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.

WNBA Finals MVPs From California

By Mark Tennis | Published September 19, 2022

Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces became just the fourth player from a California high school to be named WNBA Finals MVP on Sunday after the Aces won their first WNBA title with a 78-71 win over the Connecticut Sun.

And looking at history, Chelsea, who was the 2009 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year from St. Mary’s of Stockton, could be headed for more than one WNBA Finals MVP award in her career. That’s because the other three from the state before her all won it more than once — all-time greats Diana Taurasi from Don Lugo of Hills (twice), Lisa Leslie from Morningside of Inglewood (twice) and Cynthia Cooper from Locke of Los Angeles (four times).

The WNBA Finals began in 1997 and the first six MVPs were all won by Cooper and then Leslie.

Here is the complete list:

WNBA FINALS MVPS FROM CALIFORNIA

2022 – Chelsea Gray, Stockton St. Mary’s (Las Vegas Aces)

2014 – Diana Taurasi, Chino Don Lugo (Phoenix Mercury)

2009 – Diana Taurasi, Chino Don Lugo (Phoenix Mercury)

2002 – Lisa Leslie, Inglewood Morningside (Los Angeles Sparks)

2001 – Lisa Leslie, Inglewood Morningside (Los Angeles Sparks)

2000 – Cynthia Cooper, Los Angeles Locke (Houston Comets)

1999 – Cynthia Cooper, Los Angeles Locke (Houston Comets)

1998 – Cynthia Cooper, Los Angeles Locke (Houston Comets)

1997 – Cynthia Cooper, Los Angeles Locke (Houston Comets)

Medium/Small School Teams of Week

By Mark Tennis | Published September 14, 2022

In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just had impressive outings on the football field. Congrats to Vanden of Fairfield (medium) & Liberty of Madera Ranchos (small).
Read more…

Cali Flavored WNBA Finals

By Harold Abend | Published September 13, 2022

Whether or not the supposed analysts, or the pundits, prognosticators and self-proclaimed experts, want to agree that California as a state produces some of the top high school girls’ basketball talent in the nation, one need only look at the rosters of the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun, the two teams slugging it out this week in the Best-of-5 WNBA Finals.

The Aces have two starters from the Golden State, and both are two of my all-time favorites and Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year award winners, 2010 Ms. Basketball Chelsea Gray of St. Mary’s of Stockton, who went on to Duke, and 2013 honoree Kelsey Plum of La Jolla Country Day, who played in college at Washington.

Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces is shown with another of the Ms. Basketball State Players of the Year from St. Mary’s of Stockton, Jacki Gemelos, when Chelsea’s jersey number was retired by the school last January. Photo: Harold Abend / Cal-Hi Sports.


The player from California on the Sun roster is another one of my all-time favorites, reserve Dijonai Carrington of San Diego Horizon Christian, who played her college ball at Stanford and Baylor.

In looking through the rosters of the Aces and the Sun, there are no others from California who are involved in the WNBA Finals. The Aces do have an assistant coach, Natalie Nakase, who was a standout in the middle of the 2000s at Marina of Huntington Beach.

The biggest story of the WNBA playoffs is Gray, who is going for a second league title after winning in 2016 as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. The four-time all-star was snubbed as an all-star selection this season but in the playoffs it seems whenever the Aces have needed a basket, Gray has provided a bucket.

In the series-clinching game four of the semifinals against the Seattle Storm, Gray pretty much put the team on her back down the stretch. She scored 15 of her team-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer that gave the Aces the lead with a minute left. On the next possession, she drove to the free-throw line, pulled up and drained a fade away in the face of a defender to ice a 97-92 victory.

In the first game of the finals against the Sun, a 67-64 victory, Gary wasn’t team high, that was two-time league MVP A’ja Wilson with 24 points, but Chelsea was right behind her with 21 points and three assists.

Plum, who is in her fourth season in the WNBA, had a somewhat quiet outing in game one of the finals after finishing with six points, four rebounds and two assists, but a player many WNBA analysts feel is developing into one of the top guards in the league has had a solid playoffs after a very productive regular season.

Plum had 15 points and four assists in the series-clinching win over Seattle, and is averaging 17.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the playoffs after going for 20.2 points, 5.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds during the regular season.

