Prep Rally: The Top City Section Baseball Teams Are Rising To The Challenge

Hi, and invited to different version of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. One period into nan precocious schoolhouse shot season, nan apical teams successful nan City Section are becoming clear.

Top City teams emerge

With convention play having begun, apical teams are stepping guardant successful City Section shot 1 period into nan season.

To nary one’s surprise, West Valley League rivals Birmingham (10-1, 3-0) and El Camino Real (9-3, 3-0) merit to beryllium classed No. 1 and No. 2 successful nan City Section going into their first matchup of nan play Tuesday astatine Birmingham. They are slated to play 3 convention games. Both teams’ pitching has been outstanding.

Birmingham inferior Nathan Soto is 3-0 pinch an 0.34 ERA. Sophomore Carlos Acuna is 4-0 pinch a 1.44 ERA. El Camino Real’s Jackson Sellz is 3-0 pinch an 0.54 ERA. Hudson December and Andrew Katz have besides contributed connected nan mound. Look for a low-scoring crippled pinch immoderate bunts Tuesday.

Bell (12-1, 2-0) is backmost to playing nan measurement nan Eagles performed successful 2024 erstwhile they won nan City title. Jayden Rojas, nan City subordinate of nan twelvemonth arsenic a sophomore, is batting .421 and 4-0 connected nan mound pinch an 0.32 ERA. The Eagles are nan dense favourite to triumph nan Eastern League.

Carson (9-1-1, 3-0) has taken early complaint of nan Marine League race, getting immoderate clutch hits from Skylar Vinson.

Sun Valley Poly (6-3, 3-0) already has wins complete Sylmar, North Hollywood and Kennedy successful nan Valley Mission League. Fabian Bravo is nan pitcher/hitter to watch.

Perhaps nan biggest astonishment is Monroe astatine 11-0 and now nan favourite to triumph nan East Valley League. Four-year varsity pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is 4-0 pinch an 0.85 ERA and 32 strikeouts and only 3 walks successful 24 2/3 innings. The starring hitter pinch 21 hits is inferior Luis Martinez. The Vikings person yet to look a apical opponent, truthful it remains to beryllium seen which playoff section they will extremity up in.

Garfield, Sylmar, San Fernando, Cleveland and Narbonne are each tin of moving their measurement into an Open Division playoff berths aft slow starts.

Basketball awards time

Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon was The Times’ boys’ hoops subordinate of nan year.

(Craig Weston)

During a play successful which nan individual talent for boys and girls hoops was extraordinary, earning all-star nickname became rather an achievement.

The Times’ boys’ hoops subordinate is Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon. Here’s the report.

Here’s the 10-player All-Star squad for boys.

Coach Mike LeDuc of Damien holds up his granddaughter aft guiding his squad to nan authorities Division I championship.

(Greg Stein)

The boys’ coach of nan twelvemonth is Mike LeDuc of Damien. Here’s the report.

Here’s the last apical 25 rankings.

The Times’ girls’ hoops subordinate of nan twelvemonth is Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian.

Here’s the 10-player girls All-Star team.

The girls’ coach of nan twelvemonth is Alicia Komaki of Sierra Canyon.

Here’s the links to nan complete all-star package.

Baseball

Corona’s Anthony Murphy is fired up.

(Nick Koza)

The versatile Anthony Murphy of Corona showed disconnected his velocity and powerfulness successful 8-3 triumph complete King, getting a location run, triple, double and single. That’s called hitting for a cycle. And he almost did it again successful nan adjacent crippled pinch a location run, a double and 2 singles. He besides struck retired each 3 batters he faced successful a alleviation role.

Corona (7-0) is group to look Corona Santiago (9-2) successful a three-game bid this week. To opportunity scouts will beryllium retired en masse erstwhile Santiago’s Striker Pence pitches Wednesday mightiness beryllium an understatement. He’s only a sophomore pinch a fastball that tin scope 100 mph. The games are Monday astatine Santiago, Wednesday astatine Corona and Friday astatine Santiago.

Santa Margarita has mislaid standout shortstop Brody Schumaker for nan remainder of nan play because of a enarthrosis injury. Freshman Cooper Holland provided a assistance successful Las Vegas pinch 11 RBIs. The caller shortstop is sophomore Warren Wulfemeyer, whose grandfather, Mark, is 1 of nan astir recognizable names successful Orange County hoops history.

Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame pitcher Justin Lee, nan 2023 subordinate of nan twelvemonth by The Times, was clocked throwing his fastball betwixt 97 and 99 mph pitching for UCLA.

Two unbeaten teams, St. John Bosco and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, are classed No. 1 and No. 2 successful this week’s this week’s apical 25 rankings by The Times. St. John Bosco has unopen retired 5 of its 7 opponents. Jack Champlin is creating options for nan St. John Bosco coaching staff. He continues to beryllium a awesome person but is besides effective arsenic a starter.

The National High School Invitational begins Wednesday successful Cary, N.C. Southern California is good represented pinch Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco, Aquinas and Harvard-Westlakek participating.

Friday marks nan extremity of nan sit-out transportation play successful nan Southern Section. Players who did not move go eligible. Bishop Alemany could beryllium nan squad to watch. Mikey Martinez, who helped Crespi triumph nan Mission League title past play arsenic a pitcher and outfielder, will subordinate nan Warriors.

Softball

Murrieta Mesa continues to predominate pinch 14 consecutive wins to commencement nan season. Sophomore Tatum Wolff is hitting .533 pinch 24 hits, including 8 doubles.

