O.C. PRESEASON TOP 10

1. Mater Dei: The Trinity League juggernaut didn’t lose to a county foe last season and will again be tough to beat. Reigning county player of the year Addison Deal returns as a versatile guard (15 ppg) while Duke commit Jenessa Cotton provides the inside muscle (12.4 ppg, 6.1 reb.). The Monarchs round out their starting lineup with Amaya Williams, Kaeli Wynn and Devyn Kiernan, the daughter of coach Kevin Kiernan. Depth has been a strength but the Monarchs’ roster doesn’t appear to be as deep as last season.

2. Sage Hill: It’s the final, united run for five products of Kobe Bryant’s Mambas travel team. Emily Eadie, Kat Righeimer, Zoie Lamkin and Annabelle Spotts are seniors while Amalia Holguin is a sophomore. Eadie, Righeimer and Spotts have committed to Princeton, Northwestern and Chicago, respectively. The defending Pacific Coast League champion figures to have strong chemistry, and improved depth. Senior Aurora Elder, a 6-foot-3 post, arrived from Riverside Poly. The unit will also lean on freshman Kamdyn Klamberg and sophomore Alyssa Cuff.

3. Orange Lutheran: The reigning CIF-SS Division 1 champion will mix several returners with some newcomers. The backcourt duo of Shea Joko and Kelly Garrity returns along with versatile guard/forward Princess Cassell and post Sheridan Kennedy. Joko, the Division 1 player of the year last season, will be joined by her freshman sister Lexi. Orange Lutheran lost post Taliyah McFerson, who transferred to Lynwood, but added three transfers, including post Emalynn Vong from Orangewood Academy.

4. Rosary: The Division 1 semifinalist from last season will team Loyola Marymount-committed guard Allison Clarke with an array of intriguing transfers and freshmen. Clarke, a first-team All-County selection, joins forces with Troy transfer Kayla Borgelt, a third-team All-County selection. The newcomers include twins Calista and Mikayla Purwadi from Indonesia and point guard Rihanna Meaders.

5. Buena Park: The Coyotes, the Division 4AA runner-up last season, return three of their four top sophomores in Alana White, Bella Harmon and Ava Wiley, daughter of coach DeAnthony Wiley. They also added three transfers in All-County forward Mya Barnes of Rosary, forward Gloria Barrera of St. Paul and guard Hannah Fuentes of Orangewood Academy. The squad lost speedy point guard Sydnie Lendsey to a transfer to Santa Margarita.

6. San Juan Hills: The reigning South Coast League champion remains formidable with the return of All-County selections Anna Shreeve and Aryanna Hudson, along with well-rounded Sydney Peterson. Hudson committed to Vanguard. The Stallions added Trabuco Hills transfer sophomore Olivia Morgan but still face a void after graduating All-County guard Amanda Edwards, now at Weber State.

7. Fairmont Prep: The Huskies and first-year coach Josh Lozano are on the rise. Their returning core is led by improving sophomore point guard Adyra Rajan, a third-team All-County pick. They also have added 6-foot-2 post Sarah Aldeguer, who has played for the French 15-and-under national team. Long Beach Poly transfer post Lesina Afu will join the mix after the sitout period.

8. Esperanza: The undersized Aztecs are retooling after graduating All-County guard Kaiya Mack, now at Cal Lutheran. Sophomore guard Madi Lam is the top returner and coming off a stellar flag football season playing under Jimmy Valverde, also the Aztecs’ basketball coach. The Crestview League champion also returns sharp-shooter Charlotte Muller.

9. Orangewood Academy: The San Joaquin League contender will blend its returners and with some intriguing newcomers. All-County forward Maria Mejia leads the group of returners that includes point Vicky Om, who missed last season with a knee injury. The squad added international players in Ndeye Astou Ndiaye, a 6-foot junior, and Vivian Grenald, a 6-foot-1 freshman.

10. Portola: The Pacific Coast League runner-up from last season begins the post-Moka Saika era by returning four starters. The key player is point guard Kira Watanabe, who continues to raise her game. The senior will lead one of the fastest squads in the county.

Also considered: Brea Olinda, Crean Lutheran, San Clemente, Sonora, Woodbridge

TOP 10 PLAYERS TO WATCH

Princess Cassell, Orange Lutheran, Sr., G

The well-rounded Cassell is generating Division I college interest with her ability to sink 3-pointers, attack the basket and play active defense. She earned third-team All-County honors last season.

Allison Clarke, Rosary, Sr., G

The Loyola Marymount commit averaged 19.5 points and 2.6 steals last season en route to first-team All-County honors. She scored at least 30 points five times during the regular season.

Jenessa Cotton, Mater Dei, Sr., F

The Duke commit combines excellent shooting touch from the perimeter with the ability score inside and rebound. The 6-foot-3 Cotton has the talent to contend for county player of the year.

Addison Deal, Mater Dei, Jr., G

The reigning O.C. player of the year is coming off a strong summer in which her offensive arsenal continued to evolve. The 6-foot Deal is the No. 1-ranked junior in California, and No. 12 in the nation, according to HoopGurlz Recruiting.

Emily Eadie, Sage Hill, Sr., F

The Princeton commit is one of the county’s most complete players. She led the Lightning last season in scoring (15.2 ppg), rebounding (11.2) and assists (3.0) en route to first-team All-County honors.

Amalia Holguin, Sage Hill, So., G

The freshman burst onto the scene last season by averaging 14.4 points — on 35 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line — and 2.6 steals. Be ready for an encore.

