Welcome to the first annual Bay Area 75 — SportStars’ countdown of the top 75 Bay Area athletes from the 201213 school year. This is the second of three unveilings of a list that had to be refined several times before we were convinced we had it right. Our staff considered athletes from all nine Bay Area counties who compete in sports which culminate in sanctioned section titles. Those were the only stipulations. When it was over, our list included at least one athlete from each county and had 14 different sports represented. All sports fans know that rankings are an opinion, and certainly subjective. They also spark debate and conversation,
which is why we love them. As you look through this 25, we welcome you to share your thoughts on how we’re doing and who you expect to see when our Top 25 is unveiled on July 18 both online and in the pages of Issue 69. Email us or reach out to us on on Facebook or Twitter (@sportstarsmag, #bayarea75) If you missed the first 25 athletes on the list, Nos. 75-51, see them by clicking HERE. We hope you enjoy this installment. Let the debate continue! —Chace Bryson, Editor Editor@SportStarsOnline.com
Kylee Perez
Marcellus Pippins
Alhambra-Martinez, Softball, Senior The East Bay’s most complete offensive player put up video game numbers: .618 average with 12 home runs, 51 RBI and 46 runs scored to lead the Bulldogs to a 23-3-1 record. She will be heading to UCLA.
El Cerrito, Football/ Basketball, Senior Anchored the secondary for a Gauchos football squad that made it to the NCS final where it lost in the final seconds. Was the 2nd-leading scorer on basketball team which also reached the NCS finals.
Joe Mixon Freedom-Oakley, Football, Junior The Falcons running back enjoyed a spectacular 2012 that catapulted him into the national spotlight. He had 1,442 yards and 20 TDs on only 201 carries. He also had 383 yards and six TDs at wide receiver. He’s now a 5-star recruit with over 50 offers from top colleges.
Julia Maxwell Branson-Ross, Cross Country, Junior Simply the best female cross country runner in the Bay Area, she defended her NCS Div. V title and then won the Div. V state crown with the fastest Bay Area time by any female. She had third-fastest time of any female regardless of division.
Joe Lang St. Ignatius-S.F., Football/Lacrosse, Junior He helped lead the Wildcats to the CIF Div. I Regional Bowl where he caught a 55-yard TD. In the spring, he achieved AllAmerican status in lacrosse with 70 goals and 58 assists and earned WCAL MVP.
Keller Chryst Palo Alto, Football/ Basketball, Junior The son of 49ers quaterbacks coach, Geep, Chryst was named SCVAL-De Anza MVP with 2,489 passing yards and 28 TD with 11 INT, good enough to be selected for the ESPN Elite 11. He was the basketball team’s starting center, leading the Vikings to a 23-1 record before being injured. Palo Alto lost all three games in his absence.
Kendall Smith Deer Valley-Antioch, Basketball, Senior Along with Marcus Lee, Smith led the Wolverines to their best season ever with a trip to the CIF Div. I NorCal final. He averaged 22.5 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds. His standout games include a 47-point effort in a double OT win against Sacramento and, battling an injury, a gritty 17-point, 8-rebound effort in the NorCal final.
Kenneth Olugbode Bellarmine-San Jose, Football, Senior The Bells linebacker punished offenses in 2012, leading the team with 92 tackles. He also played running back and compiled 10 TD as Bellarmine reached the CCS Open Div. final before losing in overtime. He’s heading to San Jose State.
Gaby Steiner Branson-Ross, Volleyball, Senior She led the Bulls volleyball team to a 37-1 record and a fourth-straight CIF Div. V state title. She had 31 assists, 7 digs, 4 aces in the final and finished her season with 770 assists, 184 digs, 49 aces (93.1 serving percentage). She was named All-State Div. V co-MVP and a Small Schools All-American.
Sven Campbell Campolindo-Moraga, Swimming, Senior Campbell helped pace the Cougars to a record ninth-straight NCS swimming title, helping the cause by winning three events [200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and the 50 freestyle). He also set three NCS records (200 MR, 400 FR, 100 Back (trials)].
Curtis Ogren
David Hsu
St. Francis-Mountain View, Swimming, Junior The Mercury News Swimmer of the Year won and set records in two events at the CCS Meet of Champions. He had recordsetting swims in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Breast, with the latter being a national independent (private schools) record.
