In November, we will begin the release of our preseason 2023-24 Cal-Hi Sports boys basketball state rankings. As a preview to how things could shake out, here is a list of the major 2023-24 tournaments and classics involving California teams that figure to be ranked. The 2023-24 season officially begins November 13. The CIF state basketball championships are scheduled to take place March 8-9, 2024.
Cal-Hi Sports Insider Blog
Quick-hitting, behind-the-scenes news and notes from the CalHiSports.com staff, including previews of upcoming content and events.
Preseason State Football Hub
A lot of the players celebrating St. John Bosco’s No. 1 finish in the state last year have moved on, but the Braves stay No. 1 to start this season for the same reason Mater Dei of Santa Ana was No. 1 to start last season: the winning team between those two stays higher until they play again. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.
Here’s a simple one-stop place to find links to all of the preseason football content for 2023 on the CalHiSports.com web site. This is the 45th season in which we’ve covered the entire state.
STATEWIDE LINEUP OF PRESEASON
ALL-SECTION/REGION TEAMS:
CIF Northern Section | CIF Sac-Joaquin Section | CIFSS Inland Empire | CIF Central Section | CIF San Diego Section | CIF NCS East Bay | CIFSS San Fernando/Ventura | CIF L.A. City Section | CIFSS San Gabriel Valley | CIFSS Long Beach/South Bay | CIF NCS Redwood Empire | CIF Central Coast Section | CIF/SS Orange County
Preseason All-State Football Teams
All State Records Ready for 2023 Season
Preseason State TOP 50 FB Rankings (1-10)
Preseason State TOP 50 FB Rankings (11-30)
Preseason State TOP 50 FB Rankings (31-50)
We hope you consider a Gold Club membership on CalHiSports.com to view all the preseason all section teams. All regular season State TOP 50 rankings also will be Gold Club posts. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content for just $3.99 for one month. A three-month sub, which by the way will carry you through almost all of the upcoming season, is just $9.99. For details, CLICK HERE.
Special national title for Kinnebrew & Cal Sparks girls
Cal Sparks founder and director Elbert Kinnebrew led the charge to a crown in Chicago in July despite an ongoing fight against cancer.
FOR A LOOK AT THE FINAL TWO STOPS IN HAROLD ABEND’S GIRLS OF SUMMER TOUR (GOLD CLUB), CLICK HERE.
Because it was not possible to be in Orange County and Nevada at the same time for the annual Cal-Hi Sports Girls of Summer tour, we were unable to see the Etiwanda duo of State Junior of the Year Kennedy Smith and State Sophomore of the Year Aliyahna “Puff” Morris, or any of the other Cal Sparks Gold 17U EYBL stars in action at the Ballin in the Ballroom at the Westin Lake Las Vegas in Henderson.
Elbert Kinnebrew and wife Karen celebrate after top team in Cal Sparks program won national title. Photo: Twitter.com.
We do, however, want to give a shout out to the players of the Nike EYBL national champion Cal Sparks 17U EYBL, and its founder and Ballin in the Ballroom tournament director Elbert Kinnebrew.
Cal Sparks has had some very talented players since Kinnebrew founded the club in 1996, and they have been one of the top teams since joining the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) circuit 11 years ago. However, this was the first EYBL national championship for the club, and came as a reward not only for the players, but Kinnebrew as well.
Joining Smith and Morris as starters at the national championships in Chicago in the first half of the viewing period were Tajianna Avant-Roberts, a 2024 and All-State First Team Juniors selection last season from La Jolla Country Day, Jenessa Cotton, a 2024 post from Mater Dei (Santa Ana), who was also an All-State First Team Juniors last season, and Ryann Bennett, a 2024 from Long Beach St. Anthony.
The remaining Cal Sparks players that competed in Chicago were Taylor Gerard, a 2025 from Windward of Los Angeles; Grace Knox, a 2025 from Centennial of Las Vegas; Bella Harmon, a 2026 from Buena Park, and Alana White, a 2026 from Buena Park.
According to Kinnebrew, the 17U team added Harmon and White for depth, but the starters “played a ton of minutes.”
It’s not a surprise that Smith was the big star. “If there was an MVP it would have been Kennedy,” Kinnebrew remarked.
To win the national championship, the Sparks had to beat the two other top teams in the field, All Iowa Attack, and the Cal Stars 17 EYBL. In fact, the Sparks beat All Iowa twice, 82-72, and then two days later they won the championship game over the Iowans, 68-55. Sandwiched in the middle was a 69-61 victory over the Cal Stars.
Kinnebrew has a great group of coaches, including James Anderson, who won back-to-back CIF state championship in 2000-01 at Harbor City Narbonne, Ray Bennett, the current head coach at St. Anthony, veterans William Hailey and Dominic Freeman, and Sparks alumni Caila Hailey and Candace Evans, but it’s Kinnebrew and his wife Karen Kinnebrew, who are the orchestrators, all the while with Elbert fighting cancer.
“I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2020 and my biopsy scale was 10, and 10 being the worst possible level,” Kinnebrew said. “So with my wife at my side at my first post biopsy the doctor told me to get my affairs in order. We thought my end was around the corner.”
Now, three years later, Kinnebrew is still fighting. After 40 years in Southern California he and Karen moved back to the Sacramento area where they both are from, initially because they wanted to be near family if Elbert’s days were numbered.
Because the cancer was not in his spine, doctors were able to treat him with surgeries, radiation and chemo and he went into remission, however in 2022 he was out of remission when the cancer moved into his rib cage.
“Now it is chemo in pill form and close watch on possible spread,” Kinnebrew said.
So why on earth does he still continue Cal Sparks given he’s also still a CPA with clients?
“Why do I keep going with Cal Sparks given my health status?”
“Karen and I love helping the girls via basketball,” answered Kinnebrew. “This is our fourth decade of service and we’ve helped over 300 girls attend college via the program and that’s gratifying given the importance of advanced education in their coming adult lives.”
“Now, every year it’s a renewal decision,” Kinnebrew continued. “We’ve decided we’ll be back for the 2024 club season. Lord knows when this will end but for now we don’t.”
On behalf of the girls basketball community, we can only hope Elbert wins the battle and he and Karen can help hundreds of more girls in the future.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
All-State Softball Patch List
All-State softball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partners at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State 2nd and 3rd teams for softball 2023 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
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All-State Softball Patch List
All-State softball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partners at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State Underclass teams for softball 2023 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
Read more…
All-State Baseball Patch List
All-State baseball patches for any player named to any of our annual all-state teams can order a souvenir patch with certificate of recognition through our partners at BillyTees.com.
For those just interested in seeing the names of players who are on the Gold Club post for this year’s All-State Underclass teams for baseball 2023 without having to sign up as a subscriber, here is a simple alphabetical list. If you want the full presentation and are not Gold Club, please check out getting a membership today.
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Girls of Summer: Tahoe Kickoff
Cardinal Newman assistant coach Maiya Flores will be helping coach younger sister Macie, who will be a freshman, during the upcoming season. Photo: Harold Abend / Cal-Hi Sports.
The first stop for the Girls of Summer Caravan was on the south shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe in an event prior to the NCAA July viewing period for club teams where girls played for their high school.
There were no surprises at the 39th Lake Tahoe Girls Basketball Jamboree held June 23-25 at the Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe.
For the second straight year, and in the longest standing girls basketball tournament in California directed by longtime South Lake Tahoe girls and boys coaching legend Les Wright, the tournament was dominated by Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa.
The Cardinals won all five of their games by an average of 30 points. The closest anyone got was a 58-37 championship game victory over Heritage of Brentwood, and the only team to score 40 points against Newman was in game four on Sunday morning in a 62-40 victory over Justin-Siena of Napa.
It was a huge tournament for incoming Cardinals junior sharpshooter Kate Schat and on Sunday the All State First Team Sophomore and Third Team Open Division/D1 selection completely took charge in both games.
Schat, who after Girls California Live 23 two weekends ago, has interest from San Francisco, San Diego, Pacific, Cal State Fullerton and Columbia, just about matched her 4.42 GPA in the classroom with her play on the court.
Against Heritage, the 5-foot-8 guard had 27 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range and 11-of-13 from the field overall. With the score tied 2-2 Schat took over and keyed a 19-0 run, and at that point with the score 21-2 the game was all but over.
Schat had 22 points on four three-pointers with seven steals and three assists against Justin Siena.
“Yes, it kind of surprised me,” said Schat about starting to get some real college interest. “It was fun having all the college coaches watching with our new teammate Tissa. With coaches coming to watch her it gave me and our whole team more opportunities.”
