Prep

Who are the top teams to watch in City Section high school baseball and likely contenders to reach Dodger Stadium?

1. BIRMINGHAM: The Patriots have two quality starting pitchers, led by sophomore Carlos Acuna, plus an experienced closer, so if they play defense and get a little hitting, reaching Dodger Stadium will be no surprise.

2. EL CAMINO REAL: The defending City champions lost key players from the pitching staff to graduation but members from an outstanding junior varsity team are already showing signs they can handle the pressure of varsity ball.

3. NARBONNE: The Gauchos have an early-season win over Bell that will help them come playoff time.

4. BELL: Two years ago, Bell won it all, and several players from that team are off to good starts, led by Jayden Rojas. A 1-0 win over Palos Verdes was impressive behind pitcher Rigoberto Baltazar.

5. SYLMAR: Pitcher Alex Martinez and power-hitting outfielder Rickee Luevano are capable of having big seasons.

6. CARSON: The Colts have plenty of experience back to contend in Marine League.

7. SUN VALLEY POLY: Wins over Agoura and Quartz Hill show the Parrots are favorites to win East Valley League.

8. CLEVELAND: Just trust All-City player Joshua Pearlstein to make the Cavaliers strong in West Valley League.

9. VENICE: The Gondoliers went 29-4 last season and will need strong play from returnee Xander Lippman.

10. SAN FERNANDO: Tigers can be Sylmar’s strongest opponent in the Valley Mission League.

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

It will be two Marmonte League baseball rivals matching up in the Easton tournament championship game at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Birmingham.

Pitchers Connor Sahagan and Gavin Geyer combined on a no-hitter in Oaks Christian’s 2-1 win over Bishop Alemany. Luke Puls hit two doubles, including a two-run double in the fifth inning. Geyer struck out five and retired all nine batters in order in three innings of relief.

Oaks Christian (4-0) will play Calabasas (4-0), a 4-2 winner over St. Francis. Auron Blackledge had three hits and Michael Morales got the save with two scoreless innings of relief. Jayden Singer had two hits. Lucas Becerra had three hits for St. Francis.

Chaparral 19, Knight 4: Dean Mariani contributed four hits and three RBIs while Griffin Fien had three hits and three RBIs.

Camarillo 3, Valencia 1: Ryan Coyne gave up two hits in a complete-game performance for Camarillo.

Corona Santiago 3, Los Alamitos 2: Striker Pence, Johnny Thorton and Josh Angulo each had two hits for Santiago. Jerry Garfiaz homered for Los Alamitos.

El Camino Real 3, Rio Mesa 2: Cameron Rosenberg threw his first complete game in varsity baseball, striking out five for the Royals. Football standout Shane Bogacz had a two-run triple.

Granada Hills 14, Ventura 3: Michael Quintana had two hits and three RBIs for the Highlanders.

San Marcos 7, Simi Valley 2: Mason Crang hit a three-run home run in the first inning for San Marcos.

Birmingham 4, Agoura 3: The Patriots rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Ethan Dalumpines had the walk-off hit. Carlos Acuna struck out seven and gave up two hits in six innings.

Verdugo Hills 2, Garfield 0: Michael Wong had a two-run single while Jack Iafrate and Jared Smith combined on a three-hit shutout.

Paraclete 10, Cleveland 3: Christian Saenz had three hits and four RBIs while Gabe Villanueva went four for four to lead Paraclete.

Quartz Hill 18, Chatsworth 3: Seth Humphreys had two doubles, a single and three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Thousand Oaks 2, Mira Costa 1: Dane Bacon threw three innings of scoreless relief to hand a rare defeat to Mira Costa ace Garrett Jacobs, who struck out 10 and walked none in six innings.

Fullerton 7, Northwood 1: Sammy Chacon finished with three hits for 3-0 Fullerton.

Hart 7, Buena 6: Jaiden Chan contributed three hits for Hart.

Taft 10, Palisades 8: The Toreadors scored six runs in the seventh, then hung on for the win. Josh Friedman had two hits and two RBIs.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is supposed to rely on its pitching this season, but the Knights found themselves in a slugfest with host El Dorado on Tuesday and turned loose power hitters Jacob Madrid and Troy Trejo to pull out a 9-7 victory.

Madrid hit two home runs and had four RBIs. Trejo broke a 7-7 tie with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

AJ LaSota pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Notre Dame improved to 3-0.

Xavi Cadena had a home run and three RBIs for El Dorado.

Santa Margarita 4, Harvard-Westlake 3: Cooper Holland went three for three and the Eagles (2-1) got a strong five-inning outing from Tyler George for the road victory.

Sierra Canyon 5, Huntington Beach 2: The Trailblazers waited until Oilers ace Jared Grindlinger finished his four innings before taking charge for the home win. Grindlinger allowed no hits and no runs. Armando Solorio threw three shutout innings of relief in the win. Dane Cunningham had a home run for Huntington Beach.

Gahr 6, Crespi 1: Bryce Morrison had two hits and two RBIs and Luis Alonso threw five shutout innings with five strikeouts for 2-0 Gahr.

Corona 4, Etiwanda 2: Trey Ebel contributed two hits and Anthony Murphy made his pitching debut, throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to get the save for Corona.

Norco 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 0: Landon Hovermale turned in a dominating mound performance with 15 strikeouts and one walk while giving up one hit in 6 2/3 innings. Dylan Seward, Jordan Ayala and Jayden Serna each had two hits.

Servite 8, Loyola 1: John Sullivan hit a grand slam and Gavin Gonzalez contributed three hits for Servite.

Foothill 5, Los Alamitos 3: Evan Kim had a two-run double for Foothill. He finished with three RBIs.

Chaparral 23, Eisenhower 0: Griffin Fien went four for five in the five-inning mercy rule game. Jaiden Lopez hit three doubles.

Cypress 8, West Ranch 2: Hibiki Suzuki had two hits and four RBIs for Cypress while Tate Belfanti struck out 10 in four innings.

Edison 4, Mission Viejo 2: Will Stanley struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings for Edison.

Long Beach Millikan 5, Banning 0: Maison Crommie threw six scoreless innings, striking out seven.

Royal 5, Santa Monica 0: Ethan Hall homered and Dustin Dunnwoody struck out nine and gave up one hit in five innings.

Softball

JSerra 4, Riverside Poly 0: Liliana Escobar struck out 15 for JSerra, which also defeated South Hills 2-0.

Two years after Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Aidan Martinez returned to the mound for Birmingham High on Monday in the closer’s role and responded with three strikeouts and three walks and no hits in 1 1/3 innings in the Patriots’ 7-4 win over Ventura in the Easton tournament.

It’s another positive development for a Birmingham team that already has two productive starters in sophomores Carlos Acuna and Nate Solis. Freshman Ivan Rivera started on the mound for Birmingahm against Ventura.

“He’s getting better every day,” coach Matt Mowry said of Martinez. “He looked good. He was just a little rusty. He has a good arm and is going to help us out.”

There was a brief delay before the game when Ventura High went on lockdown when a police chase of a possible stolen vehicle ended outside of the school, with suspects getting out and running into the school before being captured.

Villa Park 12, Downey 3: Aiden Young had an RBI double and Gunner Santillo had three hits for Villa Park.

Bishop Alemany 1, Culver City 0: DC Ravago threw a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts for 3-0 Alemany, which hosts Oaks Christian in the Easton tournament semifinals Wednesday.

Calabasas 5, Rio Mesa 4: Connor Kingston got out of a bases loaded situation in the seventh to pick up the save for Calabasas, which faces host St. Francis on Wednesday in the Easton tournament semifinals. Evan Barak had two hits and two RBIs.

Cleveland 6, Camarillo 4: Josh Pearlstein had two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland.

Agoura 4, Mira Costa 3: Tyler Starling contributed two hits for the Chargers.

Valencia 2, Oxnard Pacifica 1: Dexton Otton threw four scoreless innings for the Vikings.

Dos Pueblos 9, Granada Hills 3: Liam Shea gave up one hit and no runs in five innings for Dos Pueblos, which had a six-run second inning.

Simi Valley 6, Highland 4: Andrew Nicklaus had two doubles and three RBIs for Simi Valley.

North Hollywood 7, Taft 6: Despite scoring five runs in the seventh, Taft couldn’t come back from a 7-1 deficit.

Westlake 9, Chatsworth 1: Holden Backus finished with three hits and three RBIs for Westlake.

Arcadia 6, San Dimas 2: Peter Cuoco struck out eight in five innings and Damian Catano had two RBIs for the Apaches.

Thousand Oaks 11, Saugus 5: Dylan Sax had two hits and three RBIs for the Lancers.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s championship week in high school basketball with some big-time semifinal matchups Tuesday in the Southern Section playoffs.

Championship week

Brandon McCoy of Sierra Canyon soars for a tomahawk dunk.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The toughest divisions in high school basketball in the state have their semifinals Tuesday for boys and girls. Get ready for intense, crowd-pleasing matchups.

