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.
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.
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.
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Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
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.
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.
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.
Darby Dunn | Canyon HS 28’ | 5’7” PG
Regular season: 26 Points Per Game 7.4 Rebounds 4.4 Assists 3.6 Steals
CIF SS Rankings: #3 Free Throws #4 Field Goals #7 Points Per Game
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.
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.
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. . . .
High school volleyball teams will now be permitted to designate up to two libero players during each set, creating additional participation opportunities without needing to use a substitution. Effective next season.
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. . . .
At the winter track championships at Arcadia, Servite’s Jaelen Hunter ran the 300 in 33.02. Rosary girls had a big day sweeping the 60 and 150. Maliyah Collins won the 60 in 6.38 and 150 in 17.59.
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. . . .
RIP to former Lakewood basketball coach Tim Sweeney Sr., who died on Wednesday. The school gym is named after him. He was 241-140 at Lakewood and won a CIF title. His son, Tim Jr., was head coach at Riverside King for many years.
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.
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
A month shy of his 91st birthday, Harold Mulhern is still coaching high school basketball at Wisconsin’s Osseo-Fairchild High School. Asked when he’ll know it’s time to stop, Harold said wryly, “When I’m dead.” #land10kstoriespic.twitter.com/hZ0eN3NxEU
Emotional scene tonight in Colfax as beloved boys basketball head coach Reece Jenkin, battling stage 4 cancer, returned to the gym not to coach, but to support son Adrik on Senior Night. Colfax capped an undefeated regular season and Adrik led the way with 38 points in the win. pic.twitter.com/XdS8FNyrik
Class of 2026 Signing Day ✍️🐾 Jakob McKindley – NAU Ben Tameifuna – EWU Tyler George – Penn Caleb Rye – Air Force Boogie Williams – Wyoming Keawe Browne – Boise St. JD McKinley – Cal Lucky Schirmer – Cal Fifita Moore – Princeton Zander Lewis – VMI #Cen10Division1
Dennis Keyes, new Alemany football coach, is guest tonight at 5 on Friday Night Live. Here’s an excerpt and great lesson for high school athletes how important it is to not just rely on your sport for life. He became artist and teacher. pic.twitter.com/kLj168UXna
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold on his hoops background: “Playing multiple sports was huge for me growing up. I was always in the moment. Whenever I was playing football, football was my favorite sport … and right when I transitioned into basketball, basketball was the main thing.”
The next generation of Clausen boys are in first and second grade. Casey and Jett. The dads are going to have sore arms by the time the boys reach high school. pic.twitter.com/PZra58o1T2
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.
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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.
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Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
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.
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.
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.
Get ready for big sophomore season from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s Dru Wilson. An outfielder who will be one of the team’s closers. pic.twitter.com/JZWpV0Mg2T
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.
Four freshmen ready to contribute immediately for UCLA baseball. Angel Cervantes (Warren), Zach Strickland (Maranatha), Dominic Cadiz (SO Notre Dame), Aiden Aguayo (La Mirada).
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. . . .
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. . . .
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.
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
This is pretty amazing. The official is Drew Spooner. The coach is Derek Fisher. Spooner’s father, Bill, was an NBA official when Fisher was a player and coach. pic.twitter.com/sOS1bZbtp1
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.
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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.
It’s time to see which Mission League basketball teams are ready for some March Madness in February.
The tournament is set to begin Thursday after Tuesday’s final results clarified seedings.
The final game of the night was Crespi pulling out a 65-61 win over Loyola when Isaiah Barnes scored while falling down with 15 seconds left for the game-clinching basket. Despite the loss, Loyola claimed fourth place in the seedings while finishing in a three-way tie for fourth with Crespi and St. Francis.
The Cubs, though, are 14-14 and will need a win Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s Bishop Alemany (No. 8) vs. St. Francis (No. 5) game to keep alive their Southern Section playoff hopes. You need a .500 or better record to be considered for an at-large berth.