Shea Joko, Orange Lutheran, Sr., G

The reigning Division 1 player of the year proved herself last season with clutch performances in the playoffs. She’s a gifted shooter but watch for her passing and defense, too.

Kat Righeimer, Sage Hill, Sr., F

The Northwestern commit has improved each season so expect the versatile senior to build off her averages last winter of 11.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Anna Shreeve, San Juan Hills, Jr., F

The athletic junior continued her rise last season by leading the South Coast League champion in scoring (14.9), rebounds (7.6) and steals (3.0).

Amaya Williams, Mater Dei, Jr., G

The 5-foot-10 guard has made a “huge jump”, Monarchs coach Kevin Kiernan said, and holds about 15 Division I-level college offers.

Please send girls basketball news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy

Mater Dei’s girls basketball team knows the challenges on the horizon.

There’s reigning state champion Etiwanda, which beat the Monarchs 71-58 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals last season.

There’s Sierra Canyon, which defeated Mater Dei 59-47 in the SoCal Open Regional semifinals and has since added touted transfer guard Jerzy Robinson.

And closer to home, there’s Sage Hill, which returns its starting five and added a key transfer.

So where does this leave Mater Dei?

“We’ve got a shot,” said coach Kevin Kiernan, who enters his 17th season leading the Monarchs. “Anything can happen.”

Mater Dei, No. 1 in the Orange County preseason rankings, will lean on top returners Addison Deal and Jenessa Cotton, who recently committed to Duke.

The Monarchs’ mix also features sophomore sharp-shooter Kaeli Wynn, improved guards Amaya Williams and Devyn Kiernan and Emily Shaw.

“I think we’re going to be pretty good,” Kiernan said. “We’ll play three point guards: Addie, Devyn and Amaya.”

One development to watch is the addition of Wynn’s mother, Jody, as an assistant coach. The former University of Washington and Long Beach State women’s basketball coach has been working on retooling Mater Dei’s offense, Kiernan said.

“We are very fortunate to have her on staff this year,” he said of Wynn, who starred at Brea Olinda before playing at USC.

“(We) want to promote great spacing and more ball movement and depend on reads instead of set plays. (The) last few years, we could always let (point guard) Caia (Elisaldez) loose. (We’re a) different team with a good mix of length, speed and shooting.”

Mater Dei could face Sage Hill in the Troy Classic, which begins Dec. 4, and Etiwanda in the Nike Holiday Classic in Portland, Ore., Dec. 28-30.

“I think they have the best returners in Orange County,” Kiernan said of Sage Hill. “(Etiwanda) is a super-team.”

SANTA ANA STEPPING UP

Mater Dei opens its season Nov. 22 against visiting Santa Ana, a Division 5AA team which approached the Monarchs about the nonleague game.

“To be better, you have to play the best,” Saints coach Calvin Barnes said. “I wanted (my players) to be exposed to the (high-level) game and to go back home and hopefully learn and have the want to be that great because at the end of the day, we won’t be playing those types of teams.”

NOTES

San Clemente All-County forward Zona Miller suffered a knee injury playing soccer in May and is not expected to play this season, Tritons coach Kerri Husbands said. “She is competing in rehab like she competes on the court,” Husbands added. …

Brea Olinda point guard Sarah Wong (shoulder) will miss the season, Ladycats coach Craig Matthews said. …

Buena Park, San Juan Hills and Fairmont Prep — all ranked in the county preseason Top 10 — will play in the Oxford Academy tournament that starts Monday. The tournament field includes Brea Olinda and Troy. …

Josh Lozano is the new coach at Fairmont Prep. He replaced Sara Brown, who is now at Canyon.

A shooting star across the pool. A dream come true. A once in-a-lifetime high school match.

Those were some of the descriptions from Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team Wednesday night after it edged visiting Harvard-Westlake 12-11 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals on a stunning, buzzer-beating goal by Connor Ohl.

The sophomore attacker and transfer from Connecticut narrowly beat the clock at the end of regulation by scoring on the power-play on a shot from the wing.

The goal ignited a wild celebration by the Newport Harbor bench and faithful as the two-time defending Open Division champion kept its hopes of a three-peat alive.

“It was a dream,” Ohl said of the goal, which followed an exclusion drawn by Peter Castillo with 14 seconds left. “It was extremely close. It could have gone either way. The shot came off my hand and the buzzer sounded as it was probably leaving my fingertips.”

Newport Harbor (26-3) faces No. 1 seed and undefeated JSerra (26-0) in the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC in Walnut.

Video replay showed Ohl’s cross-cage shot in the air and headed toward the far corner with 1 second remaining on the shot clock.

“It looked like a shooting star in the sky,” said Castillo, a UCLA commit who drew his ninth and final exclusion coming out a Newport Harbor timeout with 31 seconds left.

Connor Ohl for the win! Newport Harbor edges Harvard-Westlake 12-11 in instant classic ⁦@NewportAquatics⁩ ⁦@nmusd⁩ ⁦@USAWP⁩ pic.twitter.com/kB2qhvjlBk

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) November 9, 2023

Ohl’s fourth goal — all of which came on the power-play — capped Newport Harbor’s rally from an 8-5 deficit in the middle of the third period. It also provided the most dramatic victory of the Sailors’ resurgence under coach Ross Sinclair at his alma mater.

“I haven’t been part of a game like this in a high school setting,” said Sinclair, who has guided the Sailors to five consecutive appearances in the top-division final. “It was fun to be part of and it was fun to be able to have the opportunity to go run a play, and execute a play, and run a 6-on-5, and execute, and get out that way.”