Tissa would be Brazilian incoming junior phenom Taissa “Tissa” Queiroz. She did not play in Tahoe and is playing for the Brazilian U19 National Team at the World Cup in Madrid, Spain. We’ll have more about her in a later edition of the Girls of Summer series of writeups.
Newman was also without incoming senior forward Janelle Pena in Tahoe. She was competing in the Native American Games in Arizona.
Kaida Angelo, a 5-foot-9 incoming senior guard, also had her best game against Heritage. She finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. She went for 10 points against Justin Siena. She played exceptional defense all tournament and has interest from San Francisco State.
Heritage was led by incoming senior guard Kendall McClure. She nailed two three-pointers and finished with 12 points.
Several other Cardinal Newman girls played well in the three games we observed.
Incoming senior guard Leah Martinez had 9 points against Justin-Siena, and although she only had four points against Heritage, her defense was solid and she had five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Incoming senior guard Leah Mauritson had two three-pointers and 8 points against Justin Siena, and she also nailed two treys in the Heritage win.
Head coach Monica Mertle got to play her incoming freshmen quite a bit and one that stood out was shooting guard Macie Flores, the little sister of current assistant and standout 2018 grad Maiya Flores. She can shoot the three, handle the ball, and likes to attack the basket.
A Justin-Siena player that looked good was 6-foot incoming junior center Jordan Washington. She was able to finish against Cardinal Newman and finished with 16 points.
In the third-place game, defending CIF Northern Regional Division III champion Colfax outlasted Justin-Siena, 52-51, in one of the more exciting games of the tournament.
All in all, Coach Wright, who donates the proceeds of the tournament to Lake Tahoe Community College and a couple of other select benefactors, has a solid event and the participating teams had fun in Lake Tahoe when not on the hardwood.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
Stout-led South Wins Lions Game
Recently graduated Joey Stout from Pitman of Turlock and Roland Brown of Modesto Central Catholic were MVP and Defensive MVP for the 2023 Lions All-Star Game played on June 24 in Tracy. Photo: Mark Tennis.
MVP Joey Stout from Pitman of Turlock caught a TD pass, ran for a score and did more to lead the South team to a 38-13 win over the North in the annual Lions All-Star Football Game played on Saturday night at Wayne Schneider Stadium in Tracy.
Note: This is a game that is local to us in Stockton and we help the game in a volunteer capacity as a way of giving back to our local high school sports community. If any other all-star games around the state wish to have similar coverage, send us the writeups, details and photos and we’ll be glad to post them. This also is a free story on CalHiSports.com. Some of our upcoming preseason football content will be for Gold Club members only. Join our team today by CLICKING HERE.
The annual all-star game for the southern part of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section (involving high schools from San Joaquin County, Stanislaus County, Merced County and other smaller counties in the Sierra Foothills) hadn’t been played since 2019 at Lincoln High of Stockton due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The game was historically significant since there were three 200-win coaches in attendance. South co-coach Trent Merzon won 225 games over his years at Oakdale (he retired from coaching after the 2022 season), one of the South assistant coaches was former Central Catholic of Modesto head coach Mike Glines (won 204 games in his career) and founder of the game Wayne Schneider (won 224 games during his career at Tracy). There are just about 100 coaches in the history of California high school football spanning more than 120 years who have won 200 games in a career.
Merzon and co-coach Tim Garcia from Davis of Modesto seemed to benefit from the South team having far fewer players that dropped off of the roster in the week leading up to the game than the North team, which was led by head coach Booker Guyton from Edison of Stockton. By the time the week was over, due to the drops, there were eight players from Edison on the North squad.
Tyler Sells of Sonora was named Most Inspirational Player for the North according to a vote from his teammates. Fermin VIllegas of LeGrand was named Most Inspirational for the South. Photo: Mark Tennis.
“We just had tremendous kids to work with,” said Merzon, whose son, Mick, was one of them. “They were really a pleasure to be around. The receivers and the quarterbacks were so smart that Tim was able to get in just about everything he wanted to for his offense in the one week (of practice).”
Despite that advantage, the North squad had a lead in the first half and was within striking distance until early in the fourth quarter.
After the South grabbed a 7-0 lead with 5:32 showing in the first quarter on a 78-yard run by Stout, who broke several tackles on a burst down the sidelines, the North equalized quickly on a 65-yard bomb from Jayden McKey (Tracy Kimball) to Tyree Owens (Edison).
