If Kaden Korst was in the same uniform as the Marin Catholic players after their CIF D3 state title win, it would be very hard to determine who was the head coach and who were the starters. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
Congratulations to all of the 2024-25 Cal-Hi Sports State Coaches of the year for girls basketball. These are the ones for each of the five state divisions. As we’ve also done since the advent of the Open Division with as few as 11 teams, we combine Open and Division I so there is just one honoree for those two divisions.
For more on this year’s overall State Coach of the Year announcement, CLICK HERE.
(Associate editor Harold Abend contributed to these honors.)
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OPEN DIVISION/DIVISION I
Kelly Sopak (Carondelet, Concord)
Last season was one of the rare times in which the Open/D1 coach of the year, Charles Solomon from Brentwood of Los Angeles, was not the overall State Coach of the Year, which instead went to Anna Almeida of D3 Caruthers. This year, it’s back to normal as Sopak is going to listed for the 2024-25 season as the State Coach of the Year plus he will officially be listed for Open/D1.
DIVISION II
Kyle Williamson (Rancho Bernardo, San Diego)
Since Anna Almeida of D2 state champ Caruthers was the State Coach of the Year just last season, it has to be reminded to all that in the more than 45 years of the Cal-Hi Sports state coaching honors (they also go back to 1972 through research), no one can be selected more than once. It has been a policy that has enabled many more of the state’s very deserving coaches to get their own moments in the spotlight.
While Rancho Bernardo had a tough time in its loss to Caruthers in the state final, the team’s head coach has been one of the most consistent winners in the CIF San Diego Section and this year was no exception. The Broncos, who advanced to their first CIF state title game and got into the D2 bracket after taking a loss in the CIFSD Open Division playoffs, earned their regional title with a 35-25 victory against Monache of Porterville.
“Words don’t describe how proud I am of this team,” said Williamson about this year’s team after its state title loss. “To be here and experience this opportunity and then compete the way we did — especially in the second half — couldn’t be more proud.”
Williamson became the head coach at Rancho Bernardo prior to the 2016-17 season. That team was not only 7-3 in league games, but finished 27-7 overall. Williamson’s teams since then have not had a losing season, either. This includes this year’s 25-8 record, 22-10 for 2022-23, and 22-8 for 2020-21. The Broncos won in the CIF Southern Regionals playoffs in 2021 but that year the state championships were not held (second year of COVID), Instead, Williamson’s team played in a special 3-AA Division created by the CIF for the SoCal playoffs and defeated Mary Star of the Sea of San Pedro 72-44 for the title.
Basketball coaching has been in Kyle’s DNA for a long time. His brother, Kevin, is the current head coach at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. This year’s team there lost to The Master’s College of California in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. The two brothers once worked together as coaches at Cathedral Catholic of San Diego. Kyle previously served as an assistant for the Rancho Bernardo boys team from 2009 to 2016 before he was selected to move over and switch to the girls program.
Last 15 honorees: 2024 Bob Paddock (Chico Pleasant Valley); 2023 Bo Corona (Lawndale Leuzinger); 2022 Kerwin Walters (Newport Beach Sage Hill); 2021 Steve Picchi (Redwood City Sequoia); 2020 Rashaan Shehee (Bakersfield); 2019 Jose Herrera (Alhambra Mark Keppel); 2018 Roger DiCarlo (San Marcos); 2017 Allison Johnson (Fairfield Vanden); 2016 Mark Lehman (San Bernardino Cajon); 2015 Miguel Granillo (Tracy Kimball); 2014 Kelli DiMuro (Chaminade, West Hills); 2013 Michelle Massari (Sacramento); 2012 Leonard DeCoud (Riverside J.W. North); 2011 Wade Nakamura (San Jose Presentation); 2010 Tom Parrish (Hanford).
