(Player and coaches photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, Samantha Burgett).
Media gathered Thursday at Crean Lutheran High School to hear 15 Orange County coaches talk about the 2025-26 high school boys basketball season during the second annual OC Boys Basketball Media Day.
Matt Moorhouse, assistant coach at Crean Lutheran served as moderator.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone
CREAN LUTHERAN
Expectations for the Saints are high under first year coach Austin Loeb. The Saints have nine seniors and a talented Division 1 commit to lead the way.
CORONA DEL MAR
The Sea Kings, coached by Jason Simco, were 21-7 overall and 6-6 in the Sunset League last year.
CdM is led by 6-3 junior Maxwell Scott, 6-4 senior Luke Mirhashemi and 6-0 senior Oliver Nakra.
“We were in Divsion 1 and beat Rancho Cucamonga in the first round (of the playoffs), lost to Rolling Hills Prep in the second round at the buzzer,” Simco said. “We return five of our top seven and three starters. They will all be four-year varsity starters when their career is said and done. Obviously rebounding will be a big factor for us this year, we lack some size …. We played a tough schedule this fall and that was kind of the difference in our wins and losses. In games we were able to rebound, we did well. In games we couldn’t rebound we struggled.”
Junior transfer Caden Sanchez from Huntington Beach, senior Aiden Cole and sophomore Nolan Scott (Maxwell Scott’s younger brother) are players who could contend for starting berths, Scott said. