Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. It’s awards time in high school basketball.

And the winners are . . .

Kaleena Smith leads Ontario Christian.

(Steve Galluzzo)

Brayden Burries of Eastvale Roosevelt and Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian have been selected The Times’ boys and girls basketball players of the year.

Each led their team to Open Division championships in the Southern Section. Burries came through in the state championship game with a remarkable 44-point performance to deliver a victory.

Here’s a look at Burries’ resume this season.

Here’s a look at Smith, only a sophomore.

Here’s the 10-player boys all-star team.

Here’s the 10-player girls all-star team.

The coaches of the year are Stephen Singleton from Roosevelt and Aundre Cummings from Ontario Christian.

Here’s the final top 25 boys rankings.

Here’s the final top 20 girls rankings.

Baseball

Ethin Bingaman of Corona struck out nine in five scoreless innings against Norco. The team has six shutouts in seven games.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The Boras Classic begins Tuesday at Mater Dei and JSerra. It could produce an early showdown between No. 1 Corona (7-0) and No. 2 Huntington Beach (6-0). Corona pitchers have combined to shut out six of seven opponents. Huntington Park opens against a dangerous Aquinas team that has started the season 5-0.

Crespi’s Jackson Eisenhauer continues to dominate on the mound. He has started the season with a 4-0 record and 26 consecutive scoreless innings. The Celts are 10-0 and 5-0 in the Mission League.

Phelan Bucknor of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame went six for 7 with five RBIs in a 24-3 win over Chaminade. For the three-game series, he had nine hits and seven RBIs.

Mater Dei remains unbeaten and will get tested this week at the Boras Classic. Pitcher Brandon Thomas has been outstanding.

Freshman pitcher Carlos Acuna of Birmingham struck out 16 with no walks in a 4-0 win over Chasworth. Coach Matt Mowry called the performance the best by a freshman pitcher at Birmingham. He gave up one hit.

Joshua Pearlstein of Cleveland was almost perfect for the week. He had seven hits in eight at-bats against El Camino Real and Granada Hills.

Arlington pulled off two victories over Paloma Valley in the Ivy League.

Orange Lutheran traveled to Las Vegas and won the Bishop Gorman tournament championship.

Cypress took two games from JSerra.

Royal coach Dan Maye got coaching victory No. 595.

Baseball transfers become eligible Friday for Southern Section teams and Thursday for City Section teams. Sylmar is gaining transfers from Alemany and Crespi. Alemnay catcher Brody Thompson will become eligible to face his former school, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, on April 1.

Here’s this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Softball

El Segundo had a big week in softball, beating Redondo Union, West Torrance, Los Altos, Mater Dei and Crescenta Valley to improve to 12-3. Senior Sienna Mayer has 24 hits. Senior Jacy Lindsay has been leading the way in the pitching circle.

El Modena came back down to earth after winning the Dave Kops tournament in Arizona by losing a league game to Anaheim 9-5 and coming back to beat JSerra 3-2.

Canyon is 10-3 and 1-1 in the tough Crestview League.

Norco is 12-1 and 1-0 in the Big VIII League after a shutout of Corona.

Orange Lutheran (7-1) begins defense of its Trinity League championship with a Friday matchup at home against JSerra.

Granada Hills (6-1) and Carson (9-0) continue on a path toward meeting for a third straight year to determine the City Section championship. Giselle Pantoya of Carson is 6-0 with a 1.51 ERA. Elysse Diaz of Granada Hills has 11 hits in seven games.

Here’s last week’s top 20 softball rankings courtesy CalHiSports.com.

Track

Granada Hills sprinter Jordan Coleman reaches back to receive the baton from teammate Justin Hart last season. Now Hart is the top sprinter running wind-aided 10.42 100 meters last week.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The early season marks in track and field are beginning to show athletes to watch for City Section and Southern Section championships.

Justin Hart of Granada Hills won the Maurice Greene Invitational in the 100 meters with a wind-aided 10.42 seconds. That makes him a sprinter to watch. He also won the 200 in 21.35. He’s the son of Kentucky assistant basketball coach Jason Hart.

JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame set a school record at the Mission League finals last season in the high jump with a leap of 6-10.25.

(Craig Weston)

JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame began his high jump season by easily clearing 6-10. He was a 7-footer last season and figures to be a state title contender.

Marly Scoggins of Calabasas showed off her speed in the 100 with a time of 11.71 seconds.

Junior Ejam Yohannes of Loyal ran the 400 in 48.54. The Valencia 4×100 relay team, fearing football star Brian Bonner, ran 41.59.

Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance ran a 10.63 100 meters at Yorba Linda and took the 200 in 21.71. Audrey Kays of Mission Viejo won the girls 100 in 12.57.

Sophomore football player Andrew Estrada of St. Bonaventure ran a 10.83 100 meters at the Maurice Greene meet.

Paul Tranquilla of Venice is the clear top distance runner in the City Section after running 9:00.22 in the 3,200 to win Arroyo/Hi-Racer Meet of Champions.

Volleyball

Mira Costa volleyball players (from left to right) Alex Heins, Mateo Fuerbringer, Justin Warner and Grayson Bradford celebrate during their victory over Loyola on March 21, 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The showdown between Mira Costa and Loyola turned into a rout. Mira Costa avenged its only defeat in volleyball this season by beating the Cubs in three sets before a sold-out crowd at Loyola.

Here’s a report on a match that doesn’t figure to be the last time these two rivals meet.

Mater Dei has signed a 10-year media rights and marketing deal with Playfly Sports that could give the school close to $1 million annually, according to Front Office Sports.

Southern Section assistant commissioner Thom Simmons said, “As long as they abide by all relevant CIF state and Southern Section bylaws, there are no issues with Mater Dei entering into this agreement.”

The Southern Section has its own media rights deals for broadcasting games involving member schools.

Playfly Sports acquired Paragon Marketing Group, which has put on events televised by ESPN. That could be a vehicle for Mater Dei to receive additional national exposure.

Notes . . .

The co-City players of the year, Alijah Arenas (left) and Tajh Ariza.

(Nick Koza)

The All-City basketball teams were announced, and to no one’s surprised, Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth and Tajh Ariza of Westchester were selected co-City Section players of the year. Here’s the complete team. . . .

The All-City soccer teams were released. Here’s the complete team. . . .

In what may have been the biggest news of the week, the winningest girls’ basketball coach in California, Kevin Kiernan, is retiring as athletic director at Mater Dei to return to coaching. He will become head coach at Troy, where he had a successful 11-year run. He stepped down as girls basketball coach at Mater Dei after 17 years as coach in 2024. He’s won 12 Southern Section titles and six state titles . . .

Gardena Serra defensive back/linebacker DeVohn Moutra Jr. has committed to Sacramento State. . . .

Girls basketball coach Ruben Marin of St. Bonaventure has retired after 14 years as coach. . . .

Outfielder Isaiah Hearn of Chaminade has committed to Oregon. . . .

Damaine Powell has resigned after four seasons as basketball coach at Loyola. He said he wants to take a break from coaching. Two of his sons will be Loyola students in the fall. It opens a position that should receive lots of interest. Former Loyola basketball coach Jamal Adams is the new school president. The first choice would be former Loyola star Ryan Bailey, the head coach at Brentwood, but Bailey is unlikely to leave a school where he has family members attending and lots of top players returning. . . .

Devin Fly has resigned as boys basketball coach at Newbury Park. . . .

Adam Levine has resigned after seven seasons as girls basketball coach at Palisades. The Dolphins won three City titles. . . .

Loyola senior Tucker Sweeney set a school record with an 8-under-par 63 during a Missio League tournament match at Sterling Hills Golf Course. . . .

Myles Guy is the new girls basketball coach at Moorpark. . . .

The New Zealand 15-year-old who ran a mile in under four minutes is coming to the Arcadia Invitational next month. Here’s what he accomplished. . . .

From the archives: Justin Lee

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Justin Lee has become a closer at UCLA.

(Craig Weston)

In his sophomore season at UCLA, former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Justin Lee has shown promise as a relief pitcher. He’s 2-0 with three saves and a 2.77 ERA.

Lee was The Times’ player of the year in 2023.

Here’s a story from 2023 of Lee beating Harvard-Westlake.

Recommendations

From the Washington Post, a story on Quincy Wilson setting a national indoor record in the 400.

From MLB.com, a story on former Harvard-Westlake shortstop Bryce Rainer offering hope for the Detroit Tigers.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former Heritage Christian guard Skyy Clark and his father.

From the Los Angeles Times, the son of former NBA referee Bill Spooner is a rising official.

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