Another Edison player, running back Johnel Pettus, then gave the North a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter on a three-yard run. Stout then scored his second TD of the game on a 22-yard pass from Eleazar Garza (Merced Golden Valley) and the successful PAT gave the South a 14-13 lead.
After taking a 24-13 lead in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by Jahkylle Smith (Merced Golden Valley) and on a 27-yard field goal by Christian Casillas (Patterson), the North squad appeared to have gotten itself back into the game when Kai Elkins (Summerville) grabbed an interception and scampered for a 30-yard touchdown. A penalty flag did drop on the play, but was picked up by one official and waved off. The referees weren’t done considering what happened, however, and as the North team was lined up to kick the PAT both teams were summoned back to the field. The initial penalty was not waved off and was enforced. It was a call of an illegal line stunt by the North defense, which had been called on the South in the first game.
Once the interception return touchdown was reversed, the South went on to score on that drive for a 31-13 lead on a 30-yard TD pass from Garza to Jaelen Nichols (Modesto Central Catholic). Smith scored the final TD of the game on a 2-yard run later in the fourth quarter.
Stout, who had another long catch and run that set up one of Smith’s rushing TDs, was voted MVP in a close call over Garza, who was named Offensive MVP of the game. Stout finished with four carries for 73 yards and nine catches for 113 yards. Garza passed for 159 yards. Smith had 56 yards rushing on 12 carries while QB Cole Gilbert (Turlock) had 72 passing yard and 25 rushing yards.
“Just to play in this game was an honor,” Stout said. “We were playing for all of them who’ve been in this game before. We knew it was going to be high intensity, but we came in prepared. It’s been awhile to have the pads on, but it also felt like being back home.”
McKey had 120 passing yards for the North, but was hurt by three interceptions. Owens ended with four catches for 92 yards.
Central Catholic’s Roland Brown, who had a pair of interceptions, was named Defensive MVP of the game. If Elkins’ pick six had held up, it’s very possible the vote for Defensive MVP might have gone in his direction.
With the win, the South won for the fourth time in the last five games of the event, which began in 1974. The North still leads with an all-time record of 26-18-2. Without the pandemic, this would have been the 50th game.
Defensive Stat Leaders (South)
Roland Brown (Central Catholic) 5 tackles, deflected pass, two interceptions
Luis Vargas (Hilmar) 10 tackles
Brock Osmundson (Oakdale) 5 tackles, sack
LeBron Stallworth (Ceres) two sacks, one pressure
Bryant Austin (Merced) 5 tackles, deflection
Jaelen Nichols (Central Catholic) 4 tackles, interception
Defensive State Leaders (North)
Barry Rhodes (Edison, Stockton) 11 tackles, interception
Kai Elkins (Summerville) 8 tackles, fumble recovery, nullified pick six
Joe Cowan (Linden) 4 tackles, forced fumble, two deflections
Alijah Cota (Manteca) 7 tackles
Christopher Hollan (Edison, Stockton) 6 tackles
Malahki McElvaine (Edison) 4 tackles, interception
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
Lions All-Star FB Game on Saturday
Players and coaches for the North team took a photo after practice for the 47th edition of the Lions All-Star Football Game. Photo: Mark Tennis.
It was a hectic few days this week for Booker Guyton, the head football coach at Edison of Stockton and the head coach of the North team for the Central California Lions All-Star Football Game.
When practices began at Edison on Monday, Guyton was informed by nearly 10 players who had previously committed to be playing in the game that they would be opting out. He had to scramble to add several players from his own team who recently graduated from the school plus a few others from other schools.
By Wednesday, there were 26 players working out under the guidance of Edison’s coaches and there still were plenty of all-star level players and enough linemen with size and strength so that the North team should be okay in its battle with the South on Saturday night.
The scene was more calm for the South team practicing at Gregori High in Modesto. The roster was finalized on Wednesday with two new additions and three players that dropped. The duo of Trent Merzon from Oakdale and Tim Garcia from Davis of Modesto are the coaches for the South. They are being assisted by former Central Catholic head coach Mike Glines and former Oakdale head coach and former Oakdale Unified School District Superintendent Mark Malone.
This year’s game will feature for the first time tickets that can be purchased through GoFan.com. Tickets are $10. We are asking for cash only for tickets at the game site on game day and for additional items such as t-shirts, concessions and game programs.
