NorCal Issue 221, July 2023

Next Year Is Now

Well, Sports Fans, we’ve reached the end of another summer. How did school get here so quickly? Seriously, there are Sac-Joaquin Section football games just weeks away. The 2023-24 sports year is now. Hope y’all got your rest in.

Our June issue celebrated the many highlights of the 2022-23 school year, and this issue puts the cherry on top. We pay tribute to one of our two NorCal Teams of the Year, the Oakland Tech girls basketball team, and we release our annual Bay Area 75 Athlete Rankings.

I’ll start with a few quick words about the NorCal Team of the Year piece. Right after the release of our last issue, we nominated four boys and four girls teams for a fan vote to determine NorCal’s best overall team from last school year. The vote lasted about a week on our website before moving to knockout rounds on social media.

It got com-pet-it-tive!

After a total of 10 days we had a boys and girls winner. Oakland Tech girls hoops got the most votes of any team, and Davis boys soccer was our second winner. Both teams were awarded their own oral-history episode on our SportStories Podcast. You can listen to the Oakland Tech one now on our website. And if you want to get a feel for what it was like, you can read approximately the first 30 minutes or so starting on Page 8.

We just finished recording the episode with members of the Davis soccer team, and that will be released sometime during the first week of August.

Now, let’s move on to the Bay Area 75. This year marks our 11th edition of the athlete rankings, and we haven’t skipped a year. We even had ones for both COVIDinterrupted school years.

I don’t want to spoil too much for anyone, but this year’s list has more than a few “firsts.” And it’s fitting that I opened this column noting that the ’23-’24 year is already underway. Because if you enjoyed ’22-’23 as a fan, there’s a lot to be excited about after viewing this year’s Bay Area 75. There are more underclassmen in this year’s rankings than ever before. Including three of the top five.

It certainly leaves us fired up for what’s ahead. We hope it does the same for all of you. ✪

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6.27.14

Members of the Five Starz Volleyball Club form a pyramid during a SportStars photoshoot prior to the team leaving for USA Volleyball Girls Junior Nationals. Bottom row (left to right): Adlee VanWinden, Torrey VanWinden, Natassja Bowman and Mikaela Nocetti; middle row: Brie Gathright and Abby Jensen; top: Brooke Watson. James K. Leash photo

Jhai Johnson

Beginning in late June, SportStars began a fan vote to determine Northern California’s 2022-23 Team Of The Year for both boys and girls. After a contentious few weeks, Oakland Tech girls basketball and Davis boys soccer emerged as the winners. To reward and honor the winners, we made each the subject of their own SportStories Podcast episodes. Oakland Tech received the most overall votes and got to go first. The Bulldogs’ were nominated for the award after a 30-win season that culminated in the CIF Division I State Championship. In winning the title, the program extended its state playoff winning streak to 19 games dating back to 2019.

Joining us for the podcast were head coach LeRoy Hurt, assistant Jasmine Braggs, junior Taliyah Logwood and freshmen Terri’A Russell and Jhai Johnson. We’ve taken the first 30 minutes of the show and posted the transcript here in an oral history-style format that begins with recollections from preseason open gyms in September and spans through the CIF Division I NorCal final at St. Mary’s-Stockton in early March.

HURT: We started open gyms as soon as school started in August and September. And from the very first day, I just challenged the girls. I said, ‘Hey, we’re coming off of a state title win, but we’re bringing back a great team.’ I was focused on how do we stay hungry? And, what do they say, how do you keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing? So I just really challenged them with, ‘Let’s make somebody beat us.” And we said that from the first day to midseason to the playoffs … And I’ve said this before: It’s tough to win when you’re expected to win, right? So just from Day One, it just was our mission.

BRAGGS: Obviously, everyone had high expectations, but what do I remember seeing as I watched these girls kind of come together and work out? I was like, ‘We’re going to do it again.’ That was the very first thing. And being overconfident in the girls is one thing that I’ve always been. But when I saw them together, and it was one of the first times that I actually had seen Jhai on the court — it was amazing to see her. I had seen Taliyah, and I could see that her motor didn’t stop; she just keeps going. I was like, ‘We can’t lose.’ But there was ebb and flows, those ups and downs. But in that early time, I was like, ‘We could do this.”

LOGWOOD: Personally, I just feel like the chemistry was always there. Even though we had some freshmen and some more players coming in, we

just made them feel comfortable enough to just be themselves and play. And I feel like the vibes were always there. I knew we were going back for the three-peat.

JOHNSON: It was a little hard to get used to being on varsity, and getting used to the competition. But as the weeks went on, it was like we were starting to become a family.

RUSSELL: Coming in, I was just trying to get a feel for everything, being a freshman and all. So just to bond with the team and to just get to know each other more. And I also knew that things were going to be serious. So just come in, and just play my part and do what I need to do.

HURT: I don’t know if everyone knows this, but I’ve known both of those kids since they were 10 years old. So I was just lucky to not have to be introduced or have hiccups. They know me. I know them. They know I’m crazy ... It was a seamless transition.

HURT: We dealt with a little bit to start the year, had a couple of kids out for various reasons. So it kind of helped us work on our depth a little bit. I don’t think Taliyah played until Game 4. She also had a death in the family and missed an important game against Santiago (of Corona), who we ended up playing for the state title. Terri’A was late for a game, and I didn’t start her. Nia (Hunter) missed a game because she was sick. Erin Sellers was told she’d

LeRoy Hurt

had a fight, and didn’t have a fight, and had to sit out a game. So the start was pretty tough, you know. I said this before, our schedule I thought was just incredible. So win or lose, I thought playing those teams was getting us ready for what lay ahead, but just a lot. I mean similar to past years where the team kind of came together later in the preseason, then you work through your regular season and then you start your playoffs. So you always want to peak at the right time. And I can definitely say we peaked at the end of the school year, which was the right time.

HURT: It was a lot of ‘Hey, we’re good. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win. ... ‘Hey, we’re better than we were last year. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win. ... Anybody can beat us any day.’ And if you look at pretty much all of our games, we just had moments in those games where we were able to show what we can do and how good we were. And I challenged the kids, ‘Let’s take it! Take what’s yours.’ And I’m very proud that they did that. It was, I hate to say it, but last year’s team was championship or bust. Six seniors not here, dynamic young kids coming in. Taliyah and Jordan (Taylor), two of the carryovers that came back this year. And then obviously a little bit of luck. You got to have some luck to win.

BRAGGS: Man, I think (the Nike Tournament of Champions) was like a test to see how we compete with teams that we’ve never seen before? How is our chemistry? How does that move

forward and rate our character as a team? And it did, because we lost and the girls got upset. We had, like, a group pow-wow. All those things came together. And from that moment, it kind of set the course and the pathway to our victory at the end of the season. That’s where it started at. ... Coach Leroy is very humble, he’ll be like, ‘No, we’re good, but we still got to win. But I’m like, ‘No, we’re good and we’re GOING to win, right? And so I think that part of us failing or losing during that time in Arizona, it kind of helped us have a little bit of character to propel us forward.

LOGWOOD: That trip was just like, ‘Wow.’ It was just funny and fun. We went to dinner, had talks. We had a sit-down with everybody and just talked about our problems as a team to get through our issues. That trip was fun. There was a lot of funny moments.

RUSSELL: Well, I thought the tournament was great. We just went out and competed, played some good teams. I had a lot of fun.

JOHNSON: I don’t remember it that well, but I know it was a good team bonding experience and it really brought us closer. Like Talia said, we had a group meeting and we all expressed how we felt.

HURT: I just want to add the game we lost (to Cannon of North Carolina), we should have won. ... The other team was awarded 52 free throws, so it took 52 free throws for them to beat us. A

couple of people fouled out; we dealt with a lot. But we were right there, and taking nothing away from the other team. they won. As a matter of fact, they won the game. But we just thought that we easily could have won that game. So it was good. You want to lose early and win late, anyway. But it was the battle that we went through.

HURT: I don’t know what day (the team sit-down) was, but I have to tell you one story from that day. One of my kids was talking and I asked, ‘What did you say about me, two months ago?’ And the kid said, ‘Your breath stinks.’ I said, ‘I’m not talking about that. What?! Nobody is talking about that!’ And the whole room just fell out laughing. I was like, ‘Wow, somebody pass me a piece of gum.’ ... But it was a good meeting, where I’ll be honest, the kids were honest. And that’s what you want the kids to be. They were honest with that little thing I just told you. And the more serious stuff, they were completely honest. So it was a real good productive meeting. Sometimes things are said, but not heard. And I think with the players and coaches, some things needed to be said and they were. I said some stuff.

BRAGGS: (After tournament season) when we were in practice, Leroy would come up to me while the girls were doing drills, and he’d say, ‘How do we stay sharp?’ ... I’m like, ‘We’ve got to be consistent. They got to stay in condition.’ He literally asked me that question every day. ... And it came down to what we actually did in practice. We started to compete. It was like, if you all don’t compete, the losing team is going out to the track. And during that time, it kind of pumped us up. Sometimes you gotta get on each other’s nerves, or you gotta go at each other. And I think at that point, that’s when we saw that we have the ability to compete. That’s our job as coaches, right? It’s to cultivate and coach. That’s what we did. And we’re like, ‘You guys got to compete.’ And they showed up and were able to rise to the occasion with each other, which made it easier on the court when we were competing against other teams.

HURT: A lot of the teams we were playing played similar styles. They play the dribble-drive, right? And so I thought it was great to play San Ramon in the preseason, then get Cardinal Newman, and later on, play those same teams. And Pinewood and Carondelet later. They play very similar. So it was the best practice in the world to play that style. And I thought the kids executed very well when we played those teams, and we were able to take certain things away. So that was a major kind of moment for me, to play those teams, get it on film and look at what we did well and do it even better.

BRAGGS: LeRoy set up a great preseason. It was genius. It couldn’t have been written any better. Our preseason literally matched our postseason. It

Terri’A Russell

was phenomenal. There were no surprises.

LOGWOOD: Well, during that time (in midseason), a lot of our teammates weren’t humble. They just were doing what they were doing because they wanted to do it for themself. A lot were being selfish, and playing selfish ball. But when we all came together and played team ball, and were humble, and played as a team and together, we prospered. We did what we wanted to do as a team together. I don’t know, that was really a good highlight of our season when we came together and played together as a team.

JOHNSON: The San Ramon Valley playoff game. That was probably our highest energy game. The crowd had energy. The bench had energy. Everyone on the floor had energy, and we were playing good defense and we were doing good on offense. We were just playing as a team.

LOGWOOD: We weren’t together (when CIF brackets were announced), but LeRoy was telling us, ‘They’re either going to put us in D-1 or Open, so just be expecting that. And so when we got D-1, we were just like, ‘We expected that. So we just got to go handle business and win.’

HURT: There was a lot of discussion about where we were going to go, and I’ll say it again and I’m just telling the truth — I knew they weren’t going to put us in Open, and I said that. Because that would mean they would have had to admit we’re one of the best teams. And I just don’t think everybody was willing to say that out loud. But we were prepared to go to Open and

that would have put us on the road. And I thought we were going to Fresno to play Clovis West. That was the way I had lined it up. Until they went five teams North, five teams in the South. So you know, you don’t know where they’re going to put you, so you just play it out. ... Four or five years ago, I said we can’t say anything. We haven’t done anything. Put us where you want. Well, lately we’ve been saying, ‘Hey, you need to put us with those better teams. We’re playing them, and in this past year, we had some success against them. So people are now like, ‘Well, you’re going Open next year.’ But you’ve got to earn Open. They’re not just going to put you there. You got to beat some people. You gotta earn it. So we will go wherever they put us, but I think they’re going to err on the more competitive side moving forward.

HURT: (And after seeing the bracket) I just felt that if those teams could come to Oakland and beat us, they deserve to advance. And I just knew that that was going to be a tough out for anybody to come into our gym and beat us in the playoffs with a thousand people there and the kids are fired up. We were just going to be a tough out. So when I saw the bracket, I was like, ‘We just got to take care of business.’

LOGWOOD: (My biggest concern about us going into NorCals) was just taking care of the ball, finishing our shots and not getting in our heads. Just staying together. That was probably my biggest concern. Because prior to that, the two games that we lost, we just wasn’t playing together. Balls were

flying everywhere. People were in their heads. People were trying to shoot balls from half court, do their own thing. But when we came together and locked in, and were playing team ball, we won.

BRAGGS: We were a very aggressive team. And when we were on defense, all you heard was Leroy say ‘Don’t Foul.’ And you heard all of our girls say, ‘Sit’ and ‘Play defense’, or ‘Get your hands up!’ ... I know the referees knew that we were that aggressive team, but it didn’t mean that we were out of control. And how Taliyah is talking about when we came together and played as a team, and we held each other accountable, it worked because that defense took us all the way to the last game of the season.

LOGWOOD: I was probably more nervous for that St. Mary’s (NorCal final). I knew when we walked in there, I just felt the tension already when I walked in the door, I just knew it was going to be a great game. Winner takes it all. So we had to go in there and take it.

RUSSELL: I’ll also say the St. Mary’s game (brought more nerves). I felt like we didn’t come that far to lose. So I felt like, just that game, it was either that or nothing. So we took care of business and we ended up where we ended up.

HURT: It’s tough to beat a team three times, and us going down there and winning just meant the world. Because nobody really expected us to go to Stockton and win that game. And they took a lot of pride in that. And for me, that was our championship game. That was the moment.

BRAGGS: As a coach, you can look into your teammates eyes and you can see whether they’re like, ‘We’re going to do this, or we’re not.’ And those girls were like, ‘We’re coming here to win.’ They didn’t back down. They were in the zone. They had their headphones in, ate whatever candy, got their special socks on. They did it all. ... It was the third quarter, and they just took flight. And it was magical to see. It just started falling, and then they started believing, and then the shutdown was real. But in the beginning, on the way there, I saw the look in their eyes, and they were like, ‘If we’re going to do it, we’re going to fight till the end.’ And that’s what they did.

LOGWOOD: We’d watched film. We understood their defense and who can shoot the ball, who can’t shoot the ball, who was going to box out on the rebounds, or who was going to shoot the 3. We studied them and we adjusted.

RUSSELL: I feel like we just had the mindset coming into that game like, ‘We got to win.’ I feel like the first two times (against them) we had it, but I just felt like we didn’t take it like we were supposed to. So this third game, I feel like we actually knew what we needed to do coming into it. We wanted to continue. We wanted to go to the state championship, so we knew what it took. We did that.

LOGWOOD: We had people from our school come down to support us at that game. So just to see them there, I think that also gave us a boost, just seeing that support. And they want to see us win. So just for them to come down there and support us, that really helped us out a lot. And I really appreciated that.

HURT: We had several games where we started slow and then went through certain periods where we were just fantastic. Against St. Mary’s, it was just a message of ‘Stay the course.’ 32 minutes — the game is not won in the first quarter. We had a 16 point lead or so in the third quarter, you blink and it’s down to two, and then we got back up 11 or 13 to win. So you just stay in a moment and tell the girls our run is going to come. It was amazing to play these good teams and to really wear them down. And that’s what a lot of people have told us as a group and told me as a coach, ‘You guys just wear people down.’ Well, some days, yes. Some days we start slow, but it’s 32 minutes and like I said, it was a really unforgettable moment to go down there and beat them.

HURT: I wasn’t nervous at all (before the state final). Taliyah didn’t play in that first game against Santiago (in December). So for me, it was like we had an Ace of Spades who didn’t even play, and we’d beat them. So I knew that would cause some trouble. ... We were fast; we were tall; we could shoot the ball. So I just felt we could cause them some problems. ... I just knew that it was going to be tough for them, and we hadn’t played our best (the first time) because we didn’t even have one of our best players. ✪

It’s Our 11th Year Of Ranking The Bay Area’s Top 75 Athletes From The Previous School Year

Welcome to our 11th annual Bay Area 75 rankings — SportStars’ countdown of the top 75 Bay Area athletes from the 2022-23 school year.

Covering high school sports in the Bay Area continues to be luxury that we vow never to take for granted. The talent that we’re able to witness over a 10-month stretch every year is truly remarkable. Every year when we build this list, we marvel at the final list of names and shake our heads at the many names that have come before them. This year was no different.

As always, our only criteria used in generating the list is that the athletes must compete at a school from within one of the nine Bay Area counties, and they must have played in a sport which culminated in a sanctioned section title or reached a national-level of success (i.e., won a national championship or been named to a youth national team).

All sports fans know rankings are an opinion, and certainly subjective. They also spark debate and conversation, which is why we love them. So don’t hesitate to give us your thoughts. We’re looking forward to it.

75. DANI LEE (University-San Francisco) Volleyball

The sophomore setter led all of NorCal with 1,155 assists — a number which also ranked her 3rd in the state, among stats reported to MaxPreps. Lee also delivered 41 kills, 170 digs and 96 aces for a Red Devils team that finished 28-7 and reached the North Coast Section Division III final and the CIF Div. II regional finals.

74. JAZLYN ALCANTAR (Encinal-Alameda) Basketball, Softball

This sophomore delivered the goods both on the hardwood and the diamond. Through 14 reported games, Alcantar led the Jets basketball team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, and was the team’s second-leading rebounded at 7.1 per night. She also added 3.2 assists and 3.3 steals. Meanwhile, her softball prowess landed her on the San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro 1st Team after hitting .500 with 42 RBI.

73. ELLIE BUCKLEY (Campolindo-Moraga) Cross Country, Track Buckley closed out her final year with the Cougars in fashion. In the fall, the senior was Campolindo’s top finisher, taking third to help lift the team to a Division III state title. In the spring, the Boston College commit finished second in the 3200 meters and third in the 1600 meters at the NCS Meet Of Champions. She wrapped her season with a Top 12 finish in the 3200 state final.

72. JOSHUA MORANO (Granada-Livermore) Baseball

Morano earned 1st Team All-State honors from CalHiSports.com after the University of Arizona-bound southpaw spent his senior season among the East Bay’s most feared hurlers. Morano spun three shutouts and went 8-2 with a 0.53 ERA. He had 94 punchouts in just 66 innings of work for a Matadors team that finished 20-8.

71. AUDREY LIDDLE (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose) Volleyball

Liddle was the linchpin to a dynamic Mitty attack. She was named the Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area Volleyball Player Of The Year as well as a 1st Team All-West Catholic Athletic League selection. Mitty finished 30-9 on the season. Liddle’s career path now moves north to Berkeley where she will compete in the Cal beach program.

70. JAMIE MCGAUGHEY (Casa Grande-Petaluma) Basketball, Softball

McGaughey will be showcasing her softball talents for the University of Hawaii this coming school year after the power-hitting corner infielder hit .438 with 11 home runs for the NCS Div. II champions. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat Player of the Year and Vine Valley Athletic League MVP also had 39 RBI and 37 runs scored. During the winter, she was a team captain as well as a top rebounder and defender for a 20-11 Gauchos hoops team.

69.

Keighran is one of two Lancers junior pitchers who made this list. She’s here after going 12-0 in the circle with a 0.66 ERA. She averaged nearly two strikeouts per inning, amassing 135 in just 74 frames. She was also a capable hitter for the Central Coast Section and CIF NorCal runners-up. She had 21 hits and 13 RBI.

68.

Cheli was a peculiar case when it came to this year’s list. Last year, the Monarchs’ star hooper ranked No. 20, so there’s no denying her special talent. This year, an injury kept her out for practically half of Mitty’s season. Upon returning, she averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3 steals over 14 games as the Monarchs claimed the NorCal Open title. This list wouldn’t have felt right without the UConn-committed star.

67. COOPER FLANAGAN (De La Salle-Concord) Football

It’s safe to wonder if the presence of Flanagan would’ve helped tip the scales in De La Salle’s 33-28 CIF Div. 1-AA State Bowl loss to Lincoln-San Diego. The Notre Dame-bound TE/DE missed both CIF games with an ankle injury. He had 38 tackles (10 for loss) with 3.5 sacks and an interception. He also caught 27 passes for 497 yards and 3 TD. SportStars named him AllNorCal Multi-Purpose.

66. DEREK SANGSTER (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose) Basketball

A SportStars 2nd Team All-NorCal selection and a CalHiSports. com 3rd Team All-State honoree, Sangster will be joining the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 darlings, Princeton, in the fall. He’ll

do so on the heels of a senior season in which he averaged 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds and was named West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year. Mitty went 22-6 and finished as NorCal’s No. 4-ranked team.

65. CATE PETERS (Monte Vista-Danville) Track

The Stanford-bound middle distance star was the 400 meter champion at both the East Bay Athletic League Championship and the NCS Tri-Valley Meet, but did not run the event at the NCS Meet of Champions. She did run, and win, the 800 meters at the NCS Championships and anchored a pair of title-winning relay teams (1600 and 3200). At the state meet, Peters took a sixth-place podium finish in the 800. The 1600 relay team took ninth.

64. KATIE SALONGA (Foothill-Pleasanton) Volleyball

Considered one of the state’s Top 50 recruits for the Class of 2024 by PrepDig.com, Salonga had no problem filling the stat sheet for a Falcons team that finished 28-10 and reached the NCS Div. I final. The talented setter had 881 assists to go with 214 digs, 82 kills and 61 aces.

63. LANDON STUMP (Live Oak-Morgan Hill) Baseball

Stump was bestowed 1st Team All-State multi-purpose honors by CalHiSports.com after he racked up 86 strikeouts in 60.1 innings with a 1.28 ERA. The UCLA-bound senior also ranked fourth on the Acorns with 24 hits and second with 20 RBI. Live Oak finished 18-11 overall and finished tied for first in the Mount Hamilton Athletic League.

62. MICHELLE WOO (Mission San Jose-Fremont) Golf

Woo helped lift Mission San Jose to a one-stroke NCS Championship win over Monte Vista-Danville by firing a 70 at the

SHANNON KEIGHRAN (Saint Francis-Mountain View) Softball

MORGAN CHELI (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose) Basketball

No. 67 Cooper Flanagan

No. 68 Morgan Cheli

No. 71 Audrey Liddle

No. 69 Shannon Keighran

No. 72 Joshua Morano

Division I tournament. She carried that momentum to a T5 finish (plus-3 75) at the CIF NorCal Championships, and then carded a 2-under 70 for a solo-2nd place finish at the CIF State Championships.

61. COOPER HAN (Menlo School-Atherton) Tennis

The rising junior 5-star recruit is ranked among the Top 35 national recruits and was recently on the USA Today National High School Player Of The Year watch list. Han helped the Knights to a CIF NorCal championship repeat after the team lost to Cupertino in the CCS championship. Han lost to fellow national youth talent Winston Lee in the NorCal team final, but recently repaid the favor in the 16U doubles bracket at the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Florida. Han is currently ranked 10th in the USTA 16U National Rankings.

60. TALIYAH LOGWOOD (Oakland Tech) Basketball

The talented junior earned SportStars 1st Team AllNorCal hoops honors as the lockdown defender who gave Div. I state champion Oakland Tech its toughness and spark. Logwood’s versatility and physicality set the tone for a team that hasn’t lost a NorCal game since 2018. She was named Player Of The Game in the state final after posting a double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds.

59. RYDER HELFRICK (Clayton Valley-Concord) Baseball

Helfrick has been building toward a Bay Area 75 resume for several years now, and he arrives this year after batting .510 with five home runs and 24 RBI. He collected several postseason accolades, including a 1st Team AllState selection from CalHiSports.com, 1st-Team All-Bay Area News Group and Diablo Athletic League-Foothill Division MVP. He will play for perennial NCAA powerhouse Arkansas in the fall.

58. AUDREY ROSS (San Ramon Valley-Danville) Volleyball

With her first chance to be featured in the Wolves offense, the Boston College-bound senior erupted. Ross racked up 458 kills and added 289 digs, 50 aces, and 43 total blocks to lead SRV to a 28-8 overall record and their first NCS title in nine seasons.

57. BEN FORER (Northgate-Walnut Creek) Water Polo Forer has skyrocketed to success within USA Water Polo in the past year. In April he helped the U.S. Junior National Team to claim gold in the PanAm Aquatics U17 Championships, leading the team with six goals in the gold medal match. For Northgate, he was the Diablo Athletic League-Valley Division MVP while leading the Broncos to a 23-3 record. He was also named 2nd Team All-NorCal by WaterPoloPlanet.com

56. MARI TESTA (Campolindo-Moraga) Track

The Cal-bound senior delivered another masterful track and field season for the NCS-champion Cougars. For the second consecutive year, Testa collected three golds at the NCS Meet Of Champions. This year, she didn’t even need a relay to get there. The speedster took titles in the 100 and 200 meters as well as the 100 meter hurdles. She reached the state podium in the hurdles as well, taking sixth.

55. CLARA CRONIN (Menlo-Atherton) Volleyball

It would be hard to question anyone who claimed Cronin was the Bay Area’s best defensive player. The Chapman-bound back line star led the state with 914 digs — a number that also ranked her 10th nationally

among stats reported to MaxPreps. She also added 52 aces for a 21-17 Bears squad that reached the CCS Div. I final and the CIF Div. III NorCal semis.

54. JONATHAN GUERRERO (De La Salle) Football, Track

Guerrero was a SportStars All-NorCal selection at defensive back after piling up seven interceptions, a pick six, a sack and 25 tackles for the Spartans. Guerrero’s most impactful interception may have come in the final minute of the first half during the CIF Div. 1-AA NorCal final at Folsom, setting up a go-ahead touchdown. During the spring, he teamed up with three other football stars to comprise a blistering-fast 400 relay team. The group won the EBAL championship, took 2nd at NCS and 5th at the state meet. Individually, Guerrero also took silver in the EBAL 200 meter final.

53. DANIEL ZEPEDA (Gilroy) Wrestling

After finishing as the runner-up in the Central Coast Section 132-pound final, Zepeda stormed his way through the CIF State Wrestling Championships by going 6-0 with five pins, including one in his championship match against Gavin Bauder of Clovis North-Fresno. He’s only a sophomore.

52. JAIME OAKLAND (Saint Francis) Softball

Oakland has royal blood when it comes to the Bay Area 75, as her family Jessica topped these rankings just last year. Now it’s Jamie’s turn, and her freshman campaign looks like she’ll have zero trouble following in big sister’s footsteps. Oakland was the WCAL Player of the Year and an SF Chronicle 1st Team All-Metro selection after batting .533 for the Bay Area’s top team. She had a team-best 48 hits and 31 runs. She also struck out just six times in 104 plate appearances.

51. KINNARI ATLURU (University-S.F.) Volleyball

The talented junior was a force at the net — and a mutual beneficiary of fellow Bay Area 75er, No. 75 Dani Lee —  as she led the Bay Area with 467 kills, among stats reported to MaxPreps. She also added 239 digs for a Red Devils team that finished 28-7 team and reached the CIF NorCal Div. II finals.

50. CHARLES WILLIAMS (Marin Catholic-Kentfield) Football, Basketball

Williams was honored as the Marin Independent-Journal Offensive Player of the Year and a SportStars All-NorCal selection as a player who could change a game with one run for the NCS Div. IV champs. He rushed for 1,239 yards and 23 touchdowns despite often not playing full games due to blowout victories. The junior also rushed for 207 yards in a CIF NorCal Division 2-A game loss to San Ramon Valley-Danville. In the winter, he was a key contributor to the basketball team, earning honorable mention on CalHiSports.com’s All-State Grid-Hoop Team.

49. PAIGE MCLEOD (San Ramon Valley) Softball

McLeod was a dominant pitcher and dynamic two-way player for a Wolves team that finished at No. 7 in our final NorCal Softball Rankings. The Illinois State-bound talent went 15-6 in the circle with a 0.89 ERA and 220 strikeouts. She also hit .326 with six homers and 21 RBI and was named 2nd Team All-State by CalHiSports.com.

48. DASHIELL WEAVER (Campolindo) Football

The SportStars All-NorCal quarterback selection led the Cougars to a DAL-Foothill Division title and a trip to the NCS Div. II final by passing for 3,239 yards and

No. 58 Audrey Ross

No. 54 Jonathan Guerrero

No. 59 Ryder Helfrick

No. 57 Ben Forer

32 touchdowns. He also finished with 543 yards and 11 rushing TDs, both team-highs. The San Jose State-bound QB accounted for all six of Campo’s touchdowns in an epic NCS Div. II semifinal win over Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park.

47. CHLOE HO (Washington-Fremont) Badminton

Ho is the first badminton athlete we can ever remember making the rankings, and the competition for it was fierce. She earned her inclusion on this list over Valley Christian-San Jose talent, Suneri Chinthapati, due to a head-to-head doubles win over her in the CIF NorCal Championships tournament. Ho and her partner Mia Zhang would eventually win the doubles title. Ho was also a member of the USA Badminton Junior Nationals team in the fall and the Pan American Junior Championship team that competed this July.

46. CLARENCE MOORE (Branham-San Jose) Wrestling

Clarence “Scotty” Moore was a lightweight machine during the wrestling postseason. In the CCS Masters and CIF State Championship tournaments combined, Moore went 11-0 with eight pins. He closed out his season by pinning Rocklin Zinkin of Buchanan-Clovis in 4 minutes, 45 seconds to earn the 106-pound state title.

45. SAILASA VADRAWALE (Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park) Football

Arguably one of the Bay Area’s best two-way players of 2022, the Calbound All-NorCal All-Purpose selection could’ve made the team on his defensive back chops alone. He led the Cougars with 75 tackles (37 solo) with an interception, blocked field goal and a fumble recovery scoop-and-score. On offense he had 62 catches for 1,069 yards and 17 TDs.

44. COURTNEY ANDERSON JR. (Dublin) Basketball

Anderson will begin his Pac-12 career at Colorado after wrapping up his Gaels career with a second consecutive first-team All-East Bay Athletic League selection — which was followed by SportStars 2nd Team All-NorCal honors and 2nd Team All-State honors. His athleticism was on display nightly as he averaged 16.4 points and 3.5

rebounds per game.

43. MALCOLM ZALAYET (Marin Academy-San Rafael) Soccer

Zalayet returns to the Bay Area 75 for a second straight year after delivering 21 goals and seven assists for a Wildcats team that went 21-2-1 and won a second NorCal title. The Cal-committed junior was named the Marin IJ Boys Soccer Player Of The Year, and still has one more season to go for a BA75 threepeat.

42. TAYLOR WILLIAMS (Saint Francis) Volleyball

One of two Lancer volleyball players to make this list, the Dukecommitted junior led the squad with 407 kills to pair with 207 digs, 44 aces and 37 blocks. Saint Francis went 34-1 with its only loss coming in the Open Div. state final. PrepDig.com currently ranks Williams at No. 5 in the state’s 2024 recruiting class.

41. MARCO JONES (San Ramon Valley) Football, Baseball

At 6-foot-4, 205-pounds, the SportStars All-NorCal linebacker strikes an immediate presence on the field — and that’s before he’s flying around making one of his 149 tackles or forcing one his five turnovers for the section- and NorCal-champion Wolves. His offer list is loaded with Power 5 schools, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Notre Dame. During the spring, Jones played in 28 games for the 20-10 team that won the EBAL baseball tournament. He had 15 hits with two doubles and a home run.

40. TOMMY KIESLING (Menlo School-Atherton) Water Polo, Swimming

Among the most impactful water polo players in all of NorCal, not just the Bay Area. Kiesling will head to UC Davis in the fall after landing on just about every water polo postseason honors list. He was named a 1st Team All-American by the National Instructional Swim Coaches Association, 1st Team All-NorCal by WaterPoloPlanet.com and 1st Team All-WCAL. He amassed 252 career goals, 77 assists and 90 steals across three seasons. He also swam in the spring and was part of the West Bay Athletic League-champion 200-yard medley relay team.

No. 48 Dashiell Weaver

No. 49 Paige McLeod

No. 42 Taylor Williams

No. 45 Sailasa Vadrawale

No. 41 Marco Jones

39. MONEY WILLIAMS (Oakland) Basketball

There was plenty of talent throughout the roster, but Williams was the driving force behind the Wildcats’ first ever CIF state title. The Montana commit averaged 17.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists on his way to being a 3rd Team All-State and 1st Team All-NorCal selection.