For boys in the Southern Section Open Division, it’s Sierra Canyon hosting Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake hosting La Mirada.

Both games are rematches, so there will be no surprises for the coaches. Sierra Canyon and Harvard-Westlake won the first meetings, so they deserve the favorite’s role to reach Saturday’s championship game at Ontario Arena. But that doesn’t mean the favorites will win.

Notre Dame has athleticism to play with Sierra Canyon, especially if Zach White is rebounding and NaVorro Bowman is hitting threes. Sierra Canyon, though, is 25-1 and surging with its depth. Harvard-Westlake looked done after losing three of its last four regular season games, but has come on to beat Damien, Santa Margarita and Crespi in the Open Division playoffs.

La Mirada is the surprise team, seeded No. 12 and winning every game on the road. The Matadores eliminated Redondo Union in the quarterfinals behind Gene Roebuck. You have to admire La Mirada. Last season they desperately wanted to be in the Open Division, giving up a chance to be in the state playoffs. Now the Matadores are one win away from playing for a section title.

The girls’ competition should draw even bigger crowds than the boys Tuesday, with the featured matchup Etiwanda hosting Sierra Canyon. The two powerhouses have been preparing for this game all season. Jerzy Robinson of Sierra Canyon will try to make sure Etiwanda doesn’t serve as a roadblock to winning the Open Division or state championship. The other semifinal has top-seeded Ontario Christian hosting Sage Hill. If Etiwanda and Ontario Christian win, they’ll get to play in front of lots of fans Saturday night in Ontario.

Boys basketball

Freshman Phillip Reed was in dominant form for Palisades in the City Section Open Division semifinals.

(Steve Galluzzo)

It comes as no surprise that No. 1-seeded Palisades will play No. 2 Cleveland in Friday’s 8 p.m. City Section Open Division final at L.A. Southwest College. They’ve been the top two teams all season. Palisades is the heavy favorite. Here’s a report from the semifinals.

Jack Levey celebrates a big win in the Dolphins’ return to their home court against Western League rival Fairfax.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

One of the unsung standouts for Palisades is junior guard Jack Levey, who has made 103 threes this season. Here’s a look at his journey to become a three-point specialist.

Sylmar coach Bort Escoto has his team in the City Division II finals. Two of his ex-players at Sylmar, Jeff Bryant and Sam Harris, have their teams in finals. Bryant for Palisades and Harris for Chatsworth in the Division I final.

The Southern Section Division 1 championship game has two surging Orange County schools meeting: JSerra vs. Crean Lutheran.

Division 2 has two surprise finalists in Hesperia taking on Bishop Amat. Hesperia eliminated Mater Dei and Bishop Amat took out defending Open Division and state champion Eastvale Roosevelt.

Here’s the scores from last week’s Southern Section semifinals.

Girls basketball

Etiwanda is ready to take on Sierra Canyon at home on Tuesday night in an Open Division semifinal.

(Nick Koza)

Etiwanda continues to rely on a balanced attack, which should help the Eagles in their showdown semifinal game against Sierra Canyon. Here’s a report from the quarterfinals.

Valencia’s girls basketball team has reached the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals under coach Jared Honig.

(John Duncan)

Valencia has reached the Division 1 final behind coach Jared Honig, who had previous success at Granada Hills. Here’s the report.

In the City Section, top-seeded Westchester and No. 2 Birmingham will play Saturday night at Pasadena City College in the Open Division final. Westchester has the top player in the City in Savannah Myles. Birmingham has used a young team to get better and better.

Baseball

The approaching storm from last week caused South Hills to come up with the novel idea of playing its season opener against Covina early Monday morning before rain came. So the teams began at 12:40 a.m. and finished at 3:34 a.m. in a new way to pull off Midnight Madness. Here’s the report.

Harvard-Westlake unveiled freshman Louis Lappe of El Segundo Little League fame. Here’s the report.

With darkness coming, Huntington Beach took a 7-5 lead over Loyola in the top of the ninth inning. Coach Benji Medure confirmed that he tried to have his players on base get into a triple play to end the inning immediately to try to win the game before the umpires called the game. Two players were tagged out at home plate, but the home-plate umpire stopped everything before a third runner one could be tagged out. It ended up as a 5-5 tie because of darkness.

The first runner tagged out at home was Jared Grindlinger, who responded to Medure’s instructions to get tagged out by saying, “What?” The creativity wasn’t approved by the umpires.

No. 1 St. John Bosco and No. 2 Orange Lutheran begin their seasons this week.

Here’s a look at The Times’ top 25 baseball rankings after the opening week of the season.

Softball

Norco pitcher Coral Williams was the Southern Section Division 1 player of the year last season.

(Steve Galluzzo)

If you want to win a softball championship, you have to beat Norco and its top pitcher, Coral Williams, a UCLA commit.

Here’s a preview of the season ahead.

Volleyball

Mike Boehle is entering his 28th season as volleyball coach at Loyola.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The boys volleyball season has begun, and Loyola figures to be one of the title contenders in Division 1 after a rough season last year in which players lost homes to the Palisades fire, their coach had prostate cancer and a classmate was tragically killed.

Here’s a look at how the Cubs intend to come back this season.

Soccer

It’s championship week in high school soccer. Once again, the top two boys teams in the City Section all season face off. El Camino Real will take on South East. Both teams won their semifinal games by scores of 1-0.

In girls, No. 1 Cleveland will face No. 7 Granada Hills in a rematch from their West Valley League battles.

Trinity League rivals Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei have advanced to Saturday’s Southern Section Open Division boys final after beating Placentia Valencia and JSerra, respectively.

The girls final will have Santa Margarita taking on Mater Dei in another Trinity League rematch.

Wrestling

The state wrestling championships are set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.

The Southern Section held its Masters Meet last weekend, and here’s the results of players headed to Bakersfield.

Notes . . .

Oaks Christian won its second consecutive Southern Section Open Division girls’ water polo championship with an 11-8 victory over Mater Dei. . . .

Senior Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel, one of the top girls discus and shotputters in the nation, began her outdoor season with a discus mark of 179-6 to set an Orange County record. . . .

Aaron Riekenberg has resigned after nine years as boys basketball coach at La Habra. . . .

Junior defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade from Division 1 champion Santa Margarita has committed to USC, where his father, Lenny, was a lineman. . . .

Pat Harlow, a former head football coach at JSerra, is returning to serve as an assistant coach under new coach Hardy Nickerson. Harlow is well known for his ability to coach the offensive line. This is the second time he’s come out of retirement. “I really believe in the school,” he said. Also added to the staff is former Servite, Notre Dame and NFL quarterback Steve Beuerlein. . .

Former Gardena Serra and USC star Robert Woods has retired from football. . . .

Former Garfield football coach Lorenzo Hernandez has come out of retirement to become football coach at Whittier. Here’s the report. . . .

Former St. Margaret’s and Long Beach Poly coach Stephen Barbee is the new football coach at Irvine Northwood. . . .

Standout pitcher Jared Grindlinger of Huntington Beach has reclassified from junior to class of 2026, making him eligible for this year’s amateur draft. Here’s the report . . .

Chad Rolison from Oaks Christian baseball has committed to Loyola Marymount. . . .

Twins James and Miles Clark from St. John Bosco baseball have committed to Duke. . . .

For the fifth straight year, NFL receiver Trenton Irwin is holding a camp on March 8 at his alma mater, Hart, for grades four through eight. . . . .

Quentin Hale, a junior receiver who transferred from Cathedral to Corona Centennial, has committed to USC. . . .

Patrick Goodpaster is the new football coach at Narbonne. He’s a Narbonne grad, member of the Gardena Police Department and former football player at Colorado State. He’s been a youth football coach in the area. . . .

From the archives: Russell White

Former Crespi, Cal and Rams running back Russell White, who led Crespi to the 1986 Division 1 football championship.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Russell White was one of the greatest running backs in Southern California history, leading Crespi to the 1986 Big Five Conference championship as a sophomore when the Celts routed St. John Bosco in the final.

He’d go on to star at Cal and get drafted by the Rams. He has been at Flintridge Prep the last 10 years coaching eight-man football but is stepping down to perhaps coach 11-man football. His son, Zach, is a standout basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Here’s a story from 2008 when he was coaching in Northern California

Here’s a story from 1993 detailing White’s emotion obtaining his college degree.

Recommendations

From USA Today, a story on South Carolina legislators moving to replace its high school athletic association over transfers and other disagreements.

From CBS, a story on a Florida proposal to allow high school coaches to spend up to $15,000 on player needs known as the Teddy Bridgewater Act.

From KTLA, a story on how AI cameras are helping youth sports parents capture videos.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the controversy surrounding trans high school athletes in California.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

There is an adage in sports that it is harder to defend a championship than to win it. That is the challenge that coach Rick Robinson and the Norco High softball team face this season, but the Cougars have the skill to make a run at back-to-back titles after winning 29 of 32 games en route to the Southern Section Division 1 crown last spring.