Carrington could have been a Ms. Basketball winner but after her high school sophomore season was almost totally wiped out by a knee injury, and a junior season in 2015 where she was a Ms. Basketball finalist in a year Katie Lou Samuelson of Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and current Los Angeles Sparks star was chosen, Carrington re-injured her knee and missed the last part of her 2016 senior season. She was still was a Ms. Basketball finalist in a year current New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu of Orinda Miramonte won the award. Despite missing over a season’s worth of games, Carrington finished her high school career with 2,061 points before moving on to play at Stanford and then Baylor.

Carrington comes off the bench for the Sun and in the game one loss to Las Vegas she didn’t score but in 10 minutes of action she had five rebounds and two assists.

Whether or not Carrington has something to say if Connecticut is going to come back in the series is a question mark, but if the Las Vegas Aces are going to win their first WNBA crown it’s highly likely California is going to make its mark in the form of Gray and Plum.

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

Medium/Small School Teams of Week

By Mark Tennis | Published September 6, 2022

In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just had impressive outings on the football field. Congrats to new school Liberty of Winchester (medium) & St. Vincent de Paul of Petaluma (small).
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NFL Cuts Show How Hard It Is To Make A 53-Man Roster

By Mark Tennis | Published August 31, 2022

This following list of players released on Tuesday by NFL teams is simply meant as a lesson as to how difficult it is to land on a 53-man roster to start a season. Injuries and other factors can all help limit a player’s development and of course just getting released one time doesn’t mean a player can’t come back at a later time and stick on a different roster for a different team.
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Medium/Small School Teams of Week

By Mark Tennis | Published August 30, 2022

In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just had impressive outings on the football field. Congrats to Ayala of Chino Hills (medium) and Escalon (small).
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Medium/Small School Teams of Week

By Mark Tennis | Published August 23, 2022

In this salute to teams we have categorized as medium or small schools based on competitive equity, enrollment and other factors, it’s a new feature this season pointing the spotlight on two of them each week who just recorded big wins on the football field. Congrats to Hanford (medium) and St. Pius X-St. Matthias (small).

Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. After the preseason, all weekly and final state rankings are available only to our Gold Club members. To check out getting a Gold Club membership to see all of those rankings plus all of our updated state football record lists, totally authentic historical features, recruiting player ratings and more, CLICK HERE.

Slide from Hanford football team after it notched win last week vs Bullard. Photo: @FootballHanford.


Medium Schools – Hanford

Although it’s now more of a probability that the Bullpups will be in the same CIF Central Section playoff division as large school heavyweights Liberty of Bakersfield, Central of Fresno and Buchanan of Clovis, they are traditionally considered “medium school” and deserve attention for getting a big win last Friday over Bullard of Fresno.

Bullard came into the game after winning the 2021 Central Section D2 title and losing in a competitive NorCal D2-AA regional final to Central Catholic of Modesto. Hanford was in the section D1 playoffs last year as well and lost in the first round 62-12 to Central. This year, that bracket has been expanded to 12 teams from eight so the odds of the Bullpups being back in D1 instead of D2 where they more naturally belong are quite high, especially after beating Bullard.

A main reason for Hanford’s success last season (7-2) and in the win over the Knights is the play of QB Cayden Muir. The senior who passed for 2,259 yards and 26 TDs started strong by hitting on 23 of 33 passes for 371 yards and three TDs. Two sophomores also stepped up on offense as Albert Richardson rushed for 70 yards on 10 carries and scored twice while Kourdey Glass caught three passes for 125 yards and one score.

Defensively, Hanford’s leaders were senior DB D’Artangian Martin with 11 tackles and one sack and senior LB Brak Hill with 10 tackles and one sack. Head coach Cannon Sanchez’s squad will play this week at 1-0 Buhach Colony of Atwater (CIF Sac-Joaquin Section).

Devah Thomas talks to St. Pius X-St. Matthias players after CIFSS D7 quarterfinal playoff win last season. Photo: Twitter.com.

Small Schools – St. Pius X-St. Matthias (Downey)

In the current world of competitive equity, just 10 years ago the thought of a small school like St. Pius X-St. Matthias even being competitive with a traditional CIF L.A. City large school like Banning of Wilmington would have seemed impossible.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias, in fact, only started fielding teams as a small private school in 2017. Head coach Todd Butler had the program at 12-1 by 2019 and now head coach Devah Thomas has them aiming for a high CIF Southern Section playoff placement in Division 6 or even higher.