Newport Harbor called timeout with 31 seconds following a save by goalie Luke Harris on a shot from center.

The Sailors then drove Castillo from the top of the perimeter into center and made four passes before left-handed sophomore Mason Netzer slipped a pin-point entry pass into 2 meters. Castillo took the ball with his right hand and drew the exclusion as he turned toward the Harvard-Westlake cage.

On the winning goal, Netzer faked a shot from his wing before passing cross-pool to Ohl.

Sinclair praised Netzer for the pass. The coach, Ohl and Harvard-Westlake coach Jack Grover also credited Castillo for drawing the exclusion. It was a huge play in the team’s fourth and biggest match of the fall.

“I got to commend Peter on his leadership,” Grover said of Castillo, who scored five goals. “We’ve done a really, really good job of shutting that guy out of games this year. He’s never made it about himself, and he finally got his game.”

Castillo’s play at center helped Newport Harbor go 6 of 13 with the extra attacker and 1 for 1 on penalty shots. Harvard-Westlake went 2 for 5 on the power-play and made its only penalty.

The Wolverines led 4-2 after the first period and netted a buzzer-beater at halftime to push their lead to 7-5.

Castillo scored from center with 41 seconds left in the third period to give Newport Harbor its first lead at 9-8. The score knotted three more times before the dramatic conclusion.

“Top-three high school game I’ve seen,” Hall of Fame El Toro coach Don Stoll said.

Ohl’s stat line also included five steals.

Left-hander Dean Strauster had four goals to lead Harvard-Westlake.

“It was a beautiful game but sometimes certain things don’t go your favor,” Grover said. “It’s tough but I’m really proud of my guys.”

Also in the Open Division:

JSerra 14, Corona del Mar 6: Ryder Dodd returned from helping the U.S. men’s team secure a 2024 Olympic berth at the Pan American Games to net seven goals for the host Lions. JSerra advanced to its second straight Open final.

In Division 2:

San Marcos 13, Portola 6: Center Luke Porter scored three goals and Noam Garibi, Kasra Sowlat and Ryder Tonkovich each added one in the loss for the visiting Bulldogs.

In Division 3:

Canyon 16, Murrieta Valley 14: Goalie Aidan Demkiw and center Adam Hermreck — both seniors — played well to help the visiting Comanches (26-5) reach their first section final. They play undefeated El Segundo (31-0) on Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In Division 4:

Woodbridge 11, San Dimas 7: Ben Chan made 12 saves, including a penalty shot in the first half, to help the Warriors (26-9) reach their first section final. Woodbridge will play Bonita on Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In Division 6:

Anaheim 11, Chaffey 8: The host Colonists, in their fourth season since reviving the program, opened a 9-6 lead in the third period and advanced to their first section final. They will play Summit in the finals Saturday at Mt. SAC.

In fact, the score was tied after regulation and six minutes of overtime were needed to decide the winner.

That’s when the Breakers took control of the contest and came away with a 12-11 victory.

The victory sets up an all-Surf League final on Saturday at Mt. SAC in Walnut between the Breakers (18-12), the No. 2 team in the division, and Huntington Beach, the top-ranked team.

The Oilers defeated Mira Costa, 13-7, in the other Division 1 semifinal Wednesday.

Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have played four times this season, with the Oilers winning three of those contests.

With the victory over Foothill (7-12), the Breakers got a measure of revenge after being knocked out of the Division 1 semifinals last season by the Knights.

“Ever since last year we’ve been thinking about that, about the game against Foothill,” the Breakers’ Diego Audebert said. “So, we were really excited to get this back and I’m really happy to get this win.”

Audebert and Cade Anderton scored four goals each to lead the Breakers.

Corbin Stanley scored four goals to lead the Knights.

The Knights scored three quick goals in the opening minutes of the match to take a 3-0 lead.

But the Breakers followed with three quick goals to tie the score and one more to take a 4-3 lead.

Foothill scored in the final seconds of the first to make the score 4-4 going into the second and neither team had a decided advantage until overtime.

Maxwell Schlaich scored with under a minute left in the first three-minute overtime period to give the Breakers an 11-10 lead.

Gavin Good then scored a huge goal on a pass from Aderton to give Laguna Beach a 12-10 lead with 1:12 left in the second overtime period.

Stanley scored for the Knights with eight seconds left but the Breakers kept possession to run the final seconds off the clock.

“We’ve always been a really conditioned, fit program, so we swim a lot, and I think that really, really helped,” Laguna Beach coach Cameron Hauer said. “I think we were pretty calm, cool, composed the whole time, and sometimes we get really amped.

“I just don’t think we ever had that moment where my team looked gassed.”

Foothill coach Dean Crow said his team wanted to hold the Breakers to no more than eight goals.

“We could have played a little better on defense,” Crow said. “It wasn’t quite there for us. I told the guys, this far into the tournament, it’s going to come down to the fourth quarter and overtime. The game is going to be won or lost in the last three minutes.”

Wednesday was the first day that senior athletes in all sports besides football could officially sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play a sport for a school at the collegiate level.

Several schools held special events to celebrate the occasion, while lots of athletes signed their NLI at home while surrounded by their families.

OCVarsity has a list of the athletes who were signing on Wednesday, and below are photos from Mater Dei’s ceremony. There is also a collection of social media posts put out by county schools.

MATER DEI’S SIGNING DAY 

SIGNING DAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Congratulations to our 3 seniors for signing their National letters of Internet today. @kennedyproctor2024 @kiara.cisneros.2024 @peytonroberge24

We are proud of your accomplishment’s both on the field and in them classroom! pic.twitter.com/z0aAssR4un

— Tesoro Softball (@SoftballTesoro) November 8, 2023

EDHS signing day! Congratulations to these amazing student athletes! @pylusd @ELDOsoccer @EDHawksBaseball @ocvarsity @ocvarsityguy pic.twitter.com/KpOTm5Ul1U

— goldenhawks (@edhsathletics) November 8, 2023

VPHS Senior NLI Signees! Allison, Madden, Taylor and Justin, all well above 4.0 GPA’s! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@mikehuntley63⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ ⁦ pic.twitter.com/XE5F4JXunB

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Villa Park NLI Singing Day! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@mikehuntley63⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ pic.twitter.com/f6DAtTfCCw

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Congrats to the 16 Los Al athletes who signed today. 5 volleyball players made it official. Playing Indoor Kaia Herweg-GCU, Anna Sanzaro-Sonoma State. Playing Beach Noa Nuez-Georgia State, Elise Lenahan-Cal Poly SLO, Elon Milroy-San Jose State @PrepDigCA @ocvarsity @BeachVarsity pic.twitter.com/n83WVBcVZx

— Los Al Volleyball (@LOSALvolleyball) November 8, 2023

Triton NLI Signees today: Brett Ephraim (XC/Track) Colorado State; Kai Schmitt (Volleyball) Stanford; Gianna Feldsien (Soccer) U.of Pacific; Nolan Rooker (Diving) Northwestern. Congratulations – we are proud of you!!! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@latsondheimer⁩ pic.twitter.com/QPYlRIz0Bh

— Triton Athletics (@SCHSTritons) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Troy Jenkins for signing his National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis! Joshua 1:9@IUPUI @IUPUIJaguars @CLHS_Athletics @OCSportsZone @ocvarsity @ocregister pic.twitter.com/15plqG9Kbc

— Crean Lutheran (@creanlutheranhs) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Mya Diaz for signing her NLI to continue her academic career and play softball at Concordia University, Irvine. We love you and can’t wait to watch you shine at the next level! #OLuOn2 @ocvarsity @latsondheimer pic.twitter.com/mkNx3FSI2B

— OLu Softball (@OLuSoftball) November 8, 2023

St. Margaret's Student-Athletes Commit to Prestigious Colleges and Universities During Fall Signing Period

Read more: https://t.co/PBTYwKAedM@ocvarsity @latsondheimer @SouthOCsports @SOCoPrepSports @OCSportsZone pic.twitter.com/BmHfthYwH6

— SMES Athletics (@SMESAthletics) November 8, 2023

pic.twitter.com/gFZJelpOlY

— HB Oiler Athletics (@HB_OilerSports) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Nathan WU '24 for signing with @USCswim @USC_Athletics @USC @SMCHSswim pic.twitter.com/C7RIWfDoFb

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Brooklyn Kostoff '24 on signing with @APUVolleyball @APUCougars @azusapacific pic.twitter.com/BsTj6VBrMY

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Cade Townsend '24 on signing with @OleMissBSB @OleMissSports @OleMiss pic.twitter.com/RrdfK0NUh7

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Sheridan Smith '24 on signing with @CanesSwimDive @MiamiHurricanes @univmiami pic.twitter.com/OpjLmFnM26

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Leigh Chien '24 for signing with @StanfordWGolf @GoStanford @Stanford pic.twitter.com/OMve0kIxRc

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Molly MacMillan '24 on signing with @TexasSoccer @TexasLonghorns @UTAustin pic.twitter.com/aMtYSGnb0e

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Jake Lavin '24 on signing with @CalBaseball @CalAthletics @Cal pic.twitter.com/bSGE0TD1MM

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Logan de Groot '24 on signing with @UCLABaseball @UCLAAthletics @UCLA pic.twitter.com/5oJ6At70L8

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Faith George '24 on signing with @USC_WSoccer @USC_Athletics @USC pic.twitter.com/zFL20ZkdW1

— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Reed Wainwright on his commitment to study and play volleyball at Stanford University! @StanfordMVB pic.twitter.com/ZZ1DJ2FUcU

— SMES Athletics (@SMESAthletics) November 8, 2023

National Signing Day!

Lucas Rodriguez – Concordia, Water Polo
Joe Moyer – Stanford, Soccer
Eamon Rigdon – USC, Volleyball

Congrats & best of luck, Friars! We are so proud of your accomplishments & look forward to cheering you on at the next level.#credo #foreverafriar pic.twitter.com/cTxTj3Tazi

— Servite Athletics (@ServiteSports) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to @ServiteSoccer player Joe Moyer ‘24 on his commitment to play soccer at Stanford University!