Chaminade is 9-0 and came done pinch a break-through triumph complete defending Mission League champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7-6, scoring 5 runs successful nan seventh. The Eagles person an outstanding sophomore pitcher successful Finley Suppan, nan girl of erstwhile awesome leaguer Jeff Suppan. Here’s the report.

JSerra (13-2), Fullerton (11-1), Norco (9-2), Oaks Christian (10-1) and Etiwanda (14-1) proceed to beryllium teams connected nan rise.

City Section softball is wide unfastened arsenic teams trial themselves against Southern Section opponents. Defending champion Granada Hills is 5-5.

Banning is 7-6. Carson is 7-5. They will subordinate San Pedro successful different reliable Marine League battle.

Track and field

The awesome early marks successful nan 100 meters for boys signals immoderate existent accelerated times will beryllium coming later successful nan spring.

Benjamin Harris of Servite leads nan measurement astatine 10.23 seconds. Next are Quran Clayton Jr. of Oak Hills and Jorden Wells of Servite astatine 10.28. Others see Nicolas Obimgba of Torrance (10.34), Zion Phelps of Loyola (10.39), Jaden Griffin of Newbury Park (10.43), Wesley Ace of Gardena Serra (10.51), Quincy Hearn of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (10.52) and AJ McBean of Mira Costa (10.55).

Many are shot players utilizing way to get faster, and assemblage recruiters are noticing.

Ejam Yohannes of Loyola has stamped himself nan favourite successful nan 400 pinch a clip of 46.11. Imagine if he improves a small what he mightiness beryllium moving coming June.

Dean Guzman of Moorpark cleared 6-9 successful nan precocious jump astatine nan Maurice Greene Invitational.

For girls, Olivia Kirk of Calabasas ran a state-leading 11.51 successful nan 100 meters astatine Oaks Christian. Teammate Malia Rainey ran 11.76. Kirk besides has nan starring 200 clip astatine 23.46.

Sophomore Grace Smith from Claremont ran nan 800 successful 2:08.80 astatine nan Hi-Racer Meet of Champions.

Volleyball

Loyola’s JP Wardy, left, tries to extremity nan shot past Mira Costa’s Colby Graham, center, and Miles Crotty during a lucifer astatine Mira Costa successful Manhattan Beach connected March 20, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Always expect play and excitement erstwhile volleyball rivals Loyola and Mira Costa meet. It happened again Friday, pinch Mira Costa rallying from a 2-0 shortage to hit nan Cubs successful 5 sets. It was a singular capacity turned successful by inferior Mateo Fuerbringer, who recorded 37 kills. He’s committed to UCLA.

Here’s nan report.

Saugus defeated nan big Chancellors to triumph nan Chatsworth tourney championship.

So agelong Angelo Gasca

Venice coach Angelo Gasca showing disconnected City Division I title trophy successful 2021.

(Cliff Kensinger)

The precocious schoolhouse sports organization was successful mourning aft nan decease of Venice shot coach Angelo Gasca. He was 65.

Few person made a bigger effect for their organization connected and disconnected nan section than Gasca, who was progressive arsenic a coach astatine Venice for 36 years and besides played for nan Gondoliers.

Here’s a look astatine nan effect he made.

Notes . . .

Todd Quinsey is nan caller shot coach astatine Ayala. . . .

Christian Collins of St. John Bosco, a McDonald’s All-American, has committed to USC. . . .

Inglewood defender Jason Crowe Jr. was selected nan Gatorade authorities subordinate of nan year. . . .

Jon Palarz has resigned aft 17 years arsenic hoops coach astatine Calabasas. . . .

Former Granada Hills Kennedy shot coach Dion Lambert is nan caller protect coordinator astatine Simi Valley. . . .

Brandon Clifford has been named nan hoops coach astatine Campbell Hall. He past coached successful Greensboro, N.C. . ..

Derek Allen is nan caller boys h2o polo coach astatine Agoura. . . .

United Teachers Los Angeles has announced members would onslaught connected April 14 if nary woody is reached pinch nan Los Angeles Unified School District. That would disrupt outpouring sports successful nan City Section, apt forcing games to beryllium postponed aliases canceled based connected erstwhile strikes. Charter schools specified arsenic Birmingham and Granada Hills would not beryllium affected since their teachers person abstracted contracts. . . .

Dylan O’Leary is nan caller shot coach astatine San Dimas aft being an adjunct astatine South Hills. . . .

Quarterbacks proceed to transportation successful mentation for nan 2026 precocious schoolhouse shot season. Here’s the latest from nan transportation portal.

From nan archives: Gage Jump

In 2021, JSerra pitcher Gage Jump delivers a transportation against Harvard-Westlake.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Former JSerra pitcher Gage Jump has go 1 of nan apical pitching prospects successful nan Oakland Athletics organization. The left-hander primitively signed pinch UCLA earlier transferring to LSU. He was drafted No. 74 wide successful 2024. He’s listed astatine 6-feet gangly but throws pinch power.

Here’s a communicative from 2020 connected opening day.

Recommendations

From On3, a communicative connected nan contention successful Nevada, wherever nationalist schools successful Clark County are moving to independent position arsenic protestation against Bishop Gorman’s powerful shot program.

Tweets you mightiness person missed

Until adjacent time....

Have a question, remark aliases thing you’d for illustration to spot successful a early Prep Rally newsletter? Email maine astatine eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and travel maine connected Twitter astatine @latsondheimer.

Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To motion up and get it successful your inbox, click here.