Lynbrook-San Jose, Tennis, Junior Hsu crushed the competition in the CCS singles tournament, dropping just nine games over three matches as he won his first title. His undefeated season has him ranked No. 11 for the 2015 class via TennisRecruiting.net
Gabriella Cantrell San Leandro, Track & Field, Junior The fastest girl in the Bay Area won three gold medals at the NCS Meet of Champions (100, 200, 4x100 relay) in May. She followed that performance a week later with three bronze medals in the same events at the CIF State Championships.
Darrell Daniels Freedom-Oakley, Football, Senior Daniels beasted on both sides of the ball for the Falcons in 2012. He caught 54 passes for 947 yards and 11 touchdowns, and also carried the ball 40 times for 332 yards and 6 TDs. Oh yeah, he also returned three punts for touchdowns. On defense, he picked up 38 tackles with 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. He’s ticketed for Washington.
Erik Montes Richmond, Soccer, senior The offensive juggernaut scored 37 goals (tops in the East Bay) and had 15 assists (fourth in the region). He led Richmond to a 22-5 record and the NCS Div. I semis where they suffered a heartbreaking OT loss to San Ramon Valley. He was named the East Bay Player of the Year by Bay Area News Group.
Marquis Morris De La Salle-Concord, Track & Field, Junior With a time of 13.90 seconds, Morris took gold medalist honors in the CIF state 110 high hurdles. He also owned the nation’s top time in the 300 hurdles before getting disqualified at the NCS Tri-Valley Championships (a qualifier for the NCS Meet of Champions).
USTA NorCal
Nikko Villarreal Gilroy, Wrestling, Junior He left little doubt as to whether he’d defend his state title. Villareal breezed through his CCS competition, winning all six matches by decision. He was named the Mercury News Wrestler of the Year with an overall record of 42-2.
Kat Klass San Ramon ValleyDanville, Water Polo, Sophomore Led team to the NCS Div. I title, scoring four times in final (a 7-1 win). She finished season with 132 goals, 47 steals and 20 assists. That caught eye of USA Women’s Cadet National team where she was named a training group member. She was also AllNCS Div. I MVP and EBAL MVP.
KC Waters Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, Basketball, Senior An inside force, Waters was All-State 1st-Team Elite with averages of 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Cal-commit shone in the CIF Open Div. final with 12 points and 20 rebounds against previously undefeated Windward-LA. O’Dowd finished ranked No. 1 in the state (CalHiSports.com) and No. 7 in the nation (MaxPreps.com).
Alexa Vandevanter San Ramon ValleyDanville, Soccer, Senior SRV won its first title since 2009 thanks in large part to Vandevanter, who set up the winning goal in the NCS final (a 1-0 win over Monte VistaDanville). SRV went 20-0-6. Vandevanter finished the season with 8 goals and 3 assists before being named an NSCAA All-American, Bay Area News Group East Bay Player of the Year and EBAL MVP.
Jeramy Sweany Vacaville, Wrestling, Junior Compiling a whopping 51-1 record, Sweany obliterated his opponents all season. The Sac-Joaquin Section champion won all five of his CIF state matches, two by pin, and captured the state title in the 195-pound division.
Annie Shurtz Campolindo-Moraga, Volleyball, Senior With 500 kills, 54 blocks and 49 aces, Shurtz led the Cougars to NCS and CIF Northern Regional Div. III titles. Her stats were strong enough to help her be named the Bay Area New Group East Bay Player of the Year and All-State Div. III according to MaxPreps.
Joe Protheroe Clayton Valley charterConcord, Football, Senior Protheroe was a dominant two-way player for an NCS Champion Eagles team which lost to Oakdale in the CIF Div. II Regional Bowl. He ran for a school-record 3,044 rushing yards (12.88 per carry) as the team’s offensive catalyst. On defense, he racked up 36 tackles, two interceptions and one blocked kick. He’s heading to Cal PolySan Luis Obispo.
Jazmyn Jackson Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Softball, Junior This First-Team All-State shortstop put up staggering numbers for the Monarchs: A .542 average with 52 hits, 7 home runs, 41 runs and 22 extra-base hits. She led the team to an undefeated regular season record and was named the Mercury News Player of the Year.
Jared Goff Marin CatholicKentfield, Football, Senior Goff is headed to Cal in the fall after two seasons of being one of the Bay Area’s most prolific quarterbacks. In 2012 he threw for 3,692 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 332 yards and 8 TDs. He led the Wildcats to the CIF Div. III State Bowl and provided an electric performance (262 yards, 5 total TDs) in a 38-35 loss to Madison-San Diego.
The march to No. 1
continues Find out who's Nos. 25-1 on July 18 in the magazine and online at SportStarsOnline.com