Read more about his decision here – https://t.co/jbbEsrmy4e#credo #foreverafriar pic.twitter.com/BaGiKZUBdD

— Servite Athletics (@ServiteSports) November 7, 2023

Congratulations to Brianne Weiss for signing her NLI to continue her academic career and play softball at the University of Notre Dane. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to watch you succeed at your dream school! #OLuOn2 @latsondheimer @ocvarsityguy pic.twitter.com/kORf113jL4

— OLu Softball (@OLuSoftball) November 8, 2023

Taylor Walsh! Gonzaga University, Volleyball! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@mikehuntley63⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ pic.twitter.com/7Zfs6l0Ryz

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Allison Mann! SDSU, swim, majoring in Economics! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@mikehuntley63⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ pic.twitter.com/jAFE0TdMjv

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Madden Tucker! Converse University, English! ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ pic.twitter.com/xEmuvn4LvH

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Justin Tims! University of Washington, Food Systems, Nutrition and Health ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ ⁦@OCSportsZone⁩ ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@SteveFryer⁩ ⁦@mikehuntley63⁩ ⁦@MAlvarez02⁩ ⁦@OrangeUnifiedCA⁩ pic.twitter.com/IzwDqzhzvy

— Villa Park Athletics (@VPHSathletics) November 8, 2023

Signed
Matthew Mai-Prasarnsuk
Men's Water Polo
United States Naval Academy

@navywaterpolo

#OLuOn2 | #NationalSigningDay | #gonavywp pic.twitter.com/0V7a5wWJ8t

— OLu Athletics (@OLu_Athletics) November 8, 2023

Congrats to Kai Schmitt on signing his National Letter of Intent for Men’s Volleyball at Stanford!!! @ocvarsity @latsondheimer ⁦@SouthOCsports⁩ pic.twitter.com/9sEG1bNs42

— Triton Athletics (@SCHSTritons) November 8, 2023

Congrats to Brett Ephraim on signing his National Letter of Intent for Men’s Cross Country & Track at Colorado State!!! @ocvarsity @latsondheimer ⁦@SouthOCsports⁩ pic.twitter.com/YEljSAszca

— Triton Athletics (@SCHSTritons) November 8, 2023

Congrats to Gianna Feldsien on signing her National Letter of Intent for Women’s Soccer at the Univ. of the Pacific!!! @ocvarsity @latsondheimer ⁦@SouthOCsports⁩ pic.twitter.com/6CN0wWjJhg

— Triton Athletics (@SCHSTritons) November 8, 2023

Congrats to Nolan Rooker on signing his National Letter of Intent for Men’s Diving at Northwestern!!! @ocvarsity @latsondheimer ⁦@SouthOCsports⁩ pic.twitter.com/h16ueRntqJ

— Triton Athletics (@SCHSTritons) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Elise Lee for signing her National Letter of Intent to play golf at Northwestern University! Philippians 3:14@NorthwesternU@NUGolf_Live
@creanlutheran.athletics@OCSportsZone @ocvarsity @ocregister pic.twitter.com/5uMrRrZ06B

— Crean Lutheran (@creanlutheranhs) November 8, 2023

Congratulations to Abby Thies for signing her National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Biola University! Philippians 2: 3-4@biolau@BiolaAthletics@BiolaVolleyball@ocsportszone@ocvarsity @ocregister pic.twitter.com/32zNLfpbJ8

— Crean Lutheran (@creanlutheranhs) November 8, 2023

Welcome to the Southern California News Group’s Girls Athlete of the Week poll.

Throughout the high school sports year, SCNG will provide a list of candidates — selected by our 11 newspapers in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County — who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the overall winner.

This week, we consider performances from Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

The poll closes at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

The weekly winner will be announced each Friday morning online.

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK POLL

Here are this week’s nominees (the poll is below the list of candidates):

Orange County girls athlete of the week: Leigh Chien, Santa Margarita

Press-Telegram Girls Athlete of the Week: Nadia Mejia, Millikan

Daily Breeze Girls Athlete of the Week: Keiko Chinen, Chadwick

Daily News girls athlete of the week: Claire Grasteit, El Camino Real

San Gabriel Valley Girls Athlete of the Week: Abigail Errington, South Pasadena

Inland girls athlete of the week: Venus Bush, Moreno Valley

Spread the news

Want to share who you’re voting for on Instagram? Here’s how: Download the image below upload it to your Instagram story. Copy the URL of this article, add it to the story using the link sticker and place it in the area we’ve designated.

About the poll: The Southern California News Group includes the Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Pasadena-Star News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.

Welcome to the Southern California News Group’s Boys Athlete of the Week poll.

Throughout the high school sports year, SCNG will provide a list of candidates — selected by our 11 newspapers in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County — who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the overall winner.

This week, we consider performances from Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

The poll closes at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

The weekly winner will be announced each Friday morning online.

GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK POLL

Here are this week’s nominees (the poll is below the list of candidates):

Orange County boys athlete of the week: Ryder Tonkovich, Portola

Press-Telegram Boys Athlete of the Week: Jason Parra, Millikan

Daily Breeze Boys Athlete of the Week: Steven Perez, Banning

Daily News boys athlete of the week: Johnny Iabichella, Paraclete

San Gabriel Valley Boys Athlete of the Week: Jake Duronslet, Covina

Inland boys athlete of the week: Eric Copeland, Miller

Spread the news

Want to share who you’re voting for on Instagram? Here’s how: Download the image below upload it to your Instagram story. Copy the URL of this article, add it to the story using the link sticker and place it in the area we’ve designated.

About the poll: The Southern California News Group includes the Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Pasadena-Star News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.

Senior athletes in all sports, except football, are eligible to officially sign a letter of intent at this time.

The list will be updated throughout the day.

The list includes athletes who received commitment letters from Ivy League schools and military service academies, but does not include players offered preferred walk-on status.

OCVarsity will have a signing list for football players during the sport’s official signing periods in December and February.