38. SOO-JIN BERRY (Clayton Valley-Concord) Basketball, Softball

Before she was a 2nd Team All-State softball selection, Berry led the Ugly Eagles basketball team by averaging a double-double of 15.7 points and 16.2 rebounds over 20 contests. Then she hit the diamond and promptly batted .451 with 26 RBI, 29 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

37. NATALIA MARTINEZ (Piedmont) Basketball

SportStars named the junior 2nd Team All-NorCal after leading a Highlanders team that ranked No. 1 (and was undefeated) throughout the regular season. On a roster filled with stars, Martinez stood out. She ran the show for Piedmont, and also scored 20 points a game to go along with plenty of steals and assists.

36. JACK EBERTIN (Saint Francis) Volleyball

Ebertin found himself on several postseason honors lists after helping lead the Lancers to a 27-10 record with a deep postseason run. The USC-bound outside hitter was part of Volleyballmag.com’s Fab 50 recruit list as well as the Junior Volleyball Associations’s All-National Team. The WCAL Player of the Year racked up 421 kills.

35. LESLIE IORIO (San Ramon Valley-Danville) Lacrosse

San Ramon Valley girls lacrosse is an absolute machine, and this year Iorio was the primary driver. The Villanovacommitted junior led the Wolves with 81 goals and chipped in with assists on 17 others. SRV went 24-0, won NCS and CIF NorCal titles, and outscored opponents by a combined 273 goals. Machine.

34. KATE MUNNERLYN (Archbishop Mitty) Softball

Munnerlyn earned 1st Team All-State honors after a twoway season that was nothing short of stellar. She posted a 16-3 record in the circle with a 0.55 ERA. She no-hit Granada-Livermore at the Livermore Stampede and didn’t surrender an earned run over 16 innings of championship games (CCS Open and CIF Div. I NorCal). Munnerlyn also hit .350 with six home runs and 31 RBI.

33. ELIJAH CORTEZ (Gilroy) Wrestling

The first of two brothers to make the list, Elijah Cortez is

FloWrestling.com’s No. 11-ranked 126-pound wrestler in the nation. He won the 126-pound CIF State Championship with a 2-1 decision over Joseph Toscano of Buchanan-Clovis. Cortez went 6-0 at the state meet and was 4-0 at the CCS Masters Championships one week prior.

32. IAN DYKES (Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton) Lacrosse

The San Mateo Journal Lacrosse Player of the Year and WCAL MVP netted 81 goals and added 30 assists for a Gators team that went 16-7 overall and reached the CCS finals. Dykes is already committed to Duke, but still has one more year with Sacred Heart.

31. MAKIAH ASIDANYA (Salesian-Richmond)

Basketball

Like the team she plays for, the senior guard (who will play for UNC Greensboro next year) goes a little under the radar at times. That wasn’t the case this year when it came to postseason accolades, however. Asidanya picked up 1st Team All-State honors from CalHiSports.com and 2nd Team All-NorCal from SportStars. She averaged 14.2 points per game, made 34 percent of her 3-point shots, and added 5.3 rebounds.

30. HAVANNAH HOEFT (Saint Francis) Volleyball

Hoeft topped an impressive list of Bay Area setters in 2022, posting 884 assists and earning WCAL Player of the Year honors for a Lancers team that won its first 34 matches before falling for the first time in the CIF Open Div. state final. Hoeft’s senior season numbers also included 199 digs, 68 kills and 34 aces. She’ll attend the Univ. of Portland in the fall.

29. CONNOR HARRISON (De La Salle) Baseball

He’s the younger brother of Giants top pitching prospect, Kyle Harrison, but Connor is absolutely carving his own path of baseball success. The senior catcher wrapped up his De La Salle career by hitting .404 with a team-best 36 RBI for the NCS and NorCal Div. I champion Spartans. Harrison’s big season garnered him 1st Team All-State recognition and led to his selection as the Bay Area News Group’s Player of the Year. His next stop is Saint Mary’s College.

28. ELLIE MCCUSKEY (St. Ignatius-S.F.) Track

Having a better freshman season than McCuskey would be awfully hard to do. The St. Ignatius track phenom announced her presence with authority by sweeping both the 100 and 200 meter sprints at the CCS Championships. She also won the long jump at the meet and was part of

No. 34 Kate Munnerlyn

No. 39 Money Williams

No. 29 Connor Harrison

No. 31 Makiah Asidanya

the winning 400 meter relay team. One week later at the state meet, she took 2nd in the 100 and sixth in the long jump.

27. BAILEY HARTMAN (Carondelet-Concord) Swimming

Hartman was a no-brainer for this list. The Virginia-committed junior has a chance to be the East Bay’s next national swimming star. She wrapped up her penultimate varsity season by winning the 100 and 500-yard freestyles at the NCS Championships. She also grabbed a third NCS medal as part of the champion 400 relay team. Swimcloud.com lists her as the state’s No. 1 swim recruit for 2024, and No. 8 in the nation.

26. ANDREW MCKEEVER (Granada) Basketball

The Saint Mary’s-bound center closed out a remarkable prep career by leading the Matadors program to its first ever state finals appearance. He had a 31-point, 16-rebound effort in a regional semifinal win over Riordan-S.F. His postseason kudos included being named 1st Team All-NorCal and 2nd Team All-State.

25. GRACYN LOVETTE (Marin Catholic-Kentfield) Basketball, Softball

Lovette would have made this list on her hoop prowess alone. The SportStars’ All-Norcal selection will play for Lehigh next year after averaging 15.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.4 steals a game. She was also the team’s best defender (4.6 deflections per game). She makes the list with her hoops stats, but she lands within the Top 25 after adding in a .551 batting average with 27 hits (13 for extra bases) and 20 RBI over just 16 softball games.

24. HANNE THOMSEN (Montgomery-Santa Rosa) Cross Country, Track

Thomsen kept alive the chances of four cross country state titles with her second in as many years. The sophomore repeated as the Div. III champ, running Fresno’s Woodland Park course 26 seconds faster than her winning time as a freshman. On the oval, the dynamic distance runner had NCS double gold in both the 1600 and 3200 meters. She eventually took fourth in the 1600 at the state meet.

23. JADEN DUMDUMAYA (De La Salle) Golf

Dumdumaya returns as the list’s top golfer. He was under par in every postseason round as the Spartans repeated as NCS, NorCal and CIF State Champions. He shot a 4-under 68 at NCS and followed that with a 4-under 68 to earn NorCal top medalist honors. He shot under par at the state tournament as well, firing a 1-under 71 for a T12 finish.

22. GAYATHRI KRISHNAN (Cupertino) Tennis

Krishnan also returns to the list for a second straight season.