The red bow tie that head coach Shiloh Sorbello wore when Woodland Christian won its CIF state title is probably a change of pace from the ties he wears as Deputy District Attorney for Yuba County. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
DIVISION V
Shiloh Sorbello (Woodland Christian)
We have had active duty police officers or police detectives serve as successful high school coaches before, but with Sorbello he may have become the first deputy district attorney for a county to win a CIF state title as a head coach. The Yuba County Deputy DA guided Woodland Christian (which is in Yolo County) to its first ever CIF state crown two weekends ago with a victory in the title game over Rosamond.
Sorbello has been involved at Woodland Christian since 2005 when his wife, Samantha, was a teacher at the school. He soon became an off-campus coach and the couple’s children began to go there. Shilo has even been school board president. He is from nearby Davis and graduated from UC Davis before law school. He coached the Woodland Christian boys team for two seasons and for the last 11 seasons has been coaching the Cardinals’ girls.
Besides winning a CIF state title, Shilo got the pleasure of coaching his sophomore daughter, Siena. She started at center all season and in the state final had six points, 18 rebounds and two blocks. Senior Teagan Hayes led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and four steals in the 47-41 win.
Sorbello’s squad had a 24-game win streak before it was snapped in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D5 title game loss to Bret Harte (Altaville). After the win vs Rosamond, the Cardinals finished 31-6. That was after they went 27-6 last season and they have won 20 games or more as well in 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2015 and 2014 all under Sorbello.
Last 15 honorees: 2024 Nita Simpson (Oakland); 2023 Danny Roussel (Huntington Beach Marina); 2022 Ryan Coleman (Los Angeles Shalhevet); 2021 Joseph Murray (San Marcos St. Joseph Academy); 2020 Jennifer Keithley (Watsonville Monte Vista Christian); 2019 Anna Almeida (Caruthers); 2018 Amy Bush (Hanford Sierra Pacific); 2017 Richard Masson (San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep); 2016 Jon Sampang (Sun Valley Village Christian); 2015 Donovan Blythe (East Palo Alto Eastside Prep); 2014 Doc Scheppler (Los Altos Hills Pinewood); 2013 Alicia Komaki (Chatsworth Sierra Canyon); 2012 Que Ngo (Stockton Brookside Christian); 2011 Julianne Berry (Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame); 2010 Doc Scheppler (Los Altos Hills Pinewood).
DIVISION III
Kayden Korst (Marin Catholic, Kentfield)
Prior to this season, the last time and only time Marin Catholic won a CIF state championship was in 2002 when the Wildcats captured the Division IV title with a 66-48 victory over St. Bernard of Playa del Rey. Coincidentally, the last time before this year, and once again the lone time Marin Catholic had a head coach named a Cal-Hi Sports divisional State Coach of the Year was the same year when Rick DeMartini was honored as the Division IV State Coach of the Year.
That all changed this year when Marin Catholic went all the way to Sacramento and came home with a CIF Division III state championship after a 48-38 victory at the Golden 1 Arena over Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista.
What made it extra special was head coach Kayden Korst asked DeMartini to be an assistant, and he was at her side during the run to the state title.
Now, in a strange twist of fate, Korst, who was only five-months old when DeMartini brought home the bacon for Marin Catholic in 2002, joins him as a divisional winner after being named the 2025 Cal-Hi Sports Division III State Coach of the Year.
Not only is Korst believed to be the youngest head coach ever to win a state championship, and while we can’t be totally certain but at 23 years old she is believed to be youngest head coach to win a statewide honor, and she did it in her first year, That is a bit of an anomaly for Cal-Hi Sports since we rarely if ever have picked a first-year coach to honor. Being the youngest ever, though, proved too tough to move past.
“Oh my god.” said Korst when told she’s joining DeMartini at such a young age. “Thank you so much. That’s amazing.
“It feels great to be honored the way Rick was,” said Marin native and all-time leading scorer at San Domenico (San Anselmo) where she graduated from in 2019 after finishing with 2,129 career points and 47 in a single game. “He’s a Marin Catholic and Marin County girls basketball legend that I grew up idolizing. To be honored like he was makes me extremely proud.”
The coaching bug bit Korst early. After college, she returned home and began working for the North Bay Academy basketball club and last year she coached the freshman girls at Larkspur Redwood. Then, when former Marin Catholic head coach and star on the 2002 team Ashley Saia decided to step away to prepare to start a family, the job opened up and despite her tender age Korst was encouraged to apply.