Robinson entered the 2026 campaign with 728 career wins and has added three to that total as his team won its own showcase last week at Big League Dreams in Chino Hills.

In the final, junior pitcher Coral Williams fanned 11 Orange Lutheran batters in a 2-1 victory, picking up where she left off last spring when she was named the Southern Section Division 1 player of the year after going 17-0 with 10 complete games, a 0.59 earned run average and 147 strikeouts while giving up only nine earned runs in 106 innings. In the semifinals, Oklahoma State signee Peyton May threw a no-hitter and struck out 12 in an eight-inning 3-0 win against Aliso Niguel. She was 10-3 last year with a 1.49 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 80 innings.

Offensively the Cougars are led by junior shortstop Leighton Gray, a Texas A&M commit who was All-Southern Section as a sophomore after batting .435 with 40 hits, eight home runs and a 0.793 slugging percentage. Add to the mix London Potter, who follows in the footsteps of sisters Riley and Dakota (Norco alums now playing at Quinnipiac and South Carolina, respectively) and catcher/first baseman Camryn May, Peyton’s younger sister.

Since taking over the program in 2000, Robinson has guided Norco to section titles in 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2025 (all but the first in the top division). He also won the Division IV title in 1996 in the second of his five years at Corona Centennial —giving him a Southern Section record of eight.

Among the teams capable of dethroning Norco is Orange Lutheran, No. 2 behind the Cougars in Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason Southland top 20 rankings. The Lancers will miss star center fielder Kai Minor (now an Oklahoma Sooner) but returning are second baseman Sierra Nichols (40 hits), shortstop Madelyn Armendariz (32 hits, 29 RBIs) and pitching aces Rylee Silva (135 strikeouts as a freshman) and UCLA signee Jo Marsh.

Battling the Lancers for Orange County supremacy could be Trinity League rival JSerra, which is off to a 2-0 start behind Florida-bound pitcher Liliana Escobar and sophomore sensation Annabel Raftery, who led the team with 36 hits, 21 RBIs and five homers a year ago.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has one of the section’s best all-around players in Oklahoma State commit Aliyah Garcia and starts out as the team to beat in the San Fernando Valley. The senior pitcher/shortstop had one run, two hits, an RBI and drew two walks while recording five strikeouts in three innings in the Knights’ season-opening win.

Fullerton has one of the most formidable one-two pitching combos in California Baptist commit Katelynn Mathews and Analise Barrios (both also play second base). Mathews had a 15-3 record with 185 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings and Barrios had a 0.72 earned run average last season when the Indians won 21 games and played Norco tough in the third-place game of the Michelle Carew Classic in April. Utah State-bound outfielder Hayley Brock batted .393 with 38 hits and 24 RBIs.

Fullerton pitcher Analise Barrios compiled a 0.72 earned run average as the Indians went 21-8 last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For the Times)

Despite its loss to Norco in the second round of the playoffs a year ago, Oaks Christian is the cream of the crop in Ventura County as most of its key contributors are back — Utah State-bound shortstop Gianna Garcia, Brigham Young-bound outfielder Terrianna Kelley (33 hits, 27 RBIs, nine doubles, five homers and a .750 slugging percentage in 2025); shortstop Trystyn Crutcher, pitcher Sophia Debs, outfielder Reagan Beck and catcher Giabella Otani.

Other Southern Section programs that should continue their success from last year include Division 1 runner-up El Modena and semifinalist Temescal Canyon, Division 2 champion Los Alamitos and Division 3 champion Marina as well as La Mirada, Ayala, Chino Hills and Long Beach Poly.

In the City Section, Granada Hills finished 28-3 last season and beat nemesis Carson 11-2 in the Open Division final behind player of the year Addison Moorman (now a freshman at Lehigh) but back to help the Highlanders defend their title are All-City senior co-captains Zoe Justman (who slugged .802 as a junior) and Elysse Diaz (47 hits, 12 doubles, seven stolen bases and an .865 slugging percentage).

Players to watch

Name; School; Year; Position

Coral Willams; Norco; Jr.; Pitcher

Leighton Gray; Norco; Jr.; Shortstop

Emoni Lam Sam; LB Poly; Sr.; Third Base

Kale’a Tindal; Harvard-Westlake; Sr.; Outfield

Aliyah Garcia; Notre Dame; Sr.; Pitcher/Shortstop

Rylee Silva; Orange Lutheran; So. Pitcher

Katelynn Mathews; Fullerton; Jr.; Pitcher

Dailynn Battee; Etiwanda; So.; Third Base

Mia Valbuena; Marina; Sr.; Pitcher

Alison Ortega; La Mirada; Jr.; Pitcher

Koa Puppe; Bonita; Jr.; Third Base

Terrianna Kelley; Oaks Christian; Sr.; Outfield

Annabel Raftery; JSerra; So.; Catcher

Alivia Magallanes; Los Alamitos; Sr.; Outfield

Bree Carlson; Huntington Beach; Jr.; First Base

Nia Hall; Temescal Canyon; Jr.; Third Base

Brett Lambrecht; Chino Hills; So.; Utility

Eliana Corona; La Habra; So.; Catcher

Zoe Justman; Granada Hills; Sr.; Utility

Ashannalee Titialii; Carson; Sr.; Shortstop

Zoe Justman slugged .802 to help Granada Hills claim the City Section Open Division title last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The duo of pitcher Jordan Ayala and shortstop Dylan Seward is going to do big things for Norco High baseball.

A little peek into their potential could be seen on Saturday against Great Oak. Ayala, a sophomore, gave up one hit in six innings striking out five and walking none. Seward, a junior committed to Tennessee, had three hits as the leadoff batter. Norco won 9-0. Jayden Serna had a three-run home run.

Bishop Alemany 9, El Camino Real 1: Brody Thompson and Daniel Aceves each had two hits for the 2-0 Warriors.

Loyola 9, West Ranch 5: Bobby Rapp, Mac Taw, Matthew Favela, Brandon Bendel each had two hits for Loyola.

Huntington Beach 3, Servite 0: Four pitchers combined for the shutout, striking out nine for Huntington Beach.

Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Corona Centennial 1: Pitchers Cade Tessier, Cash Matlock and Brody Jakel combined for eight strikeouts for Pacifica.

Oaks Christian 8, Buena 2: The Lions (3-0) two hits each from Ryan Sheffer and Jack Brinkman. Christian Ipsen had eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Calabasas 2, Cleveland 1: Jayden Singer had no walks in five innings and Harrison Beck contributed three hits for 2-0 Calabasas.

Simi Valley 8, Granada Hills 2: Evan Rodriguez had two hits and two RBIs for the Pioneers.

El Dorado 6, Sierra Canyon 3: Julian Rodriguez struck out six in five innings for 2-0 El Dorado.

Long Beach Millikan 10, Murrieta Valley 0: Daunte Bell had 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Fullerton 11, La Palma Kennedy 1: Noah Wise recorded six strikeouts in three innings for Fullerton.

Quartz Hill 3, Camarillo 1: Parker White threw six scoreless innings and Cole Gregory had three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus 6, Cypress 5: The Centurions dropped to 1-1.

Mira Costa 3, Crossroads 2: Emmett Maloney struck out four and gave up one hit in three scoreless innings of relief for Mira Costa. Ace Tarango had three hits.

Paraclete 10, Valencia 1: Mason Jacobo threw six innings to pick up the win for Paraclete.

Carson 11, Hawthorne 0: James Markel had two hits and two RBIs.

Foothill 8, Long Beach Wilson 7: Presley Gaborno had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for Foothill, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit. Evrett Rycroft had three hits and two RBIs. James Mirabile had three hits and four RBIs for Wilson.

Westlake 21, Oxnard Pacifica 2: Dylan Lee hit two home runs for the Warriors and finished with four hits and seven RBIs. Blake Miller had five RBIs.

Softball

Long Beach Millikan 7, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: The Rams scored seven runs in the seventh inning. Two doubles and two RBIs from Abby Everrett were key. Riley McAndrew threw the shutout. Earlier, Notre Dame defeated Huntington Beach 13-1. Keira Luderer had four hits, including a home run.

Granada Hills 15, Irvine Valley 0: Zoe Justman contributed four hits and five RBIs for Granada Hills.

In his varsity debut, sophomore second baseman Auron Blackledge of Calabasas made quite a first impression on Friday. On the seventh pitch of his first at-bat, he hit a home run.

He finished with three hits and three RBIs in the Coyotes’ 7-0 win over Castaic.

Luke Szymanski struck out five with no walks in five innings.

Gahr 16, Santa Margarita 3: Andres Gonzalez and Bryce Morrison each had three hits for Gahr.

Harvard-Westlake 8, Texas Marcus 5: Ira Rootman hit his second home run of the season and finished with two hits and three RBIs for the 2-0 Wolverines.

