positive happening

It was alumni day on Saturday at Harvard-Westlake’s O’Malley Family Field, and the Wolverines unveiled a new way to honor their nine former players who made it to the major leagues. They have posted jerseys of the players on the outfield walls. Let’s just say they might run out of room the way things are going.

“That’s a good problem,” coach Jared Halpert said.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty joined former major leaguers Nik Turley and Josh Satin in being honored before a winter baseball game.

Youth players were there seeking autographs, and lots of former Harvard-Westlake players showed up.

Jack Flaherty with his mother at O’Malley Family Field on Saturday.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Halpert said two more former Harvard-Westlake players are close to reaching the majors and first-round draft pick Bryce Rainer of the Tigers will surely see his jersey on the wall one day.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Junior point guard Savannah Myles of Westchester is having an MVP-caliber season.

She’s averaging 26 points for the 15-3 Comets, the City Section Open Division title favorites.

She has a 4.0 grade-point average and keeps improving on the court.

Coach EJ Jackson said she has tremendous leadership skills, having been the team captain the last two seasons.

“She’s a three-level scorer who controls the pace of the game,” Jackson said.

The Comets play Western League rival Hamilton on Wednesday.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Oak Park’s boys’ soccer team is proving very stingy when it comes to giving up goals.

Led by goalkeeper Ben Buchler, the Eagles (14-1-1) have recorded 10 shutouts this season, a school record.

Noah Zweig celebrates after scoring for Oak Park.

(Sharon Levy)

Their latest shutout came in a 3-0 Coastal Canyon League win over Royal. Cole Mitchell has been supplying the offense. He had three goals in a win over Newbury Park.

Next up is a showdown match with Moorpark (7-2-2) on Tuesday.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Noah Darnell, a senior pitcher at Santa Margarita High, got to experience something that is becoming too common in the world of the college transfer portal and changing NIL rules.

He was committed to Tulane for about five months. Then a week before his senior year was to begin, he received a phone call.

“They didn’t have a spot for me,” he said of Tulane. “We’re going in another direction.”

A week later, Darnell went to an Ivy League showcase and informed coaches he was back on the market. Harvard coaches saw him, knew he had a 4.4 grade-point average and told him they wanted him.

“Harvard was No. 1 from the get-go,” Darnell said. “I’m so happy.”

These last-minute phone calls by schools telling commits there’s no longer a spot have become more frequent, especially because college baseball has changing roster rules. Luckily for Darnell, everything worked out.

“I felt a little bit angry,” he said of his initial reaction. “I was frustrated. I wanted to work twice as hard to get another offer.”

As for lessons learned in this sometimes uncertain environment, Darnell said, “The main lesson I learned was God has a plan and you have to trust it.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

JuJu Watkins is returning to Sierra Canyon High on Friday, the place where she was a high school basketball All-American.

The school will hold a ceremony retiring her jersey at halftime of the boys’ basketball game between Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

She will be presented with a framed jersey.

Watkins is sitting out this season at USC while recovering from a knee injury.

Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball coach Alicia Komaki said, “She raised our standards, which was hard to do because we had won four state championships. She was an incredibly talented player.”

Watkins was also making a huge impact in the college game until her injury last season during the NCAA playoffs.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Garo Ohannessian is known as a “lifer” at AGBU, an Armenian K-12 school in Canoga Park. He’s been there from the start and now he’s making a name for himself in high school basketball with his three-point shooting skills.

He set a school record making 13 threes and finishing with a career-high 45 points in a Dec. 30 win over Brawley.

He’s been a four-year varsity player and was a freshman when the team reached the Southern Section Division 2A playoff semifinals.

Coach Nareg Kopooshian has confidence in him to shoot from anywhere on the court. The 5-foot-10 senior has helped lead his team to a 13-2 record.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.