“When I returned from college I quickly realized I wanted to coach for the rest of my life,” Korst remarked. “When the job opened up I was encouraged to apply simply to go through the interview process.
“I thought I had zero chance but I sent my resume anyway and got the interview,” Korst continued. “And then I got a second interview, and a third interview, and then I got it, and I still can’t believe it.”
Besides coaching she does some work for North Bay Academy and administrative work at Marin Catholic.
To win a state championship not only takes quality coaching but players that perform and Korst wanted to give a shoutout to her players and in particular her seniors like Dennison University-bound Izzy McFadden, Sienna Frazier and Jocelyn Gigounas. Junior Cecilia Biernat and sophomore Brooke Spagnuolo were two other players Korst mentioned as future standouts.
Last 15 honorees: 2024 Anna Almeida (Caruthers); 2023 Rexanne Simpton (Colfax); 2022 Dave Kavern (Porterville); 2021 Lynley Takaki (San Jose Lynbrook); 2020 Matt Dale (Menifee Paloma Valley); 2019 Orlando Gray (Oakland); 2018 John Langston (Sacramento West Campus); 2017 Rich Yoon (Rosary Academy, Fullerton); 2016 Kelly Sopak (Orinda Miramonte); 2015 LyRyan Russell (S.F. Sacred Heart Cathedral); 2014 Andrew Butcher (Santa Barbara); 2013 Malik McCord (Oakland Bishop O’Dowd); 2012 Malik McCord (Oakland Bishop O’Dowd); 2011 Tom Howard (Orange Lutheran); 2010 Tony Scott (Inglewood).
DIVISION IV
Myron Jacobs (Whitney, Cerritos)
In directing a squad that has to be comprised of student-athletes who have to meet very high academic standards just to be able to attend a highly-regarded academic program, Jacobs made all the right moves in building a CIF state title team. The Wildcats finished with a 28-9 record after their win over Half Moon Bay in the D4 state championship. The girls also won the 605 League title and set a school record for most wins in school history.
“We kind of have to make a roster,” Jacobs during the CIF state title press conference. “This is an academic school first and a sports school second. I think this year was a little more special for us because we had six seniors who had been in the program for the last four years that wanted more.”
Six also is the number of years that Jacobs has been Whitney’s head girls basketball coach. He will start the next season with a 106-58 career record and only needs two more wins to become the winningest in school history, according to the Los Cerritos News.
Jacobs is a graduate of USC, but began his coaching career in New York in 2008. He moved back west in 2013 where he first worked as basketball coach at Burroughs High in Burbank. Myron then became the head coach for boys at Buena Park in 2017-18 and switched to head coach for the girls at Buena Park the following season.
It’s taken a few seasons for the Wildcats to get to a higher level, but they haven’t had a losing season since Jacobs came on board. The team went 19-10 last season and were 18-5 in the 2021-22 season. And in addition to coaching the Whitney varsity this season, Jacobs also was listed as being in his first season as an assistant coach in women’s basketball in the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletic program.
Last 15 honorees: 2024 Matt Tomlin (Eureka St. Bernard’s); 2023 Leonard Dominguez (Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart); 2022 Trey Mitchell (Ross Branson); 2021 Jerry Taylor (Fresno Roosevelt); 2020 Rick Berry (Cloverdale); 2019 LeRoy Hurt (Oakland Tech); 2018 Buck Matthews (Portola Valley Woodside Priory); 2017 Dawnesha Buckner (Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos); 2016 Stephen Pezzola (Richmond Salesian); 2015 David Esparza (Anaheim Fairmont Prep); 2014 Jim Hart (Scotts Valley); 2013 McKinsey Hadley (Gardena Serra); 2012 Terri Bamford (La Jolla Country Day); 2011 Steve Smith (Los Angeles Windward); 2010 Melissa Hearlihy (North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake).
Note: Coaches can be listed twice in a division because the second time they were honored as the overall State Coach of the Year.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