Mira Costa 4, Westlake 1: Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter for the Mustangs (2-0).

El Camino Real 9, Culver City 1: Shane Bogacz had four RBIs and Andrew Katzman threw 4 1/3 innings of no-hit relief for the defending City Section champions.

Bishop Alemany 7, Newbury Park 1: Brody Thompson hit a two-run home run and Noel Barrientos threw five scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Warriors.

Chaminade 4, Hart 3: A three-run rally in the seventh lifted the Eagles to victory. Robby Morgan finished with three hits.

Mission Viejo 5, Corona del Mar 1: Aiden Chapuis struck out seven in five innings and Joey Pallone had two hits for the Diablos.

Oxnard Pacifica 3, Chatsworth 1: Isaiah Sanchez struck out four in six innings for Chatsworth.

Anaheim Canyon 4, Redondo Union 2: Logan Adams had two hits and two RBIs for Canyon.

Oaks Christian 4, Paraclete 3: Carson Sheffer hit a home run and Dane Disney had two hits for Oaks Christian (2-0).

Rio Mesa 3, Cleveland 2: A bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning lifted Rio Mesa to victory. Grant Oh had three hits for Cleveland.

Narbonne 3, Palos Verdes 2: Joshua Minor had an RBI single during a two-run sixth for Narbonne.

Valencia 8, Buena 3: Tyler Wertz had two hits, including a home run, and Evan Conrad added three RBIs for Valencia.

Camarillo 4, Sun Valley Poly 1: Turner Hothan gave up one hit in four innings for Camarillo.

Granada Hills 4, Highland 1: Cayden Lazar struck out seven and gave up one hit in six innings for the Highlanders.

St. Francis 6, Santa Barbara 1: Daniel Izaguirre went three for three for 3-0 St. Fancis.

Softball

Norco 3, Aliso Niguel 0: Peyton May struck out 12 and threw an eight-inning no-hitter.

JSerra 2, Chino Hills 1: Annabel Raftery had a walk-off sacrifice fly in the eighth for the win.

The new UCLA football coaching staff has been in touch with one of their top recruits arriving in 2027.

Weston Port, the former San Juan Hills High standout linebacker, is finishing up his second year as a Mormon missionary on assignment in Spain.

New linebacker coach Vic So’oto has been in contact with Port and once tried to recruit him to Cal.

Port exercises when he has time while visiting various cities. His mission ends in December and he’ll be ready to join UCLA for spring practice in 2027 while focusing on getting back into playing shape.

His father said in a message, “Weston remains committed to UCLA and is eager and excited to get back to football once his service is completed.”

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

Jaden Bailes, JSerra’s leading scorer, was being patient. He had just eight points going into the fourth quarter Tuesday night in a Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal playoff game against Rolling Hills Prep at North Torrance. The Lions were clinging to a seven-point lead.

That’s when Bailes decided to go into Stephen Curry mode. He made three consecutive threes to ignite a 15-0 surge that left Rolling Hills Prep helpless. The Lions pulled away for a 66-49 victory that only took 71 minutes to complete. The Lions (22-12) are a 12-loss team that’s looking pretty good with no fellow Trinity League teams left in Division 1. They do have to figure out a way to contain high-scoring Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood in Friday’s semifinals at JSerra.

Bailes certainly can make shots with Crowe if given the opportunity.

“They were doubling him on everything and I told him to be a playmaker,” JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson said.

Said Bailes: “I was confident the ball was going to come back to me. It’s a collective team effort. Lanes started opening up and I took advantage.”

Bailes finished with 19 points, Earl Bryson had 18 points and Godschoice Eboigbodin had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Kawika Suter scored 16 points for Rolling Hills Prep, which trailed by five points at halftime and 41-34 after three quarters.

Harvard-Westlake 83, Santa Margarita 62: After losing three of their last four games, the Wolverines have come back big time in the Open Division playoffs, winning their pool with an impressive road win. Joe Sterling and Pierce Thompson each scored 22 points and Amir Jones 21.

Redondo Union 69, Corona Centennial 57: Chris Sanders scored 22 points to help Redondo Union win its pool and move on to a quarterfinal home game Friday against La Mirada.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 69, St. John Bosco 60: The Knights won their Open Division pool and will host Corona Centennial on Friday. NaVorro Bowman Jr. scored 20 points and Zach White had 14 points.

Sierra Canyon 95, Corona del Mar 65: Maxi Adams had 25 points and Brandon McCoy 23 for the 24-1 Trailblazers, who won their pool and will play host to Santa Margarita on Friday.

Inglewood 82, Fairmont Prep 69: Jason Crowe Jr. finished with 45 points to help Inglewood reach the Division 1 semifinals and assure Crowe will be in the state playoffs.

Mater Dei 82, El Dorado 72: Luke Barnett led the way with five threes and 26 points and Zain Majeed added 25 points to advance the Monarchs into the Division 2 semifinals.

Crean Lutheran 83, Village Christian 58: The top-seeded Saints routed Village Christian to move into the Division 1 semifinals, where it will face Rancho Christian, a 71-62 winner over Long Beach Millikan.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The high school baseball season begins this week, and it’s the sport that produces the most future pro athletes in Southern California. While everyone thinks they are a scout and thousands of dollars are spent on private coaches, travel ball and showcases seeking any kind of edge, the bottom line is whether a player can produce results against quality competition. And throwing 90 mph without throwing strikes means nothing to the programs that win.

Baseball begins

St. John Bosco High teammates celebrate with a dogpile on the field after winning the regional baseball title last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Baseball is the sport in Southern California where you think the best team can win a championship but doesn’t because there’s always another team with equally good pitching Corona was the certain team last season to win it all (just like the Dodgers), but St. John Bosco beat the Panthers in the playoff semifinals and won the Southern Section Division 1 championship.

Now St. John Bosco is the Corona of 2026: Everyone’s No. 1 team to start the season because of numerous returnees, including the Clark twins, James and Miles; closer Jack Champlin; top hitters Jaden Jackson and Noah Everly; plus the addition of a healthy pitcher, Julian Garcia, who was supposed to be the No. 1 thrower last season until an injury.

Just like Corona, however, St. John Bosco is no sure thing because there’s lots of teams with the kind of standout pitching to beat the Braves in a one-game playoff situation.

The Mission League alone has so many pitchers throwing 90 mph and above that if you don’t have a radar gun at a game, you look out of place. Harvard-Westlake, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Sierra Canyon and Loyola all have formidable pitchers capable of winning big games against top opponents.

St. John Bosco faces immediate challengers in the Trinity League, led by Orange Lutheran, which has another team filled with all-star players, including 6-foot-8 pitcher Gary Morse and Huntington Beach infielder transfer CJ Weinstein. Texas commit Brady Murrietta will be a four-year standout. The Lancers can tell anyone that being ranked No. 1 hardly guarantees success in the postseason. They haven’t been able to win a section title despite lots of great teams.

Royal has a group of pitchers with big arms ready to see where they stand. Who’s going to inflict a loss on Huntington Beach junior Jared Grindlinger? Striker Pence of Corona Santiago has been clocked throwing 101 mph.

Cypress, El Dorado, JSerra, Santa Margarita, Mater Dei, Aquinas, La Mirada, Arcadia, Norco, Gahr and Huntington Beach have no fear of taking on the big boys this season.

As far as pro prospects, outfielder Blake Bowen of JSerra, outfielder Anthony Murphy of Corona, infielder Trey Ebel of Corona and infielder Brody Schumacher of Santa Margarita are among the top players to watch.

And prepare for one of the most talented group of players from the class of 2029, led by the hero of the El Segundo Little League World Series team, Louis Lappe, who makes his freshman debut for Harvard-Westlake.

Here’s a profile of Lappe and two of his fellow class of 2029 teammates.

Here’s a preseason all-star team.

Here’s the preseason top 25 rankings by The Times.

Boys basketball

OJ Popoola of Palisades has made major contributions after transferring with his twin brother from Detroit.

(Nick Koza)

The City Section Open Division semifinals are set for Saturday at L.A. Southwest College. Palisades will face San Pedro at 6 p.m. and Cleveland will take on Fairfax at 4 p.m.

Fairfax upset No. 3-seeded Birmingham. San Pedro eliminated Coliseum League champion Washington Prep. San Pedro has the kind of veteran team that might be able to stay with the top-seeded Dolphins for a little bit if its zone is working.

The top seeds are mostly holding in Division I. The semifinals will have No. 3 Venice at No. 2 Chatsworth and No. 5 L.A. Jordan at No. 1 Granada Hills.

In Division II, No. 10-seeded Marquez is making noise behind football standout Elyjah Staples, upsetting No. 2 Eagle Rock 57-50. Marquez will be at Sylmar in the semifinals. King/Drew coach Lloyd Webster has his team in semifinals after a 52-50 win over Downtown Magnets. He also was smiling because his son, Josahn, scored 22 points for Rolling Hills Prep in its win over Orange Lutheran in Southern Section Division 1.