ORANGE COUNTY FALL SIGNING LIST

(Please send Signing Day information to preps@ocregister.com)

ALISO NIGUEL

Kate Dunakin, softball, Tulsa

Jonathan Nodolski, baseball, Alfred State

Nevaeh Mendez, volleyball, Vanguard

Taylor Nelson, softball, Stanford

Taryn Raibon, soccer, Maryland

Kate Wilson, soccer, Utah Valley

ANAHEIM DISCOVERY CHRISTIAN

Shaojun Luo, golf, UC Riverside

BECKMAN

Victoria Turner, volleyball, UC San Diego

Stacy Reeves, beach volleyball, TCU

Eli Geddy, golf, UC San Diego

Lauren Turner, soccer, Cal State Fullerton

Maddy Tjon, soccer, Cal Poly Pomona

BREA OLINDA

Chloe Montera, soccer, Graceland

Sierra Criner, soccer, Mt. Olive

Haylee Long, volleyball, Vanguard

CANYON

Cohen Gomez, baseball, Stanford

Mattias Morris, golf, Aurora

Austin Dang, soccer, Cal State San Bernardino

Sofia Ingle, golf, Biola University

Kendall Nevin, softball, Portland State

Maya Sarhan, soccer, Pacific

CAPISTRANO VALLEY

Valerie Kwa, softball, Brown

Quinn Southerland, softball, Boise State

Allison Craycroft, soccer, Cal State Fullerton

Ryan Namdar, soccer, UC San Diego

Lauren Longworth, soccer, Hawaii Pacific

Devin Zachry, soccer, Northwestern

Michael Yousef, baseball, Johns Hopkins

CAPISTRANO VALLEY CHRISTIAN

Camille Solovjev, volleyball, Biola University

Andrew Johnson, baseball, USC

CORONA DEL MAR

Jack Cross, tennis, Cal Poly SLO

Niels Hoffmann, tennis, USC

Sterling Foley, volleyball, USC

Ryan Gant, volleyball, Stanford

Charlie Olson, golf, Gonzaga

Antonio Aramburu, wrestling, San Francisco State

Ava Schoening, water polo, Brown

CREAN LUTHERAN

Elise Lee, golf, Northwestern

Abby Thies, volleyball, Biola

Kiera Maynard, volleyball, The Master’s

Sicily Windham, softball, Lamar

Troy Jenkins, basketball, Indiana Univ.–Purdue Univ. Indianapolis

Caroline Rader, rowing, SMU

Delaney Schappert, soccer, Clark University

CYPRESS

Bella Caceres, basketball, Hiram College

Isabella Chen, diving, Northwestern

Gabriel Cobian, baseball, Long Beach State

Katherine Gerbing, golf, UC Irvine

Madeline Granados, softball, Biola

Briana Holguin, softball, Fairleigh Dickinson

Nick Montgomery, baseball, Arizona State

Ryan Slevcove, golf, Iona

Alex Swick, Penn State-York, baseball

Breana Townsend, softball, softball

DANA HILLS

Maddy Culp, soccer, Idaho State

Taylor Hill, soccer, Wesleyan

Kate Kokx, soccer, Vanguard

Grady Faris, baseball, Cal State Fullerton

Jayden Hernandez, cross country, New Mexico

Nick Fry, golf, Cal State Northridge

EDISON

Chloe Lam, golf, Santa Clara

Morgan Gillinger, beach volleyball, Cal State Northridge

Sammy Wood, beach volleyball, Santa Clara

Summer Witherby, beach volleyball, Cal Poly SLO

Hailey Clingan, soccer, UC Irvine

Elia Reyes, lacrosse, Lewis and Clark

EL DORADO

AJ Frausto, baseball, San Diego

Jolie Johnson, softball, Kennesaw State

Lauren Karp, soccer, Northern Arizona

Emerson Ahsmuhs, volleyball, Carson Newman

Katherine Park, soccer, USC

Kasey Nichols, softball, Arlington Baptist

Isaiah Quintero, wrestling, Purdue

Kelsie Jensen, softball, Southern Idaho

Hailey Skullr, softball, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

Morgan Kronebusch, lacrosse, Colorado Mesa

Cora Burgess, basketball, Sonoma State

Maggie Grijalva, ice hockey, Hood College

EL MODENA

Isabella Gonzalez, softball, Canisius

Nick Santivanez, baseball, Cal State Northridge

Grace Wharton, swimming, UNLV

EL TORO

Emily Doane, lacrosse, Colorado State-Pueblo

Kylie Loertscher, softball, California State Chico

Taylor Smith, soccer, Arizona

ESPERANZA

Alyssa Dimitriadis, swimming, UNLV

Shannon Dempsey, soccer, McNeese State

Riley Cutshall, soccer, Biola

Danielle Escobedo, soccer, Saint Mary’s College (Indiana)