The other Thursday game has No. 7 Chaminade at No. 6 Crespi. That winner will play at Harvard-Westlake on Saturday.
Crespi was led by 6-foot-9 Rodney Mukendi, who scored 17 points. Deuce Newt had 15 points for Loyola.
Harvard-Westlake 90, St. Francis 56: Joe Sterling got back his shooting touch, making seven threes and finishing with 27 points. Amir Jones added 17 points for Harvard-Westlake. St. Francis did not play center Cherif Millogo.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 81, Bishop Alemany 48: The Knights claimed second place in the Mission League and an automatic spot for the Southern Section playoffs. Zach White had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Notre Dame played without NaVorro Bowman.
Sierra Canyon 79, Chaminade 28: Brandon McCoy had 18 points and Maxi Adams added 17 points for the Mission League regular-season champions.
Crean Lutheran 76, La Habra 67: The Saints took over first place in the Crestview League.
Mira Costa 53, Peninsula 41: Logan Dugdale has 17 points and 10 rebounds for Mira Costa (23-4).
How good is senior Nathan Castrejon scoring goals for South East’s soccer team?
Coach Felipe Bernal said, “His strength and speed gets him through like Mbappe of Real Madrid. That’s the way I see him at this level.”
Castrejon, 5 feet 10, 160 pounds, entered this week with 38 of South East’s 90 goals. South East has its best chance to win a City Section title since it won in a big upset in 2022. This season would be no upset, since the Jaquars are 16-1-3.
Bernal has so many players with the first name of Nathan that he has to call them by their last name. Besides Castrejon, there’s Nathan Medina, who has eight goals, and Nathan Vargas, a backup goalie who has filled in well while the starter was sick.
“We’re a complete team this year,” Bernal said.
One of the most interesting players is 5-4 David Velasco. “The kid gets the job done,” Bernal said. “He’s amazing.”
Velasco has 11 assists.
South East is 6-0-1 in the competitive Eastern League that includes longtime power Bell.
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 was a historic weekend for coach Harvey Kitani, who became only the third high school basketball coach in state history to reach 1,000 wins.
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Harvey Kitani is surrounded by his players after earning his 1,000th career victory on Friday night at Mater Dei in Rolling Hills Prep’s 60-45 win over Bishop Gorman.
Many of his victories came during a 35-year stay as head coach at Fairfax. Let me offer some of the most memorable moments covering him since 1979.
No. 1 is when his star player, Sean Higgins, called a news conference in 1987 to announce his college choice. He signed with UCLA. But Higgins didn’t show up to the news conference. Sitting in the principal’s office and waiting and waiting for Higgins to arrive was so strange. Then word came that Higgins was pressured to sign with UCLA by his stepfather. He ended up getting released from his letter of intent and enrolling at Michigan.
The Fairfax vs. Westchester rivalry became one of the best in the Southland. Westchester coach Ed Azzam, who is the City record holder for most career wins, always got along with Kitani, who hired Azzam to teach middle school students when he retired. Their teams played for City titles against each other in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2015. Those were the days. Besides playing two league match-ups they’d face off again in the playoffs.
He retired from teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2016 and decided to accept the coaching position at Rolling Hills Prep, which is 15 minutes from his home and where two of his sons attended.
“If Fairfax was here, I’d still be at Fairfax,” he said.
He’s won four Southern Section titles. He truly has a body of work to admire.
“Unbelievable,” he said of staying in coaching for 46 years.
Boys basketball
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s NaVorro Bowman scored 26 points in a win over Harvard-Westlake on Saturday.
(Craig Weston)
NaVorro Bowman, a junior guard for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, has thrust himself into consideration for Mission League MVP. He had 26 points Saturday in Notre Dame’s 71-66 win over Harvard-Westlake. The Knights are on the verge of finishing second in the regular season and clinching a playoff spot before the Mission League tournament begins Thursday.