La Mirada got a breakthrough win in the Southern Section Open Division. Here’s the report. On Tuesday, Corona Centennial is playing at Redondo Union to determine No. 1 in its pool and ditto for Harvard-Westlake at Santa Margarita.

Blair upset top-seeded Bonita in Division 4. Blair is coached by Derrick Taylor, who’s won championships at Taft and St. John Bosco. Here’s the report.

Mater Dei and JSerra continue to dominate in Division 2 and Division 1, respectively. JSerra will face a challenge in the quarterfinals on Tuesday from Rolling Hills Prep at North Torrance. Rolling Hills Prep inflicted a loss to Orange Lutheran last week.

Girls basketball

One of the best coaching jobs this season has been turned in by Birmingham’s Victor Koopongsakorn. The Patriots are 27-3 and seeded No. 2 in the City Section Open Division despite being a young team with few returnees. Next up is a semifinal game against Hamilton on Saturday. The other semifinal has top-seeded Westchester facing Venice. Three of the four remaining teams are from the Western League.

In the Southern Section Open Division, there’s no sign any opponent is going to threaten Ontario Christian, Etiwanda or Sierra Canyon among the 12 teams in pool play. All three are preparing to inevitable meetings in the next two weeks.

Oak Park came through with a 67-44 win over Corona Centennial to make itself the likely No. 4 team to challenge the big three. Karisma Flores had 17 points and Ava Rogerson 15.

Two veteran coaches, Charlie Solomon of Brentwood and Kevin Kiernan of Troy, faceed with their teams on Saturday in Division 1. Troy won 61-48. Kiernan is the winningest coach in California history. He came out of retirement to return for a second stint at Troy. Mei-Ling Perry had 19 points and nine rebounds to advance Troy to the quarterfinals. Kelsey Sugar had 20 points for Brentwood.

Softball

Garden Grove Pacifica continues to take pride in all of its former players playing college softball. The list is at 16 for this season. As they say, “Once a Mariner, always a Mariner.”

Norco, the defending Southern Section Division 1 champions, is expected to be the preseason No. 1 with the return of pitcher Coral Williams. The Cougars open the season Tuesday at home against Aquinas.

Defending City Open Division champion Granada Hills has to find a pitching replacement for Addison Moorman, but has lots of hitters, including Zoe Justman, who batted .442, and Elysse Diaz, who hit .470. The Highlanders will try once again to prepare for City competition by playing Southern Section teams in nonleague and tournament games.

Wrestling

Birmingham’s Henry Aslikyan, seen here last year, became a four-time City Section champion on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Henry Aslikyan of Birmingham capped off a remarkable four-year run in City Section wrestling by winning his fourth City individual title. This time it was at 120 pounds, sending him on to the state championships. He has won two state titles but the 120-pound division will be the toughest in state with three returning state champions competing.

Here’s the link to complete City results.

Here’s the link to Southern Section results.

Soccer

El Camino Real, South East, Marquez and Palisades are the four teams that have made it to the City Section Open Division boys soccer semifinals. On Thursday, top-seeded El Camino Real will host Palisades and No. 2 South East will host Marquez.

On Wednesday in City Open Division girls semifinals, No. 1 Cleveland plays host to Palisades and Thursday, No. 6 New West Charter hosts Granada Hills.

In Southern Section Open Division boys, the quarterfinals begin Tuesday with Orange Lutheran hosting Placentia Valencia and JSerra hosting Mater Dei. In Division 1, Servite is the fourth Trinity League still alive and plays host to Santa Monica.

In Southern Section Open Division girls, Santa Margarita, Oaks Christian, Mater Dei and Redondo Union have advanced.

In Southern Section Division 1 girls, Mission League rivals Harvard-Westlake and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will face off in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Harvard-Westlake.

Competitive equity playoffs

The CIF governs high school sports in California.

(CIF)

There’s still coaches unhappy with the Southern Section competitive equity playoff system using computer algorithms to place teams in divisions.

The Southern Section says no system is perfect, but it’s clear the system used for basketball is flawed. How in the name of sanity (just go ask coaches) was Mater Dei placed in Division 2? They were in Division 1 all season until taking a free fall from Jan. 27 until the time the next rankings were released during seeding announcements. They happened to need an at-large berth to qualify for the playoffs and wouldn’t have earned one in Division 1, causing conspiracy theories. I don’t believe there was a conspiracy, just that the computer system got it badly wrong. Mater Dei has won its first two Division 2 playoff games by scores of 83-63 and 85-59. And look for more to come because they are a Division 1 team.

Here’s a look at the concerns.

Notes . . .

St. John Bosco has already won the transfer portal in high school football with the announcement that standout sophomore offensive tackle Elisha Mueller of Servite has arrived at the Bellflower school. Leuzinger sophomore quarterback Russell Sekona has transferred to Mater Dei. Leuzinger sophomore defensive back Pakipole Moala has transferred to Santa Margarita. Here’s the transfer portal list. . . .

Russell White has stepped down after 10 years coaching eight-man football at Flintridge Prep. He’d like to try 11-man football. White led Crespi to a Division 1 football title in 1986 playing running back and went on to star at Cal before being drafted by the Rams. . . .

Rick Garretson is the new football coach at Servite. He’s a 1974 graduate of Servite, was once a long-serving assistant coach and served as head coach at Chandler in Arizona from 2019-2024. Here’s the report.

Kicker Jacob Kreinbring of Loyola has committed to Stonybrook. . . .

Football coach James Stewart of La Quinta has resigned. Lucas Alexander will be the new coach. . . .

Randy Luna is the new football coach at Canoga Park. . . .

Fred Gambrell has resigned after two years as head football coach at Sunny Hills. . . .

Junior receiver Eli Woodard of Chaparral has committed to USC. . . .

Golfer Charlie Woods, the teenage son of Tiger Woods, has committed to Florida State as part of the class of 2027. . . .

Two top high school baseball tournaments for this spring have been finalized. The Boras Classic will begin April 7 at Mater Dei and JSerra. The National Classic also will be held in Orange County starting March. 30. Here’s the link.

St. John Bosco twins Ethan and Justin Coach, standout linebackers, have committed to Washington. . . .

Henry Polanco is the new girls flag football coach at Schurr. . . .

Kiyoshi Harris is the new football coach at JW North. . . .

Benjamin Siff, an assistant baseball coach at St. Margaret’s since 2016, has been named the head coach effective at the end of the 2026 season. Long-time coach Scott Wallis is leaving out of Orange County at the end of this season. . . .

Richard Masson has announced his retirement from coaching basketball. What a journey he’s had coaching boys and girls after winning more than 700 games. He was boys coach at L.A. Jordan for seven years, Carson boys coach for 22 years, Rolling Hills Prep girls coach for seven years, Carson girls coach for four years. He’s won championships and coached lots of great players. “Blessed to have had great players, assistant coaches and support system,” he said.

From the archives: LaMelo Ball

Chino Hills guard LaMelo Ball pulls up for a shot over Mater Dei’s Michael Wang and Matthew Weyand (21) in 2017.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been nine years since LaMelo Ball scored 92 points as a 15-year-old sophomore for Chino Hills in a 146-123 win over Los Osos in February of 2017, so why not look back.

The big debate was whether it was an accomplishment that should be celebrated or criticized.

“As a coach, if I see a player doing well, who am I to stop his shine?” Stephan Gilling, Chino Hills’ first-year coach, said in 2017.

“About the third quarter, my dad said, ‘Keep shooting,’” LaMelo said during a radio interview on KLAC-AM (570). “If I knew I was going to score that much, I would have shot more in the first half.”

Here’s a story looking back at that game.

Recommendations

From the Seattle Times, a story on former NBA guard Jamal Crawford coaching his son in high school.

From the Tennessee Bar Assn., a story on how the state is moving to loosening transfer rules with one free sports transfer.

From the Pleasantonweekly, a story from last December from a high school sportswriter detailing his frustration with the transfer issues in California high school sports.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on how Brentwood School’s athletic facilities are facing a challenge from the Veterans Administration.

Fram Angelusnews, a story on the turnaround at St. Bernard.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

Derrick Taylor won four City Section titles coaching basketball at Taft High. He won a Southern Section 3A title coaching at St. John Bosco and a Division II state championship with the Braves. So when he decided to come out of retirement and coach at Blair this season, you knew something good might happen.

On Friday night, Blair continued its run in the Southern Section Division 4 playoffs by upsetting No. 1-seeded Bonita 79-71. Jaleel Hunter had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

Blair lost its top player, Tim Anderson, who transferred to Pasadena. The team started 0-4. Now the Vikings are 21-9 and playing in the Division 4 quarterfinals on the road against Trabuco Hills on Tuesday.

Taylor lost his job at Taft in 2023 after guiding the Toreadors to an Open Division title. He briefly was going to coach at Gardena Serra, then stepped down for health reasons.

Things quickly have turned around for Blair, but it comes as no surprise to those who’ve seen what Taylor can do.

