Canyon

CANYON BOYS

The Coach

2022 Schedule

Head coach Ali Monfared. PHOTOS BY DAN WATSON / THE SIGNAL

2022 Roster

# Name Year Position

0 Tyler Best

12 F 1 Reese Valdes 12 G 2 Lincoln Phillips 12 F 3 Kobe Ennis 12 G 5 Ryan Maejima-Gonzalez 12 G 10 Carson Rodi 12 15 15 Daniel Goshen 12 G/F 20 Collin Kusumi 11 F 21 Eric Kubel 10 G 23 Steven Sorrow 11 G 24 Tyler Miller 11 G 25 Sean Hernandez 10 F Nov. 14 at Lancaster 6 p.m. Nov. 15 Santa Paula 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17 Highland 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at Quartz Hill 2 p.m.

Nov. 21-26

San Gabriel Tournament TBA Nov. 29 at West Ranch* 6:30 p.m. Dec. 1 Verdugo Hills 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6 Golden Valley* 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at Valencia 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 Newbury Park 5 p.m. Dec. 19 at La Cañada 6 p.m.

Dec. 26-29

Damien Tournament TBA Jan. 3 Castaic* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at Hart* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at Saugus* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 13 West Ranch* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16 Oak Hills (MLK Classic) TBA Jan. 20 at Golden Valley* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at Valencia* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at Castaic* 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 Hart* 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 Saugus* 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

2022 Schedule The Coach

Nov. 16 at Oxnard 7 p.m. Nov. 22 Chaminade 5 p.m. Nov. 29 at West Ranch 5 p.m. Dec. 6 Golden Valley 5 p.m. Dec. 8 Buena 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 Valencia* 5 p.m. Jan. 3 Castaic* 5 p.m. Jan. 6 Hart* 5 p.m. Jan. 10 at Saugus* 5 p.m. Jan. 13 West Ranch* 5 p.m. Jan. 20 at Golden Valley* 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at Valencia* 5 p.m. Jan. 27 at Castaic* 5 p.m. Jan. 31 Hart* 5 p.m. Feb. 3 Saugus* 4:45 p.m.

* Foothill League games Head Coach Jessica Haayer. PHOTOS BY DAN WATSON / THE SIGNAL

2022 Roster

# Name Year Position 2 Aaliyah Garcia 12 G 4 Aneesa Sayan 11 G 5 Brielle Miller 12 G/F 10 Aaliyah Peart 11 G/F 11 Jade Sims 12 G 12 Arianna Rodriguez 11 G 21 Koko Booker 11 F 22 Lanie Rafkind 10 G 23 Jose Regez 11 G 24 Taylor Mathis 9 F

Canyon Girls Are Ready to Defend Their Title

By Justin Vigil–Zuniga

Signal Sports Writer

The Canyon girls have an opportunity to go backto-back in 2023. However, the team knows nothing comes easy in the Foothill League.

Canyon will return four of its five leading scorers from last year as well as its top rebounders. One of those returners is point guard Aaliyah Garcia, the 2021-22 Foothill League Player of the Year.

Garcia averaged 12 points, five assists and 2.6 steals a game for the Cowboys last season. The senior is familiar with a ton of the players around her, giving her a high level of confidence heading into the season.

Garcia is gearing up for her final run in a Canyon uniform with talented players surrounding her.

“I think we all have good pieces and we work really well together,” said Garcia. “There’s a little bit of everything on our team and I think that’s important going into this year.”

Shooting guard Josie Regez is a scoring machine and will fill the backcourt alongside Garcia. Senior Jade Sims is another Cowboy looking to have a big year. Sims is an athletic guard who can score inside and outside. Junior Koko Booker will provide an interior threat for the team.

The four returners each finished with over two steals a game last season.

Canyon head coach Jessica Haayer will lead the charge with 10 returners to the team. Outside of her strong returning class, the coach believes she may have a rising star in freshman Taylor Mathis. Sophomore Laney Raskin will move up from JV and add more depth to the Cowboy backcourt.

Haayer recognized the challenges of not just winning in the Foothill League, but also repeating as league champs.

“I think the hardest place to be is where we’re at,” said Haayer. “When you have a target on your back, I think that’s the hardest place to be. I tell them often, ‘You’re in the worst spot. You won last year so everyone wants to get you. No matter who it is, no matter where they finished last year, you have to play with everything every single day.’”

Haayer believes her team has matured a ton through last year’s playoffs and this offseason. Canyon’s stars have now all gotten a taste of the postseason and have a better understanding of getting back to that point.

“I feel really confident,” said Regez. “Last year was really good and I think we can improve on what we did last season.”

Canyon is well aware of their height disadvantage they may seemingly have. The Cowboys are preparing to be ready for any opposition despite their size.