The Warriors, who still qualify as a small school for state ranking purposes, opened their season against Banning last Friday and throttled the Pilots 41-3.

The team’s ability to strike quickly was on full display vs Banning. In the first quarter, St. Pius X-St. Matthias scored on a 60-yard pass play from Dieter Barr to Jordan Shaw. Banning responded with a field goal, but on the ensuing kickoff it was Deshun Powell who took it back 85 yards for a touchdown. Banning then went three-and-out and on the ensuing punt Shaw grabbed the ball at the 50-yard line and ran it in for another score. Shaw also had a 53-yard TD reception from Barr in the second quarter.

The Warriors will look to improve to 2-0 later this week against Muir of Pasadena. The Mustangs have a lot of talent as usual, but will be trying to bounce back from a 10-0 loss to Northview of Covina.

Boys BB: Major Showcase Schedules

By Ronnie Flores | Published August 19, 2022

In November, we will begin the release of our preseason 2022-23 Cal-Hi Sports boys basketball state rankings. As a preview to how things could shake out, here is a list of the major 2022-23 tournaments and classics involving California teams that figure to be ranked. The 2022-23 season officially begins November 14. The CIF state basketball championships are scheduled to take place March 10-11, 2023. 

Read more…

Bill Russell & the Greatest of All-Time in every CIF sport

By Mark Tennis | Published July 31, 2022

With the death on Sunday at age 88 of NBA icon Bill Russell, the tributes to him include being called perhaps the greatest team sports champion of all-time since he was part of 11 NBA titles for the Boston Celtics. Russell played as a high schooler at McClymonds of Oakland (where one of his teammates was baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson). There’s no doubt that Russell would still go down as the greatest basketball player ever who is from a California high school. Here’s a sport-by-sport list of those we would rank No. 1 for each one:

FOR A LOOK AT OUR ALL-TIME 100 GREATEST ATHLETES (MEN) FROM CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS, CLICK HERE.

Baseball: Jackie Robinson (Muir, Pasadena)
His number of course is retired throughout every team in Major League Baseball. At the All-Star Game in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, his widow, Rachel Robinson, was celebrated for her 100th birthday.

Bill Russell is shown showing off many of his NBA championship rings. Photo: SteinerSports.com.


Basketball: Bill Russell (McClymonds, Oakland)
In the announcement by his family upon his death, a reference was made to Bill having won two state championships in high school. It’s a tough time, but we don’t know where that comes from. McClymonds did not win state titles in those early 1950s seasons (the playoffs didn’t exist) and other teams in the state were ranked higher.

Diving: Greg Louganis (Valhalla, El Cajon)
An Olympic champion from 1984 and 1988, Louganis is still generally No. 1 on lists of the greatest divers in U.S. history.

Football: Tom Brady (Serra, San Mateo)
Winner of seven Super Bowls, Brady is beginning his 23rd season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Most of his career, of course, was with the New England Patriots.

Golf: Tiger Woods (Western, Anaheim)
He probably won’t set the record for most major tourney wins, but is easily the most prominent golfer ever from the Golden State.

Soccer: Landon Donovan (Redlands East Valley)
The Major League Soccer MVP Award is named for him (similar to the NBA naming its Finals MVP after Bill Russell).

Swimming: Mark Spitz (Santa Clara)
People forget how good he was in the 1968 Olympics because in 1972 he won seven gold medals.

Tennis: Pete Sampras (Palos Verdes, PV Estates)
He was once in the discussion for greatest ever in his sport, but has been surpassed in recent years by players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Track & Field: Bob Mathias (Tulare)
After winning the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon a couple of months after graduating from high school in 1948, Mathias returned in 1952 to the Olympics and won the gold again.

Volleyball: Karch Kiraly (Santa Barbara)
This statement would be the same for beach volleyball as well as indoors for USA national teams. That’s how great Karch was.

Water Polo: Tony Azevedo (Wilson, Long Beach)
He went to Olympics five times from 2000 to 2016 and ranks top five in the sport at the Games for all-time goals scored.

Wrestling: Dave Schultz (Palo Alto)
Unfortunately, he’s known for being murdered by an eccentric millionaire in 1996, but Schultz won seven world championships is still regarded as one of the best wrestlers in USA history.

All-State Baseball: Patch List 2

By Mark Tennis | Published July 20, 2022

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 partner 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 second and third teams for baseball 2022 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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