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

Tyran who?

Remember when people were wondering what might happen to the Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball team after All-American Tyran Stokes left for a new high school in Washington?

What’s happened is that the Knights (20-6) went into the weight room, got stronger to make up for losing Stokes’ rebounding prowess and are very much alive in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs after defeating La Mirada 76-60 on Wednesday night in their opening game of Pool D. Next up is St. John Bosco at home Tuesday night.

Players such as Zach White, Josiah Nance, Ilan Niklov and Zion Lanier are showing off their muscles. Even guard NaVorro Bowman, who scored 25 points, is using his strength to draw fouls and head to the free-throw line.

Andrew Castro scored 17 points for La Mirada, which had won 14 consecutive games.

Santa Margarita 81, Damien 71: The Eagles won their pool play opener at home. Kaiden Bailey finished with 21 points.

Sierra Canyon 71, Crespi 64: Jordan Mize scored 16 points, Brandon McCoy and Brannon Martinsen 15 and Maxi Adams 14 to power top-seeded Sierra Canyon to an Open Division win.

Redondo Union 74, Etiwanda 31: SJ Madison led the way with 20 points for Redondo Union.

Windward 77, Bishop Montgomery 61: Davey Harris finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Windward.

JSerra 72, Pasadena 66: The Lions won in overtime. Jaden Bailes had 21 points.

Orange Lutheran 79, Arcadia 74: Josh King scored 22 points for Orange Lutheran.

Inglewood 102, Tesoro 70: Jason Crowe Jr. finished with 34 points for Inglewood.

St. Bernard 63, La Habra 51: Chris Rupert led St. Bernard with 14 points.

Saugus 65, Culver City 64: Braydon Harmon came through with 44 points and 14 rebounds for Saugus. The Centurions came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Brentwood 61, Long Beach Poly 55: AJ Okoh delivered a 31-point performance for the Eagles, who will face Fairmont Prep on the road Friday. Fairmont Prep eiminated Crossroads.

Loyola 72, Los Alamitos 64: Deuce Newt had 24 points for the Cubs.

Eastside 65, Redlands East Valley 61: Christian Duran led Eastside with 18 points.

Rolling Hills Prep 50, St. Monica 47: Kawika Suter had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Rolling Hills Prep.

Oakwood 72, San Bernardino 69: Dylan Williams had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Bryce Fletcher added 18 points for Oakwood.

Rancho Christian 78, St. Francis 59: With 7-4 center Cherif Millogo not playing, St. Francis was beaten in its playoff opener. Luke Paulus had 17 points.

Long Beach Millikan 79, Thousand Oaks 34: Freshman guard Quali Giran had 21 points.

Murrieta Mesa 71, Viewpoint 58: Murrieta Mesa advances in the Division 3 playoffs.

MIra Costa 57, Oaks Christian 56: Paxx Bell scored 15 points for Mira Costa.

Fairfax 66, Birmingham 58: Chris Stokes scored 22 points to help the Lions upset No. 3-seeded Birmingham in the City Section Open Division playoffs. Fairfax will face Cleveland, a 57-52 winner over Narbonne, in the semifinals on Feb. 21. Charlie Adams scored 23 points for Cleveland.

Palisades 72, El Camino Real 45: Top-seeded Palisades received 23 points from EJ Popoola and will face San Pedro in an Open Division semifinals on Feb. 21 at L.A. Southwest College.

San Pedro 51, Washington Prep 47: The Pirates won on the road to reach the Open Division semifinals. AJ Bobich made four free throws in the final 30 seconds and finished with 10 points. Chris Morgan led the way with 15 points and Ricky Alonso had 12.

Sun Valley Poly 44, Westchester 36: The Parrots eliminated defending City Open Division champion Westchester in a Division I opener. Kevin Lara scored 15 points for Poly.

Carson 68, LACES 53: Mekhi Williams had 28 points and Blake McCall 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Colts in a City Division II game.

Crenshaw 69, Grant 58: Lauran Coleman had 20 points for the Cougars in a Division I opener.

Eagle Rock 53, University 51: Skylar Melton scored 27 points for University in the Division II loss.

It’s all in the family for El Camino Real soccer.

The head coach for the defending City Section Open Division champion boys soccer team is Ian Kogan, whose daughter, Jordyn, is a top defender for the El Camino Real girls team.

In two seasons, Kogan and girls coach Eric Choi will be talking even more, because arriving in the fall 2027 will be Jordyn’s sister, Peyton, and Choi’s daughter, Leighton.

“I can’t wait,” Choi said.

Both teams found out their City Section playoff seedings on Monday. The boys team is seeded No. 1. The girls team is seeded No. 3 behind Cleveland.

Here’s the link to pairings.

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

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Playoff pairings have been announced for high school basketball. There’s only one unbeaten team left and what an intriguing story.

Unbeaten Elsinore stands alone

There’s only one unbeaten team in the Southern Section basketball playoffs. And what an intriguing story regarding 28-0 Elsinore.

Back in 1974, when Elsinore when 27-0 until losing at the L.A. Sports Arena in the Division 1-A final, Peter Rettinger rode to the game as a middle school student on the rooter bus and Rick Wolter played in the game as a sophomore.

They’ve been co-head coaches at Elsinore for 32 years. This season, they have a top junior guard in Kamrynn Nathan, averaging 25.2 points. “He’s fun to watch because he’s really creative,” Rettinger said.

Elsinore won the Mountain Pass League and has wins over Chino Hills, Murrieta Valley and Murrieta Mesa. Elsinore was placed in the Division 2 playoffs and opens at home Wednesday against Sonora.

Much has changed since Rettinger was a student at Elsinore, which used to be the only high school in the “Valley” from Corona to Temecula. Now there’s two new high schools in Elsinore, three in Temecula and three in Murrieta.

Wolter retired from teaching and Rettinger is still teaching.

“We’ve always had a positive experience,” Rettinger said. “The parents realized we are the product of the valley and tried to do the best we can with whatever we team have.”

They’re a true neighborhood team supported by loyal neighborhood families.

Boys basketball

The Southern Section playoff pairings released Saturday includes Sierra Canyon as the No. 1 seed for the Open Division. There are 12 teams and four divisions for pool play. Here’s a look.

Here are the Southern Section pairings.

Kaiden Bailey of Santa Margarita had zero points against St. John Bosco but contributed eight assists.

(Dylan Stewart / 1550 Sports)

The McDonald’s All-America Game revealed its rosters for the boys and girls games. Here’s the report.

Santa Margarita won the first Trinity League tournament with a 57-56 win over St. John Bosco. Here’s the report.

St. Bernard won the Del Rey League title behind junior guard Brandon Granger. Here’s the report.

Thousand Oaks’ Dylan McCord has had a great senior year shooting threes. He had 43 points and 10 threes in a win over Newbury Park. Here’s a report.

Palisades won its first Western League title in 30 years and gained the No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs. Here’s the City playoff seedings.

Sun Valley Poly coach Joe Wyatt guided his team to a 12-0 record in the East Valley League and 28 consecutive league wins. Here’s the report.

The Times’ final regular season top 25 basketball rankings.

Girls basketball

Sophomore forward Kiara Wakabi helped Birmingham win its 32nd West League game in a row.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Birmingham won the West Valley League title in a close game over Granada Hills and is seeded No. 2 for the City Section Open Division playoffs behind Westchester. Here’s a look at the Patriots’ win over Granada Hills.

Andrea Antonio, a freshman at Hamilton, scored 54 points in her team’s 85-83 overtime win over Palisades.

The Southern Section Open Division pairings were released, and the top three seeds are Ontario Christian, Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon.

Bow ties for Reggie

Reggie Morris Jr., in 2013. He has a collection of bow ties he brings out for the playoffs.

(Nick Koza)

It’s time to break out the bow ties for Reggie Morris Jr., the head basketball coach at Redondo Union. He has won Southern Section titles coaching at Redondo, Leuzinger and St. Bernard. He won a City title at Fairfax.

Here’s what Morris has to say about preparing to challenge Sierra Canyon and others in the Open Division playoffs.

Super Bowl connections

Patriots special teams player Brenden Schooler during his high school days at Mission Viejo.

(Los Angeles Times)

Southern California was well represented in Sunday’s Super Bowl, with former local high school players on the rosters of the Seahawks and Patriots.

Here’s a look at the path those players took and why they made it, according to their high school coaches.

During Super Bowl week, the two NFL rookies of the year announced were from Southern California. Receiver Tetairoa McMillan from Servite and the Carolina Panthers and linebacker Carson Schwesinger from Oaks Christian, UCLA and the Cleveland Browns.

Wrestling

The City Section boys and girls wrestling championships will be held Saturday night at Roybal. Admission is $12. There’s a $5 parking charge.

The Southern Section individual championships will have six divisional finals Friday and Saturday at Westminster, Fountain Valley, Canyon Springs, Great Oak, Moorpark and Glenn. It will help determine qualifiers for the Masters Meet at Sonora on Feb. 20. Admission is $14.