Sierra Canyon, led by Brandon McCoy and Brannon Martinsen, a pair of former Trinity League all-stars, defeated Harvard-Westlake to lock up the No. 1 seed for the Mission League tournament. Here’s the report.
Former Notre Dame star Monte Marcaccini has returned to high school basketball as an assistant coach at Oaks Christian, where his son, James, is a promising freshman. Here’s the report.
Palisades, which hasn’t played a basketball game or any sporting event on its campus since the Palisades fire in January of 2025, will hold its first home basketball game Thursday against Fairfax at 6 p.m. Classes return to the campus Tuesday. Palisades (11-11) has emerged as the favorite to win the City Open Division basketball title.
L.A. Southwest College and Pasadena City College are expected to be the championship sites for the City Section basketball finals Feb. 27 and 28.
Cleveland won an important West Valley League game against rival Birmingham. Here’s the report.
The City Section’s top four teams have become real clear: Palisades, Cleveland, Birmingham and Washington Prep.
Second-year coach Leon Jacob has turned around the Angelou program. Here’s the report.
Aryanna Reyes of Pioneer set a school record with a 52-point performance against Artesia.
🏆 ⚡️RECORD BREAKING SENIOR NIGHT ⚡️ 🏆
A night she’ll never forget. A performance for the history books. 💐🐐 Aryanna Reyes made history with a career-high & school record 52 POINTS 🤯 ➕ 11 REBOUNDS | 6 ASSISTS in a win over Artesia. Built for the moment. Destined for… pic.twitter.com/EpAkeTO6TI
Changes are coming in the Southern Section power rankings. No. 2 JSerra lost to Santa Margarita in a Trinity League game. Mater Dei upset highly regarded Bishop Gorman from Las Vegas. Etiwanda routed No. 5 Rancho Christian 104-73.
For some reason, the rankings always ignore Etiwanda in the early going even though the Eagles always contend for Southern Section and state titles. Sierra Canyon is 21-2 and headed for another unbeaten Mission League season. The Trailblazers have never lost a Mission League game.
Harvard-Westlake, led by freshman Lucia Khamenia, has moved into a tie for second place with Marlborough in the Mission League.
Ontario Christian remains No. 1 with a 25-1 record.
Reagan Enright from Rolling Hills Prep scored the 1,000th point of her career.
Westchester is 17-3 and 6-0 in the Western League behind the City Section’s best player, Savannah Myles, averaging 22.1 points. Here’s the report.
Wrestling
Abraham Datte of Monroe is the two-time City Section heavyweight wrestling champion and wants to be a paramedic.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Abraham Datte is a two-time City Section heavyweight wrestling champion from Monroe who wants to become a paramedic. He chose Monroe because of its Fire Academy. Here’s a profile.
The Southern Section Divisional championships are set for Feb. 13-14.
Here are the boys’ sites.
Central — Westminster High
Coastal — Fountain Valley High
Eastern — Canyon Springs High
Inland — Great Oak High
Northern — Moorpark High
Southern — Glenn High
Here are the girls’ sites.
Central — San Dimas High
Eastern — Roosevelt High
Northern — Adelanto High
Southern — Marina High
The Masters Meet is Feb. 20 for boys and Feb. 21 for girls.
The state championships are Feb. 26-28 at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield.
Soccer
South East (16-1-3) and El Camino Real (12-3-1, 5-0-1) are looking like the teams to beat in City Section boys soccer. El Camino Real plays at Birmingham on Wednesday.
Servite handed Mater Dei its first defeat 2-1 to move ahead of the Monarchs in the Trinity League standings.
Cathedral is 12-2-1 and 4-0-1 in the Del Rey League heading into a big match Friday at Bishop Amat.
In girls soccer, Santa Margarita is ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings and is 13-0-2.
Baseball
Chatsworth coach Marcus Alvarado has resigned.
