball player of the year for the second consecutive season. He improved on his performance and put together a two-year run in which he went 18-1. Here's a profile on the impact he made. The Times' All-Star baseball team includes Quentin Young of Oaks Christian. He moved to shortstop and hit 14 home runs. Here's a look at the All-Star team. The coach of the year is St. John Bosco's Andy Rojo, who guided the Braves to their first Southern Section Division 1 championship along with the Southern California Division 1 regional championship and their first Trinity League title since 2017. Here's the report. Here's the final top 25 rankings by The Times with St. John Bosco at No. 1. Oklahoma-bound Kai Minor of Orange Lutheran is The Times' softball player of the year. Here's the report on the impact she made for the Lancers. Here's The Times' All-Star softball team. The Times' coach of the year is Rick Robinson of Norco. He put together a team of young and old and guided the Cougars to the Southern Section Division 1 championship. Here's the report. Dorsey football coach Stafon Johnson used to be a star running back for the Dons and USC. He knows all about running the ball, so there was a little comedy seeing the Dons playing in a seven on seven passing tournament at Western High. Except Johnson has embraced the passing game with the arrival of quarterback Elijah McDaniel, a sophomore transfer from Warren. And Johnson's son, Deuce, is a standout junior receiver. So the Dons will be active this summer in passing tournaments. Not that Johnson wouldn't prefer to run the football. He'll never lose his love for seeing running backs gain yards. City Section coaches had their annual meeting at the Rams' locker room at SoFi Stadium to discuss changes and updates for the fall season. It was announced that View Park Prep won't have a football team this season, leaving Metro League teams scrambling to fill games. Former L.A. Jordan quarterback James Boyd, who was the City Section player of the year, is the new head coach for the Bulldogs. He's 33 years old. Here's a look at more City Section football news. . . . La Serna won the Los Altos passing tournament. Orange Lutheran won the Chargers tournament using three quarterbacks. Schurr won the SGV tournament. Offensive lineman Sam Utu of Orange Lutheran has committed to Alabama. . . . Defensive back Derrick Johnson of Murrieta Valley has committed to Oklahoma. . . . Safety Logan Hirou of Santa Margarita has committed to UCLA. . . . Offensive lineman Cooper Javorsky of San Juan Hills has committed to UCLA. . . . Tight end Beckham Hofland of Los Alamitos has committed to Boise State. . . . Former Gardena Serra defensive lineman Robert James has changed his commitment from Fresno State to UCLA and will play for the Bruins this fall. . . . Former Orange Lutheran linebacker Talanoa Ili, now at Kahuku, has committed to USC. . . . Defensive lineman Kingston Schirmer of Corona Centennial has commited to Cal. . . . Tyler Lee of El Camino Real was chosen the City Section player of the year in boys volleyball. Here are the complete All-City teams. . . . Shalen Sheppard of Brentwood won a gold medal representing the USA U16 national basketball team. He'll be a sophomore. . . . Luke Howe of El Camino Real is the City Section player of the year in baseball. Here's the complete All-City team. Addison Moorman of Granada Hills is the City Section player of the year in softball. Here's the complete All-City team. DeAndre Cole is the new boys basketball coach at Compton Centennial. . . . Jake Tatch of JSerra has been selected the Gatorade state player of the year in boys soccer. He's headed to Michigan. . . . Oaks Christian water polo coach Jack Kocur is the head coach for the USA Junior National team at the World Aquatics U20 Water Polo championships this summer. . . . Deon Green is the new girls basketball coach at Chino. . . . Chaminade has decided to add a flag football team. . . . St. John Bosco closer Jack Champlin has committed to Washington. . . . Former Servite star Max Thomas of USC finished second in the 100 meters at the NCAA track and field championships and helped the Trojans, coached by former Taft great Quincy Watts, win the NCAA title. . . . The Fairfax basketball tournament originally scheduled to be held this week at Fairfax High has been changed to Pan Pacific Park. Thousand Oaks grad Max Muncy, the 'other' Max Muncy, is getting hot in his return to playing for the Athletics. He got recalled from the minor leagues and started showing power. He's playing third base while his former Thousand Oaks teammate, Jacob Wilson, is the shortstop. Muncy graduated in 2021 and Wilson in 2020. Here's a story about Muncy and Wilson being together at Thousand Oaks. Here's a story from 2021 on how Muncy kept improving to become a pro prospect. From the Washington Post, a story on an adaptive tennis program making a difference. From a story on how to start archery as a P.E. program. From the Los Angeles Times, a look back at the life of former Verbum Dei star David Greenwood. Prep Rally will take the next two weeks off and return on July 7. 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.