Redondo Union won its first Southern Section Division 6 boys wrestling championship. El Modena won Division 5. Corona took Division 4. South Torrance took Division 3. Temecula Valley won Division 2. St. John Bosco won Division 1.

Santa Ana won the Diviison 1 girls title. Chaparral won Division 2. Oxnard Pacifica took Division 3. Sonora won Division 4.

Soccer

Palos Verdes is seeded No. 1 for the Open Division boys competition. Mater Dei is seeded No. 2.

Here’s the boys pairings.

Santa Margarita is seeded No. 1 in Open Division girls.

Here’s the Southern Section girls pairings.

The City Section playoff pairings will be announced Monday.

Notes . . .

Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman.

(Nick Koza)

There will be three new head football coaches in the Trinity League this fall after Orange Lutheran announced that Rod Sherman was no longer the football coach and Chris Reinert resigned at Servite. JSerra hired Hardy Nickerson as its new coach. Here’s the report on Sherman’s departure. Here’s the report on Reinert’s departure and the many changes happening in the nation’s toughest football league. . . .

The National Federation of State High School Assn. football rules committee has clarified and strengthened a rule that prohibits slapping the head of any player on offense or defense. Here are the rule changes for 2026. . . .

Noah Thayer, who was one of the best kickers in the Southland until suffering an injury at JSerra, has committed to Cal Poly. . . .

Junior receiver Michael Farinas of Chaparral has committed to UCLA. . . .

Junior linebacker Mike Davis Jr. of Mater Dei has committed to UCLA. . . .

Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel had the seventh-best girls shot put effort in state history at the winter championships at Arcadia High with a mark of 52-10 1/4,

Junior receiver Tycen Johnson of Chaparral has committed to Arizona State. . . .

Sophomore all-league linebacker Allen Kennett V has transferred from Servite to Santa Margarita. . . .

Spud O’Neil, the baseball coach at Lakewood since 1984, has announced 2026 will be his final season. He has 970 victories over 52 seasons that includes stints at St. Anthony and Colton. . . .

The Coliseum League is getting a change for football in the fall. Moving out are Dymally and Fremont, which will be switching to the Metro and Exposition leagues. Moving in is Marquez, which will join Crenshaw, Dorsey, King/Drew and Washington Prep. . . .

Lorenzo Hernandez, who was football coach at Garfield from 1999 through 2024, is the leading candidate to become head coach at Whittier, which has Garfield’s former principal. Hernandez served as athletic director at Garfield since the fall. He’d be taking over a program that is headed to a new league if they select him. . . .

Eddie Ficklin has resigned as football coach at Cantwell Sacred-Heart. . . .

Matt Casey is the new football coach at Arlington. . . .

Eric Carnohan is the new director of aquatics at Servite. . . .

Chace Holley from Bay League champion Redondo Union has committed to Pepperdine.

From the archives: Robert Garcia

Former San Fernando football coach Robert Garcia is now an assistant coach at Bishop Alemany.

(Robert Garcia)

Former San Fernando football coach Robert Garcia has joined Dennis Keyes’ staff as an assistant coach at Bishop Alemany.

He was head coach at San Fernando from 2011 until the summer of 2021, winning two City Section Division II titles and a Division I title. He left to run a family restaurant business. He has helped coach with Keyes before since both have sons playing youth football.

Here’s a 2012 interview after winning a City title.

Here’s a story from 2018 when the Rams recognized San Fernando.

Recommendations

From the Daily Breeze, a story on new Bishop Montgomery coach Oscar McBride.

From The562.org, a story on Lakewood baseball coach Spud O’Neil announcing this will be his final season after 52 years coaching baseball.

From the Oklahoman, a story on the governor supporting open transfers in high school sports.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

The track and field season begins in less than a month, and for an early look at who’s gotten faster should happen on Saturday when Arcadia High is the site for the California winter championships.

The meet is run by Rich Gonzalez, who also handles the Arcadia Invitational.

Servite is sending most of its top sprinters to the event, which includes running in the 60-, 150- and 300-meter races. Twins Jace and Jorden Wells have already shown they will be faster in their sophomore seasons. Ditto for Jaelen Hunter.

Another athlete earning rave reviews in the offseason has been Loyola’s Ejam Yohannes in the 200 and 400.

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

Brandon Granger, a 5-foot-10 junior guard at St. Bernard, has burst onto the scene with much to celebrate.

He’s averaging 25 points a game and led St. Bernard (17-11) to the Del Rey League championship earlier this week with an 80-65 win over St. Paul in which he scored 28 points.

Jordan Ballard, a transfer from Westchester, has also played a big role for the Vikings, who won the league title in the second year as head coach of alumnus Bernard McCrumby, who came from Gardena Serra.

The league is always competitive. St. Monica finished second, St. Anthony third, St. Pius X-St. Matthias fourth and St. Paul fifth.

McCrumby took over the program with the promise to renew the Vikings’ success. St. Bernard will find out its spot in the Southern Section playoffs when pairings are released on Saturday at noon.

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

In the old days, during the 1980s and 1990s, when the Notre Dame-Crespi basketball rivalry was in peak form, it would get so hot in Notre Dame’s sold-out gym that they’d have to open windows from high above or sweat would be everywhere. Then came the invention of air conditioning, but Friday’s Mission League tournament semifinals were also super hot in terms of intensity and top performances.

Notre Dame (20-6) was able to pull out an 82-78 victory over Crespi on the strength of four consecutive pressure free throws made by standout junior guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. in the final 14 seconds to earn the Knights a championship game appearance against host Sierra Canyon on Wednesday night.

Crespi (19-11), which went on the road to upset Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, gave the Knights plenty to sweat about. The Celts held a 70-67 lead with 4:46 left until a Josiah Nance three tied the score and started a 10-0 Notre Dame run. A three by sophomore Zion Lanier off an assist from Bowman with 1:10 left put the Knights on top 77-70. The Celts were forced to foul and never got closer than two points.

Notre Dame has produced some outstanding high school guards in the past five years, from Dusty Stromer to Mercy Miller to Angelino Mark, who’s a freshman at Rutgers and showed up Monday night to root for his former teammates. But Bowman is headed to rarefied air. From making threes to powering his way through defenders to converting layups to making a seemingly impossible off-balance shot Monday, he has been in a class by himself.

He’s averaging 23 points and finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

“He’s a special player,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “He shows up in big moments. He’s super mentally tough.”

His father was an NFL player, and Bowman has the family genes to perform at his best when the team needs him the most. Crespi was trying to cover him closely in the first half. Notre Dame players kept setting him screens, but Bowman was a little bit off, missing six shots. In the second half, he couldn’t be stopped.

“I had to lock in,” Bowman said.

The game was briefly halted early in the second quarter when the officials gave a warning to Sargeant and Crespi coach Derek Fisher to stay in their coaching boxes. Adding to the drama, Fisher’s wife was asked to leave the gym by Notre Dame officials. Both teams plowed through the distractions to put on a terrific second half that went back and forth.

Isaiah Barnes finished with 24 points and Cayman Martin had 20 points. Ilan Nikolov helped out Notre Dame with 19 points.

“This has been a rivalry for years,” Bowman said. “It feels good to win twice.”

Wednesday’s Mission League tournament final will also decide league MVP honors. The league champion gets to pick who the MVP is, so if Notre Dame wins, it surely will be Bowman.

Sierra Canyon 103, Loyola 74: The Trailblazers (22-1) received 30 points from Brandon McCoy and 23 points from Maxi Adams, both of whom were selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game in an announcement on Monday.

Mater Dei 92, Orange Lutheran 65: Luke Barnett scored 31 points to lead Mater Dei in an opening game of the Trinity League tournament.

JSerra 78, Servite 53: Ryan Doane had 16 points for the Lions.

Cleveland 61, Chatsworth 56: Harout Posheyan had 14 points and Charlie Adams 13 for Cleveland, which clinched the West Valley League championship. Aaron Krueger had 13 points for Chatsworth.

Brentwood 71, Viewpoint 56: Ethan Hill had 24 points and 20 rebounds for Brentwood.

Los Alamitos 68, Edison 61: Tyler Lopez led the way with 17 points.

A college football recruiting dead period has begun, which means Servite will be a lot quieter after college recruiters visited during the past two weeks making sure they stop by to evaluate the team’s outstanding starting offensive tackles, Drew Fielder, a junior, and Elisha Mueller, a sophomore.

Let’s just say that Fielder, the 6-foot-6, 280-pound starting left tackle, has “blown up” as a college prospect as coaches recognize his growing size, strength and ability entering his senior year. Mueller, 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, has been attracting big-time interest since his freshman season as a right tackle starter and was a sophomore All-American.

Together, they should form quite a duo in the Trinity League this fall.

“You feel real confident in your ability to win in the trenches,” coach Chris Reinert said.