Avery Bowman, soccer, Catholic University

Taylor Shumaker, softball, Florida

FOOTHILL

Garrett Davidson, baseball, UC San Diego

Brian Harbour, baseball, San Diego

William Griswold, water polo, Brown

FULLERTON

Ava Paquin, softball, Sonoma State

Tianna Salcido, softball, Tennessee State

Emi Todoroki, softball, George Washington University

FOUNTAIN VALLEY

Makenzie Butt, softball, Boise State

Jessica Jang, water polo, Cal Baptist

Kayla Knoob, soccer, Cal State San Marcos

Anthony Lucio, wrestling, Cal Poly SLO

Taylor Reynolds, softball, Wagner

Ryland Whitworth, wrestling, Army

Hercules Windrath, wrestling, Cal Poly SLO

HUNTINGTON BEACH

Jaiden Anderson, soccer, USC

Sydney Harris, rowing, Tennessee

Ashley Long, softball, Nebraska-Omaha

Sage Anderson, softball, UC Santa Barbara

Zoe Prystajko, softball, Stanford

Liah Lummus, softball, Loyola Marymount

Macy Fuller, softball, Cal State San Marcos

Nathan Acevas, baseball, UC Santa Barbara

Collin McNiven, baseball, Claremont McKenna

Matt Hansen, baseball, BYU

Dani Sparks, beach volleyball, Cal Poly SLO

Haylee LaFontaine, beach volleyball, Cal Poly SLO

Meghan Freck, beach volleyball, UC Davis

Lola Fernsten, beach volleyball, UC Davis

Lyndsay Harris, volleyball, Alabama State

Kylie Leopard, volleyball, Cal Poly Pomona

Jake Pazanti, volleyball, Long Beach State

Ben Bray, volleyball, Grand Canyon

Marley Garwick, water polo, Fresno State

Christian Hammonds, water polo, UC San Diego

Jay Pyle, water polo, Air Force

Ethan Spoon, water polo, UC Irvine

IRVINE

Alexia Duncan, swim, Utah

Kaila Kua, soccer, George Washington

Hyli De Los Santos, softball, Westcliff

JSERRA

Charlie Caruso, baseball, Northwestern University

Matthew Champion, baseball, Louisiana State

Sebastian Rancik, basketball, Colorado

Trent Taliaferro, volleyball, UCLA

Hannah Puff, soccer, Colorado

Bella Stewart, soccer, Kentucky

Maysen Veronda, soccer, Texas A&M

Eva Hurtado, softball, Cal State Fullerton

Mia Krueger, softball, Cal Baptist University

Kaylee Layfield, softball, George Washington University

KENNEDY

Addison Collum, volleyball, Arkansas State

LAGUNA BEACH

Cade Anderton, water polo, Pepperdine

Sam Burchi, baseball, Lewis and Clark

Emerson Hensley, water polo, Brown

Ava Knepper, water polo, USC

Jessica MacCallum, tennis, Cal Poly SLO

Kate Parker, equestrian, Auburn

Tyler Swensen, water polo, Santa Clara

LA HABRA

Jared Day, baseball, Hawaii Pacific

LOS ALAMITOS

Sydney Bergstrom, rowing, Oklahoma

Hayley Bergstrom, rowing, Oklahoma

Abby Sickles, golf, Cal State San Marcos

Cari Ferguson, softball, Santa Clara

Callie Fitzpatrick, softball, Long Beach State

Camryn Johnson, softball, Seattle

Allyssa Ramos, softball, Iowa

Gaby Terrones, softball, San Diego State

Kaia Herweg, volleyball, Grand Canyon

Anna Sanzaro, volleyball, Sonoma State

Noa Nuez, beach volleyball, Georgia State

Elise Lenahan, beach volleyball, Cal Poly SLO

Madelyn Nollan, water polo, Indiana

Cole Francisco, water polo, UC Irvine

Mac Marr, water polo, UC Davis

MATER DEI

John Elliott, baseball, USC

Wylan Moss, baseball, UCLA

Braden Ruiz, baseball, Saint Mary’s College

Scotty Belnap, basketball, Utah Tech

Brady Karich, basketball, Claremont McKenna

Jenessa Cotton, basketball, Duke

Emily Shaw, basketball, Central Washington University

Hannah Clark, gymnastics, Clemson

Makenna Evans, lacrosse, Butler

Amelia Haney, rowing, Notre Dame

Elizabeth Struve, sailing, Tulane

Ashtyn Tierney, sailing, Stanford

Kevin Abarca, soccer, San Diego State

Lily Biddulph, soccer, USC

Hannah Caira, soccer, Vanguard University

Shannon Nettekoven, soccer, Cal State Fullerton

Jenna Rivera, soccer, UC San Diego

Sierra Schwarz, soccer, University of the Pacific

Piper Wilkison, soccer, Butler

Catherine Kawabe, softball, Tufts University

Jaiden Lynch, swimming & diving, University of Texas

James Krantz, tennis, UC San Diego

Chloe Vu, tennis, UC Riverside

Athena Wardy, tennis, UC San Diego

Tyler Robinson, volleyball, USC

Malyssa Cawa, volleyball, Stanford

Isabel Clark, volleyball, University of San Diego

Cymarah Gordon, volleyball, Michigan

Julia Kakkis, volleyball, Brown

MISSION VIEJO

Caroline Roelen, diving, University of Houston

Zachary Welsh, diving, Purdue

Jacob Welsh, diving, University of Texas at Austin

Anna Lemkin, diving, Stanford

Sofia Elliott, softball, Iowa

Hailey Gald, softball, Colgate

Dakota Marsee, softball, Rhodes College

Jeremy Caringella, soccer, Point Loma Nazarene University

Ava Tabangcura, softball, Quinnipiac University

NEWPORT HARBOR

Riggs Guy, volleyball, UC Santa Barbara

Jack Von Der Ahe, volleyball, USC

Owen Tift, water polo, Pepperdine

Quinn Bartlett, water polo, Naval Academy

Chloe Rizof, water polo, Santa Clara

Peter Castillo, water polo, UCLA