The Columbia-bound senior repeated as CCS singles champion and helped Cupertino win the CIF NorCal team title. She did so without surrendering more than two games in any of her four tournament straight-set wins. As of late July, she was one of 25 players being considered for USA Today National Girls Tennis Player of the Year.

21. ALEC BLAIR (De La Salle) Basketball, Baseball

Just a sophomore, this might be the first of three stops on this list for Blair. Blair’s second varsity season on the hardwood culminated in 3rd Team All-State and 1st Team All-NorCal honors after averaging 16 points and five rebounds while shooting over 50 percent from the field for the NCS Open Div. runners-up. In the spring, he was the starting center fielder for the NCS and NorCal champions. He batted .311 with 23 hits, 23 RBI and 20 runs scored.

20. ADEN VALENCIA (Sobrato-Morgan Hill) Wrestling

While he didn’t compete at the state meet this year, Valencia still used the CCS Championships to show why he’s considered one of the best wrestlers in the nation — not just the Bay Area. The Stanford commit who FloWrestling ranks as the No. 6 wrestler in the nation at 132 pounds, won the CCS title at that weight via two technical falls, a pin, and 1-0 shutout in the final.

19. MICHAEL CASTANEDA (Valley Christian-San Jose) Baseball

SportStars named the Northern Kentucky-bound senior its NorCal Pitcher of the Year, but Castaneda was more than just that. He was one of the most impactful two-way players on the second-best team in the region. The pitching was really good though. He went 12-1 with a 1.18 ERA and was especially dominant in the CCS Div. I final when he allowed Hollister just three hits while striking out seven over 6.1 innings. He also batted .385 with 30 RBI for the Warriors.

18. CHARLOTTE KOHLER (Saint Francis) Soccer

Kohler returns to the list for a second straight year after powering the Lancers to a 25-1 record that included CCS and NorCal titles. She was named both the WCAL Midfielder of the Year and Player of the Year. Her international career continued as part of the U17 Women’s World Cup team. She had a team-best three goals as the U.S. won its group before losing its quarterfinal on penalty kicks.

17. NATE CLINTON (Amador Valley-Pleasanton) Volleyball

Calling Clinton the region’s most dominant player would likely draw very little debate among the East Bay boys volleyball community. The Stanford-bound outside hitter was the EBAL Player of the Year for the NCS Div. I champs. He also

No. 22 Gayathri Krishnan

No. 27 Bailey Hartman

No. 26 Andrew McKeever

landed on Volleyballmag.com’s Fab 50 national recruit list as well as the Junior Volleyball Association’s All-National Team.

16. KAILANI TATRO (Pinole Valley) Softball

No NorCal softball player had a more impressive two-way season than Tatro. She was in the circle every game for the 29-2 Spartans and finished the season with a 0.77 ERA and 277 strikeouts. The Robert Morris Universitycommit was an obvious choice to be named 1st Team All-State Multi-Purpose when considering that she also posted a .538 average with 49 hits, 41 RBI, 22 doubles and four homers for the NCS Div. III champs.

15. KIELY TABALDO (Menlo-Atherton) Wrestling

FloWrestling.com ranks Tibaldo as the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 112 pounds, and No. 19 across all weights. The senior was the 111-pound CIF state champion after going 5-0 in Bakersfield with two pins. She won the state final by shutout, beating Paloma Valley’s Karissa Turnwall 3-0. Her run to a CCS title was even more dominant. Tabaldo went 4-0 with two pins under 30 seconds, a third pin at 1:04 and a 9-0 shutout in the final.

14. DANNY SCUDERO (Archbishop Mitty) Football, Baseball

A SportStars All-NorCal selection and the WCAL Football Player of the Year, Scudero was a playmaker on both sides of the ball. His biggest offensive contribution came at wideout with 60 catches, 982 yards and 13 touchdowns, though he also rushed for 309 yards and three scores. Also a threat in the return game, Scudero accumulated over 1,800 all-purpose yards and finished in the CCS’ top 10 in scoring with 118 points. In the spring, he casually batted .400 with 10 runs scored in 15 games for the 21-8 Monarchs.

13. MEGHAN MCANINCH (Miramonte-Orinda) Water Polo

McAninch will head to USC in the fall after being named a NISCA 1st Team All-American and the Diablo Athletic League-Foothill Division MVP both for a second straight year. She was the catalyst for a second straight undefeated season for the Matadors, which included NCS Open and CIF Div. I NorCal titles.

12. ETHAN HARRINGTON (Palo Alto) Swimming

Harrington once again established himself as one of the fastest sprinters, taking down CCS and CIF State meet records. The Stanford-bound recruit won four CCS titles, winning the 50 freestyle (breaking his own meet record from 2022), 100 freestyle and contributing to a pair of relay wins. At state, he again broke his own record in the 50 free as well as Alexei Sancov’s 2018 mark in the 100 free.

11. ZACHARY JONES (Riordan-S.F.) Football, Basketball, Track Jones winds up our highest-ranked boys three-sport

athlete on the list. He was a 1st Team All-WCAL section after posting four interceptions and adding three receiving TDs. During the basketball season, Jones was a key defender and contributor for an Irish team that went 23-7. Then finally, he starred on the track. He won the long jump at the CCS championships and took second in the 100 meters.

10. JABARI MANN (Serra-San Mateo) Football Mann was a SportStars All-NorCal linebacker in addition to its NorCal Defensive Player of the Year. He led a dominant defense that helped pave the way to a CCS Open Div. title and a trip to the CIF Open Div. State Bowl Game. Mann had a team-best 87 tackles with five sacks and an INT. He also contributed as a running back on offense.

9. CHUKWONOSO UDEH (De La Salle) Track

Udeh just missed the Bay Area 75 cut a year ago, and instead was listed as a “name to watch.” Guess we can pat ourselves on the back for that one. The junior was a three-time individual NCS champion with golds in the 110 hurdles, long jump and high jump. He also ran the second leg of the second-place 400 relay team. At the state meet, Udeh won the long jump title while also earning fifth-place podium finishes in the other three events.

8. RYAN BEASLEY (Dougherty Valley-San Ramon) Basketball

Big moment. Big game. Big stage. Our choice for NorCal Player Of The Year was an absolute monster all season — but especially when the stakes were highest. The USFbound point guard averaged 24.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He shot 51 percent from the field for the NCS Open Div. champs. Beasley was also named the SF Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year.