Here is the link to get tickets on GoFan:
https://gofan.co/app/events/997689?schoolId=CA87815
It’s been four years since the Central California Lions All-Star Football Game has been played in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s back and the year No. 47 for the event will finally happen on Saturday, June 24 at Tracy High School’s Wayne Schneider Stadium.
The game was last played in June of 2019 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium on the campus of Lincoln High in Stockton. It had been played in Tracy for the six years prior to that from 2013 to 2018. The Lions All-Star Football Classic began in 1974 and was held at the University of Pacific’s Memorial Stadium until 2011.
The North now leads in the overall series 25-19-1. Since the South was the home team in 2019, the North will be the home team this year.
The North team has been practicing at Edison High in Stockton since Monday and will be continuing on Thursday & Friday from 5 to 7 pm. The South team has been practicing and will be practicing on the same days and the same times at Gregori High in Modesto.
North Team (Alphabetical roster)
OL/DL Aveon Brown (Kimball, Tracy)
TE/DE Joshua Chavez (Stagg, Stockton)
OL Jared Codde (Stagg, Stockton)
LB Alijah Cota (Manteca)
RB Joe Cowan (Linden)
DL Jaiden Crawford (Chavez, Stockton)
PK Anthony Cuellar (Lathrop)
LB Kai Elkins (Summerville, Tuolomne)
WR/TE Ronald Green (Stagg, Stockton)
OL/DL Dylan Gulseth (Manteca)
DB Chris Hallon (Edison, Stockton)
TE/DE Mohamed Kamara (Franklin, Stockton)
DE/FB Jacob Lanticse (Linden)
DL Josiah Lockridge (Stagg, Stockton)
RB Malahki McElvaine (Edison, Stockton)
LB Zachary McMartin (Kimball, Tracy)
OL Michael Marsh (Linden)
QB Jayden McKey (Kimball, Tracy)
OL Hector Meza (Lathrop)
WR Tyree Owens (Edison, Stockton)
RB Johnel Pettus (Edison, Stockton)
QB Jerry Raguindin (Stagg, Stockton)
LB/DE Joseph Robinson (Edison, Stockton)
OL/DL Tyler Sells (Sonora)
LB Simon Smiley (Stagg, Stockton)
OL Samuel Vigil (Escalon)
DB Nadar Williams (Edison, Stockton)
South Team (Alphabetical Roster)
LB Bryant Austin (Merced)
OL Diego Barajas (Livingston)
LB Kai Brazil (Orestimba, Newman)
LB Liam Bridgford (Hughson)
DB Roland Brown (Central Catholic, Modesto)
DB Mark Carreiro (Los Banos)
PK Christian Casillas (Patterson)
DB Kailin Frade (Buhach Colony, Atwater)
QB Eleazar Garza (Golden Valley, Merced)
WR Gavin Garcia (Downey, Modesto)
QB Cole Gilbert (Turlock)
OL Cornell Gilkey (Buhach Colony, Atwater)
OL Landon Gomes (Hilmar)
OL Isaac Haro (Merced)
WR Gabriel Hernandez (Downey, Modesto)
RB Tarrell Lee-Gill (Ceres)
WR Vincent Lopez (Orestimba, Newman)
DB Nicholas Mendoza (Atwater)
WR Mick Merzon (Oakdale)
DB Jaelen Nichols (Central Catholic, Modesto)
DL Brock Osmundson (Oakdale)
OL Dorian Ramirez (Gregori, Modesto)
RB/LB Jahkylle Smith (Golden Valley, Merced)
LB Kahmi Smith (Ceres)
DE LeBron Stallworth (Ceres)
WR Joey Stout (Pitman, Turlock)
DL Tito Tutonu (Davis, Modesto)
LB Cobi Twist (Davis, Modesto)
OL Nathan Valenzuela (Atwater)
DB Luis Vargas (Hilmar)
OL Fermin Villegas (Le Grand)
More State Softball Coaches of the Year
California of Whittier softball head coach Jason Ramirez sits in a chair in a photo with players from the 2023 team. Photo: wuhsd.org.
In addition to overall State Coach of the Year Jim Bennet of Poway, we have additional state coaching honors for the 2022 season going to Jason Ramirez from California of Whittier (medium schools) and Melissa Snyder of Holtville (small schools).
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