(Nick Koza)
Marcus Alvarado, who coached Chatsworth to a 2022 City Section Open Division championship, said he resigned on Friday, saying he had lost his love for baseball after repeated complaints from parents. Here’s the report.
Gabe Cerna, the baseball coach at Sun Valley Poly since 2009, has been replaced by his assistant, Freddy Flores, who will be an interim coach. Cerna also was the school’s athletic director. Cerna is now teaching at Fulton Prep. He said the school decided to go in “a different direction.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jack Flaherty, Nik Turley and Josh Satin were on hand on Saturday for a ceremony. Meanwhile, the baseball team played teams from Las Vegas, and No. 1 pitcher Justin Kirchner, a Yale commit, struck out 10 in four innings.
Notes . . .
There was an altercation Friday night at the conclusion of the Chatsworth at Taft girls’ basketball game involving the Chatsworth coach and a relative of one of his players. L.A. School Police are investigating. Here’s the report.
Oaks Christian has hired Rudy Carlton as its new football coach. He was an assistant coach at JSerra last season and has extensive college coaching experience from his days at Azusa Pacific. Former Oaks Christian standout Ron Pitts is becoming the general manager and the school is creating an advisory council of former NFL players. . . .
Matt Villasenor has resigned as football coach at Nogales to become head coach at Muir. . . .
Dujuawan Jones is the new football coach at San Marino. . . .
Former Corona del Mar and UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers has been hired to coach quarterbacks at Corona del Mar. . . .
A lawsuit targeting St. John Bosco football coach Jason Negro has misfired after a judge’s rulings. Here’s the report. . . .
Kevin Encinas is the new football coach at Nogales. . . .
The Southern Section Council will discuss a proposal Tuesday that would allow football at-large playoff berths for teams with a .300 or better overall record. It’s currently .500 or better. The aim is not to allow teams with 1-9 or 2-8 records. It’s a non-action item. . . .
Jaden Soong competes at the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at Saticoy Club in Somis.
(Courtesy of SCGA)
Sophomore golfer Jaden Soong of St. Francis will try to qualify for the PGA’s Farmer’s Insurance Open on Monday in Mission Viejo. He needs to finish in the top four. He turns 16 on Monday. . . .
After only one season as coach, Doug Bledsoe said he has resigned as football coach at Narbonne. He took over the program after numerous rules violations resulted in a three-year postseason ban by the City Section and an exodus of players. Narbonne went 0-10. . . .
Garfield running back Ceasar Reyes set a school record with 420 yards rushing and four touchdowns in win over South Gate
Shortstop Bobby Brooks from La Habra has committed to Sacramento State. . . .
Even though Morningside High has closed, former Morningside basketball star Stais Bozeman had his jersey retired Friday.
From the archives: Ryan Turell
Yeshiva’s Ryan Turell brings the ball up court against St. Joseph’s Anton Jansson.
(Joe Bednarsh / Yeshiva Athletics)
Former Valley Torah basketball star Ryan Turell is playing for Haifa in Israel’s second division pro basketball league. He entered this week averaging 13.3 points.
He became a standout college player at Yeshiva. He had one game in which he scored 51 points.
🚨 **STATE RECORDS + NATIONAL SOPHOMORE RECORDS ALERT! 🚨 Servite High sophomore twin speedsters Jorden and Jace Wells break the U.S sophomore class and California indoor records at 60 meters & 200 meters, respectively! 🔥 It’s January! This is crazy!! 📸: @Wellstwins28… pic.twitter.com/z9eSjaJwti
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.
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When it comes to improved teams, the girls’ basketball team at St. Monica Academy in Montrose has had a big turnaround under first-year coach Vic Karapetian.
The team is 15-3 and 10-1 in the Heritage League after going 1-26 in league play the previous two years.
There are no seniors on the roster, and three freshmen have been making major contributions.
Karapetian had previous success coaching at AGBU and Mesrobian.
Mary Tomooka and Victoria Grigsby, the freshman backcourt duo, have been key players.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