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

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s the final week of regular-season high school basketball before playoff pairings are announced Saturday.

Who’s hot?

With basketball playoff pairings coming Saturday, there has been few changes at the top for boys or girls.

Sierra Canyon (21-1) and Redondo Union (24-3) have stayed No. 1 and No. 2 for weeks. Sierra Canyon still likely has two challenging games left in the Mission League tournament Monday and Wednesday, but both would be at home. Redondo Union faces rival Mira Costa for a second time Tuesday at Mira Costa.

Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian.

(Nick Koza)

In girls, Ontario Christian (26-1) closes out the regular season on Tuesday at Rancho Christian. Sierra Canyon (24-2) has never lost in the Mission League and came away Saturday with a win over a very good Oak Park team. Etiwanda (26-2), the defending state champion, continues to be the danger for Ontario Christian and Sierra Canyon.

Rising teams in boys basketball: Village Christian had an 11-game winning streak snapped but remains dangerous. Corona del Mar (26-1) has a final game left against Newport Harbor and can be a top seed in Southern Section Division 1. Damien has been surging with a 26-4 record. Palisades (14-11) is on a six-game winning streak and the heavy favorite to win the City Section Open Division title. The Dolphins might might be a surprise team in state playoffs depending on what division they are placed.

Rising teams in girls basketball: Sage Hill (23-4), despite a coaching change in the middle of the season, will be an Open Division team and has Texas-bound Amalia Holquin in top form. Brentwood won the Gold Coast League title. Mater Dei, despite losing its best player to injury, has won the Trinity League title.

Boys basketball

Brentwood’s Ethan Hill.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Brentwood (24-3) is tied for first place in the Gold Coast League with Crossroads going into the final week of the regular season.

Orange Lutheran pulled off the biggest upsets of the week, knocking off St. John Bosco. The Trinity League tournament begins Monday. Orange Lutheran coach Nate Klitzing, despite having little size on his team, has done a remarkable job getting his team close to a playoff spot.

The Mission League tournament continues Monday with Loyola at Sierra Canyon and Crespi at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The winners play Wednesday. All four teams have earned automatic playoff berths. Loyola first-year coach Cam Joyce got his team into the playoffs with a must-win against St. Francis on Saturday. Otherwise, the Cubs’ record would have been below .500.

Heritage Christian knocked off Village Christian 74-71 with two freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

A young Heritage Christian team is getting dangerous and upset Village Christian. Here’s the report.

Cleveland is headed to the West Valley League championship. San Pedro hosts Narbonne on Friday to decide the Marine League championship.

The Toyota Arena in Ontario will host the Southern Section Open Division finals Feb. 27 or Feb. 28.

Ed Waters of Crenshaw earned his 300th coaching victory.

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

Girls basketball

Ventura upset Mater Dei on Saturday to add some interest in the Southern Section girls pairings.

Sierra Canyon is the new school for standout guard Hamiley Arenas, the sister of Alijah Arenas. She averaged 23.3 points for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame as a freshman. She hasn’t played for the Knights this season after a stress fracture injury and hasn’t been medically cleared to return. She attended Sierra Canyon in middle school.

The Trailblazers are 24-2 and routed Oak Park behind Jerzy Robinson, who scored 29 points.

Amalia Holguin of Sage Hill turned in a 64-point performance on senior night against Laguna Beach.

Birmingham (22-3) plays Granada Hills (18-7) on Monday at Granada Hills to decide the West Valley League championship.

Palisades played its first home basketball game since the Palisades fire in January of 2025. Here’s the report.

Here’s last week’s top 20 SoCal rankings.

Turnaround story

First-year coach DeAndre Cole (right) and guard Jaden McDonald have helped lead a turnaround at Compton Centennial.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Compton Centennial has gone from 1-23 to 12-12 under first-year basketball coach DeAndre Cole.

The school that produced Arron Afflalo has quite a story to tell.

Here’s the report.

Baseball

When the baseball season begins next month, three of the top senior pitchers will come from the Bay League in Garrett Jacobs (left) of Mira Costa, Robby Zimmerman of Redondo Union and Kai Van Scoyoc of Palos Verdes.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The Bay League held a media day last week, and it’s clear the league has three of the top senior pitchers for the coming season in Garrett Jacobs, Robby Zimmerman and Kai Van Scoyoc. Two are UCLA commits, the other a USC commit.

Here’s a report.

There will be few teams in Southern California with more pitchers who can throw with high velocity than Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The Knights have two closers in sophomore Dru Wilson and senior Malakye Matsumoto, who throw in the 90s. The starting pitching is also pretty good with Beckett Berg, A.J. LaSorta, JuJu Diaz-Jones and Peter Jackson. Have no sympathy for the Knights if they have to play a doubleheader with their pitching depth.

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Hunter Greene returned to his alma mater to present two scholarships to students. Here’s the report.

Notes. . . .

Palisades football coach Dylen Smith is the NFL Don Shula coach of the year.

(Steve Galluzzo)

Palisades football coach Dylen Smith has been named one of two high school football coaches of the year and winner of the NFL Don Shula High School Coaching Award. He guided the Dolphins to 10 consecutive wins in the wake of the Palisades fire. . . . .

There’s growing speculation that Orange Lutheran will announce that football coach Rod Sherman and the school are parting ways. He has been head coach since 2021 and his team eliminated top-seeded St. John Bosco in the Division 1 playoffs last season. Sherman said last week that he was still coach. School officials have declined comment. . . .

South East has an opening for football coach. The athletic director is seeking applicants at: drc0906@lausd.net.

Austin Montoya is the new football coach at St. Paul. He was head coach at Schurr last season. . . .

Dave Ramos is returning as football coach at Schurr. . . .

Oscar McBride is the new football coach at Bishop Montgomery. He’s a former head coach at Murrieta Mesa. He takes over a program that forfeited its season after numerous players were declared ineligible by the Southern Section. . . .

Tommy Chaffins has announced his retirement after 31 years as girls volleyball coach and boys volleyball coach at Redondo Union. . . .

Pedro Mattiazo, a water polo athlete at Santa Margarita, has committed to Long Beach State. . . .

The Southern Section has begun looking for a new location to house its office. It’s currently located in Los Alamitos. . . .

Here’s the Southern Section girls water polo pairings. . . .

Former Warren and Cathedral football coach Kevin Pearson has been hired as the offensive coordinator at Long Beach Poly. He has worked for some outstanding quarterbacks through the years, including Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. . . .

Frankie Valdez is the new girls volleyball coach at Viewpoint. . . .

Mater Dei is seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section girls water polo playoffs. Here are the pairings. . . .

Aaron Castillo is the new flag football coach at Mater Dei. . . .

The high school football transfer portal continues to be busy. . . .

Former Franklin High baseball coach Rick Campbell has died. He took his team to three appearances at Dodger Stadium in City finals, winning twice. . . .

Birmingham won City Section wrestling dual meet championships for boys and girls on Saturday. . . .

One of the best freshman girls soccer players has been St. Genevieve’s Mia Rizo. Here’s the report. . . .

The Chen brothers, JT (left), a sophomore, and Ollie, a freshman, have helped Harvard-Westlake clinch the Mission League boys soccer title.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Harvard-Westlake clinched its third Mission League soccer title in four years and Cathedral won the Del Rey League. Here’s the report. . . .

South East is looking like a City Section soccer title contender. Here’s the report.

From the archives: George Holani

Boise State RB George Holani runs into the secondary at the 2023 L.A. Bowl.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Former St. John Bosco running back George Holani is going to the Super Bowl as a back-up running back for the Seattle Seahawks. He was a star for the Braves and at Boise State.

He had back-to-back years rushing for more than 1,000 yards for St. John Bosco before graduating in 2019.

Here’s a story detailing Holani’s background that he’s one of 10 siblings in his family.

Recommendations

From ESPN.com, a story on a survey asking youth coaches why they quit.

From the Washington Post, a story on a high school basketball coach in Maryland in his 39th season.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the positive reception high school coaches have for new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.

Ever since Hunter Greene stepped foot on campus at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High as a 14-year-old freshman, everyone has predicted stardom in baseball. But one day, it will be remembered how much he has done to help inspire and encourage the next generation of students to follow their dreams.

Greene, the No. 2 draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2017, has become a member of the team’s starting rotation while continuing to serve as a role model for others.

On Saturday, he returned to Notre Dame to present two scholarship awards from his foundation given annually to a boy and girl who demonstrates character and commitment to their community. It’s the seventh and eighth scholarships since he began the annual presentation four years ago.

Donors list for the Hunter Greene Scholarship Fund at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Even in high school, Greene was seen as someone who could be a leader in helping others. He embraced that role and has continued as a professional baseball player, whether it’s at his former school or helping youth around the country.

Notre Dame held an alumni baseball game, where former major leaguers Brendan Ryan and Brett Hayes were among the participants.

Greene did not play, but what he continues to do off the field is admired and much appreciated.

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