“We’re small so I think rebounding is our big focus this year and making sure we control the boards even though we might not have the height advantage,” said Regez.

Even with their size, the players will be ready to snag rebounds from bigger players and push the ball up the court.

“We’re really scrappy and better than other teams,” said Sims. “We go out on the floor and try and crash the boards as hard as we can. A lot of people underestimate us because we’re small but some people say, ‘You’re small but mighty.’”

Fans can expect the same gritty Canyon defense. The Cowboys will be pressing and hitting teams with man-to-man and zone defenses. Last year, Canyon held opponents to just 43 points a game and finished with an average point differential of over 11 points on the season.

The Cowboys have scrappy defenders and crafty playmakers. They’ll still be playing team basketball, sharing the rock, working the ball inside and finding open shots. This will be the Canyon formula for big things.

“Offensive wise, we’re just trying to move the ball and let everyone get theirs,” said Booker. “We all want the best for each other. We have a lot of seniors this year so this is the year we want to get the ring and win everything.”

Canyon has the pieces for another league title year. The team will have plenty of obstacles in its way on the road back to the top and time will tell if Canyon can repeat. Either way, the group is a tight-knit team.

“They love each other and that’s what I always sell as a coach,” said Haayer. “If you learn to want to play for each other and want to win for each other that’s going to be hard to beat because you have each other’s back. I truly feel super tight with all of them.” 

Canyon Looking to Build Off 2022 Breakout Season

By Justin Vigil–Zuniga

Signal Sports Writer

The Cowboys surprised plenty of people last season with their impressive (18-9, 8-4) campaign.

Canyon will now look to make the jump up at least one spot in the Foothill League.

Third-year head coach Ali Monfared will be at the helm for his alma mater. Monfared has been preaching defense and rebounding to his 2022-23 team.

“We have a great group of guys that are willing to work every single day,” said Monfared. “And really we have three goals right now: to get better every single day, to limit our turnovers and to defend and rebound in every possession. So, I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Senior Lincoln Phillips will lead Canyon into battle and will be a focal point for the Cowboys on both sides of the floor.

“I think this year we’re really going to be able to push the ball and I think we’ll surprise people more on the offensive side,” said Phillips. “We’re a lot smaller than we were last year but I think this year we’ll be able to do more with each other.”

Phillips thinks his team’s speed will stand out among other teams. After all, Canyon has had little to no offseason and has been in the gym or conditioning every day the team can.

Senior returners Carson Rodi, Daniel Goshen and Ryan Meajima-Gonzalez will have big roles on the squad.

Tyler Best will be another key player for the Cowboys. The senior loves his team this year and thinks the offense will showcase a little bit of everything.

“We have scorers all around the court,” said Best. “We have knockdown shooters and people that can go inside, kick outside, go backdoor. We’re confident about all of it.”

One of those shooters is sophomore Eric Kubel, who transferred from Paraclete. Kubel is one of the best shooters Monfared has been around and will be one of several perimeter threats for Canyon.

The Cowboys were also blessed with the incoming transfer of Tyler Miller from Taft. Miller is an athletic junior who will likely make an immediate impact.

The team graduated three AllLeague seniors and will also be without senior guard Reese Valdes. Valdes is a four-year varsity player, who will miss his senior year with a torn meniscus. The senior will still be with the team, bringing his competitive spirit to practice and games.

“Our team is unselfish and we are always looking for ways to get better, which will help us improve as the season goes on,” said Valdes.

Monfared believes all 12 of his players can impact the game. The Cowboys will be able to bring great energy, being well-conditioned on top of being 12 players deep.

“You’re going to see that this team is going to show up every night,” said Monfared. “Their identity is that they’re going to out-compete and outwork you. No one is going to outwork Canyon.”

Monfared preaches gritty defense so opposing teams can expect full-court press for the entirety of games.

“We’re going to be tenacious on defense,” said Best. “We’re going to be all up in people’s faces and we’re going to make it tough for them to get up the court.”

For the head coach, it’s the only way Canyon knows.

“We could have a group of guys that were here last year, or not here last year. We’re always going to start by playing great defense. That’s our mantra here,” said Monfared. “It’s been that way since I’ve been here. I’ve been a player here. We’re going to defend and rebound and we’re going to let that be our identity as we move forward.”

Canyon has the makings of another strong season as well as a strong future. The seniors will lead while the young core will fill in the blanks. The team goals are clear: Make it back to the playoffs. The Cowboys haven’t gotten into the playoffs in back-to-back years since 2014. Canyon has a great chance to return to the postseason. The physical defense, strong inside-outside game, shooting and depth will power this balanced Cowboys squad throughout the season.

More than anything though, Canyon wants to win.

“The guys are hungry and the guys are really excited,” said Monfared. “I’m really excited and I think people are going to be surprised. I think people are going to be surprised at what we’re going to do this year.” 