7. JAIVIAN THOMAS (McClymonds-Oakland) Football

SportStars’ NorCal Offensive Player of the Year featured for the Warriors as one of the most dynamic runners in California. The Cal commit ended the year ranked third in the state among reported stat leaders with 2,456 rushing yards. He also averaged a gaudy 14.53 yards per carry and scored 29 touchdowns for the OAL champs and CIF State Bowl participants.

6.

RL MILLER (Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F.) Football, Basketball

Miller was a no-brainer for one of SportStars’ All-NorCal All-Purpose slots. The Fresno State-bound star scored five defensive touchdowns, returning four of his five interceptions for scores and adding a fumble recovery TD. He was also the WCAL Wide Receiver Of The Year with 32 catches for 687 yards and eight scores. His versatility was evident on the hardwood as well. He averaged 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game. He posted a doubledouble of 24 points and 12 rebounds in the CCS Open Div. final, which the Irish won 64-59 over Serra-San Mateo.

No. 19 Michael Castaneda

No. 8 Ryan Beasley

No. 13 Meghan McAninch

No. 10 Jabari Mann

No. 7 Jaivian Thomas

5. LUKE BAKER (San Ramon Valley) Football,

The SportStars All-NorCal Offense included five quarterbacks from the 2022 season. But if we were forced to choose just one, it would’ve been Baker.

The NorCal Offensive Player of the Year finalist shined both as a leader and a playmaker in help ing San Ramon Valley win NCS and NorCal titles en route to making its first trip to a CIF state bowl game. The junior passed for 3,733 yards and 46 touchdowns while rushing for 237 yards and five more scores. His signature performance may have come in the CIF Division 2-A state bowl game when he led two fourthquarter game-tying drives to help the Wolves rally and force overtime.

On the baseball diamond, where he has an oral commitment to play for Santa Clara, Baker ranked third on the Wolves in hits with 23 and tied for first in RBI with 20. He also scored 18 runs and had three home runs for a San Ramon Valley squad that went 20-10, won the EBAL Tourna ment and reached the NCS Div. I semifinals.

3. ISAIAH CORTEZ (Gilroy) Wrestling

According to TrackWrestling.com, Cortez was 49-0 since the last time we released the Bay Area 75 and up until early June — with 28 pins. He is FloWrestling.com’s No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation at 120 pounds. After finishing third in the 106-pound division at his first CIF State Wrestling championships a year ago, Cortez went to Bakersfield on a mission. The sophomore went 5-0 in the 120-pound bracket with three pins (one in under a minute) and a 1-0 deci sion over Isaiah Quintero of El Dorado-Placentia in the championship match. Quintero was the one wrestler who beat Cortez at the 2022 state championships. Cortez of course repeated as CCS champion as well.

4. AMANDA MUSE (Heritage-Brentwood) Basketball, Water Polo, Swimming

The 6-4 senior UCLA signee didn’t make the McDonald’s All-American team because of her scoring — though 14.5 points a game isn’t half bad. And it wasn’t her 59 percent shooting or 12.1 rebounds. No, Muse earned the Mickey D swag because she controlled the paint to the tune of 4.1 actual blocks a game — and who knows how many altered shots from shooters who realized their stuff was just too weak to compete with Muse. In addition to the ultimate honor of McDonald’s All-American, Muse was also a 2nd Team All-State and 1st Team All-NorCal selection by CalHiSports.com and SportStars, respectively. Prior to her final hoops season, Muse led the Patriots water polo team with 74 goals and added 14 assists. The team won 18 games, finished second in league and reached the NCS quarterfinals. Finally, in her last high school athletic endeavor, Muse attended the BVAL Championships to compete in her first ever swim meet — and took 4th in the 50 yard freestyle (missing NCS qualification by two one-hundredths of a second).

Mixon was recently honored as the CalHiSports.com Grid-Hoop Player of the Year for his combined efforts on the football field and in the gym for the Irish. A cousin of Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Mixon, football is where Jerry’s future lies — with the newest chapter starting at the University of Oregon this fall.

Mixon’s senior season with the Irish ended with him being named a 1st Team All-State linebacker as well as the WCAL Linebacker of the Year. He led SHC with 79 tackles while also adding four sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal. Of course, he played on both sides of the ball and contributed over 600 total yards of offense. He also had a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD. In the winter, Mixon helped lead the Irish basketball team to a CCS Open Div. championship by averaging 11.8 points, 5 rebound, 3 assist and 2 steals a game.

2. JERRY MIXON JR. (Sacred Heart Cathedral) Football, Basketball

Baseball

1. MCKENNA WOLICZKO (Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Fr.) Softball

One year after Jess Oakland became the first softball player to land our No. 1 ranking, Woliczko (pronounced va-litch-ko) becomes our first ever freshman to take the crown.

It was an unprecedented first year of high school athletics for the Monarchs’ two-sport star. We’ve always viewed CalHiSports.com as the authority on All-State honors, and McKenna landed on their 1st Team All-State Elite basketball team (in addition to being their State Freshman of the Year) and 2nd Team All-State softball team. Legit All-State honors in two spots is rare enough, but doing it as a freshman is some kind of exclamation point.

On the court for the Monarchs, Woliczko averaged a double-double of 20.2 and 10.3 rebounds. Her non-stop motor, unexpected speed, and skill around the basket makes her especially hard to defend and an equally adept defender in her own right. Mitty went 28-3 and won CCS and CIF NorCal Open Div. titles.

On the softball diamond, Woliczko was the Monarchs starting shortstop while hitting .429 with 30 hits and a team-leading 22 runs and 23 RBI. Mitty went 21-5, but the season ended with back-to-back playoff losses where Woliczko’s absence was felt. Why was she gone? Well, she had a date with the 16U National Team at the FIBA Americas Championships in Mexico. And what did she do in her international debut? How about averaging 11.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as the U.S. took gold.

She’s got a chance to hold on to this spot for a few years.

CHART TOPPERS

History of Bay Area 75 Athletes To Earn The #1 Ranking. Year Athlete School Sport

2022-23 McKenna Woliczko Archbishop Mitty-San Jose Basketball, Softball

2021-22 Jess Oakland St. Francis-Mountain View Softball

2020-21 Amit Elor College Park-Pleasant Hill Wrestling

2019-20 Chase Saldate Gilroy Wrestling

2018-19 Haley Jones Archbishop Mitty-San Jose Basketball

2017-18 Haley Jones Archbishop Mitty-San Jose Basketball

2016-17 Marquel Johnson St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo Football, Basketball, Baseball

2015-16 Najee Harris Antioch Football

2014-15 Ivan Rabb Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland Basketball

2013-14 Drew Anderson Miramonte-Orinda Football, Basketball, Baseball

2012-13 Aaron Gordon Archbishop Mitty-San Jose Basketball