Gavin Appeldorn, water polo, Princeton

Ryan Chalupnik, water polo, UCLA

Taryn Graves, rowing, Tennessee

Kate Kubiak, soccer, Oregon

Ally Thomas, soccer, Mississippi

Angelena Peterson, water polo, Marist

ORANGE LUTHERAN

Katie Harper, stunt, Missouri Baptist University

Matthew Mai-Prasarnsuk, water polo, U.S. Naval Academy

Brianne Weiss, softball, Notre Dame

Mya Diaz, softball, Concordia University-Irvine

Dillan Danks, soccer, Loyola Marymount

Xavier Alcantar, soccer, University Of North Carolina-Asheville

Lily Underwood, volleyball, Westmont College

Makalin Goehring, volleyball, UC San Marcos

Isabella Calderon, water polo, UC Irvine

Lauren Steele, water polo, UCLA

Samantha Kim, water polo, Brown

Sofia Umeda, water polo, USC

PACIFICA

Kaniya Bragg, softball, UCLA

Delaina Ma’ae, softball, UC Santa Barbara

Brynne Nally, softball, Long Beach State

Kayli Counts, softball, Cal

Malia Cuevas, softball, Northwest Missouri State

Annika Sogsti, softball, Cal State Fullerton

Sam Milligan, softball, Davis and Elkins

ROSARY

Allison Clarke, basketball, Loyola Marymount

Sherry Diep, soccer, University of New Mexico

Madison Encinas, soccer, Baylor

Leah Gimenez, soccer, Cal State Bakersfield

Claire Heidelman, cheer and stunt, Alma College

Katie Meneses, lacrosse, Missouri Western State

Brianna Salazar, softball, American International College

Nevaeh Trejo, softball, American International College

SAN CLEMENTE

Brett Ephraim, cross country and track, Colorado State

Kai Schmitt, volleyball, Stanford

Gianna Feldsien, soccer, Pacific

Nolan Rooker, diving, Northwestern

SAN JUAN HILLS

Eva Andersen, soccer, UC San Diego

Duke DeVault, lacrosse, Westminster University

Zach Doyle, baseball, UC Irvine

Taylor Fox, diving, University of Texas

Dane Grant, baseball. UC Irvine

Aryanna Hudson, basketball, Vanguard University

Milly Keetch, soccer, Utah Valley University

Sage Melkonian, gymnastics, Cal

Jack Morrissey, baseball, Belmont University

Austin Plisinski, baseball, Pepperdine

Brad Smolinski, golf, Oregon State

Chloe Sorensen, rowing, Harvard

Birdie Stone, volleyball, Montana

SANTA MARGARITA

Xihan “Ariel” Lin, swimming & diving, Cornell

Sheridan Smith, swimming & diving, University of Miami

Hunter Cehelnik, swimming & diving, UC San Diego

Nathan Wu, swimming & diving, USC

Logan de Groot, baseball, UCLA

Ben Escobar, baseball, Xavier

Jake Lavin, baseball, Cal

Cade Townsend, baseball, Mississippi

Regan Shields, volleyball, Oregon State

Ethan Saint, volleyball, UC Santa Barbara

Hannah McClaskey, water polo, Arizona State

Leigh Chien, golf, Stanford

Aaron Huang, golf, Manhattan College

Ruby Berg, soccer, UC San Diego

Faith George, soccer, USC

Bella Gissendanner, soccer, Idaho

Molly MacMillan, soccer, Texas

Kaylee McKeehan, soccer, Boise State

Charlotte Memoly, soccer, San Jose State

Ireland Regan, soccer, Northwestern State University of Louisiana

Sydney Berg, softball, Colgate

Audrey Crafts, lacrosse, Cal

Layla Montelongo, lacrosse, University of Alabama-Huntsville

Rachel Brandt, equestrian, Southern Methodist University

Natalie Shearer, fencing, Northwestern

London Cortinas, stunt, California Baptist University

Cameron McNamee, basketball, Dartmouth

Brooklyn Kostoff, volleyball, Azusa Pacific

Theodore Le, lacrosse, Westminster University

SERVITE

Joe Moyer, soccer, Stanford

Eamon Rigdon, volleyball, USC

ST. MARGARET’S

Reed Wainwright, volleyball, Stanford

SUNNY HILLS

Yurang Li, golf, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

TESORO

Jordan Fjelstad, soccer, Oregon State

Kennedy Proctor, softball, University of Utah

Kiara Cisneros, softball, San Diego State

Peyton Roberge, softball, Montana State

Gian Santos, swimming, Columbia

Kaumana Carreira, volleyball, Stanford

Bruno Ribeiro, swimming, Georgetown

Avery Hanhauser, soccer, Vanguard University

Natalie Kent, golf, Eastern Washington University

TRABUCO HILLS

Daniela Luden, softball, Sonoma State

Eliza Taylor, swimming, California Baptist University

UNIVERSITY

Kaitlyn Carmichael, cross country, UC San Diego

VILLA PARK

Madden Tucker, softball, Converse University

Allison Mann, swimming, San Diego State

Taylor Walsh, volleyball, Gonzaga

Justin Tims, baseball, Washington

YORBA LINDA

Jacob Talbott, baseball, Biola

Name: Ryder Tonkovich

School: Portola

Sport: Water polo

Year: Junior

Noteworthy: He scored 19 goals over three CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff wins. Tonkovich, an attacker, scored nine goals in the Bulldogs’ 16-11 win over Crean Lutheran in the quarterfinals, five goals with five steals in a second-round win over Burbank and five goals in a first-round victory over Redlands East Valley. Portola plays at San Marcos in the semifinals Wednesday.