Sportstars
Preview: NorCal Girls Finals
And then there were 48. That’s how many high school basketball teams continued practice schedules this week with dreams of a state title. That majority of that number gets cut in half on March 18 as 24 boys teams and 24 girls will attempt to take the last step... Read more
Hoop Review is a scouting service that over 200 colleges and universities subscribe to and it is run by Gerry Freitas, a former college coach. Freitas produces evaluations and reports of high school and junior college prospects throughout the western US that are sent to the colleges and universities to assist... Read more
Pack Mentality
Talent, Leadership, Experience — And A Little Grit — Brought Ridgeview Its First Title Since 2013. Story by Trevor Horn | Photos by Samuel Stringer FRESNO — A crowd began to arrive at Selland Arena in downtown Fresno for the Central Section Division II boys basketball championship game. This... Read more
Heat Wave
A “Rebuilding Year” Didn’t Cool Off Mission Viejo Softball. Will Any Opponent Have An Answer For The Diablos In 2017? Story By Mark Tennis | Photos By Patrick Takkinen/SoCalSidelines.com If you are building an elite high school program in any sport — especially one that is nationally-ranked virtually every... Read more
Rising Son
Growing Up Amongst Major Leaguers Gave Darren Baker An Edge — But The Jesuit Standout Made Sure He Would Forge His Own Path Story By Jim McCue | Photos By James K. Leash Darren Baker may have been born with a baseball in his hand and grew up in... Read more
NorCal Preseason Softball Top 20
1. Pioneer-San Jose (25-3) It all starts with pitching and Holly Azevedo is arguably NorCal’s best coming into 2017. Just how good is the UCLA-bound fireballer? Over the last two seasons, she’s surrendered just six earned runs in 361 innings while compiling 587 strikeouts and 53 wins. But no... Read more
After 11 Winning Seasons Patriots’ Day is Finally Here for Heritage
After 11 Winning Seasons, Heritage Clinches Its First State Playoff Berth. After 10 seasons of varsity basketball, and never a losing season, nobody could’ve blamed the Heritage-Brentwood boys or coach Pat Cruickshank if they didn’t feel a bit cursed at the end of the 2015-16 season. The Patriots rode... Read more
Ethan Thompson Torrance SportStar of the Week
SportStar Of The Week Ethan Thompson, Torrance Basketball, Senior The Torrance basketball shooting guard Ethan Thompson scored a game-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds. And with the help of 15 fourth-quarter points from teammate Jordan Schakel they led the Knights to a 70-63 win over then... Read more
Spencer Hoyle SportStar of the Week
SportStar Of The Week | Folsom | Soccer | Senior • Hoyle scored a pair of goals in each of the Bulldogs’ first two Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff matches and added an assist as part of a quarterfinal victory. The postseason goals upped Hoyle’s team-leading goal total to 18... Read more
Almost Perfect
Few Programs In The State Have Had The Continued Success Of Buchanan-Clovis — And It’s Not Stopping Anytime Soon Story By Mark Tennis | Photos by Cary Edmondson In his 19 years as the head baseball coach at Buchanan High in Clovis, Tom Donald has become familiar with perfection.... Read more
Freedom’s March
Junior Pitcher Vanessa Strong Leads A Talented Freedom Roster Still Burning With Motivation Following An Emotional 2016 NCS Title Run. Story By James G. Kane It was, in retrospect, love at first sight. The diamond. The ball. The strike zone. The target. And the batter, of course. Don’t forget... Read more
NorCal Preseason Baseball Top 20
Here’s how we see the NorCal baseball landscape to start the 2017 season. 1. DE LA SALLE-CONCORD (25-3) Some of the most competitive games on the Spartans schedule each year are the intrasquad games played at Saturday morning practices. It’s in those games where De La Salle builds its... Read more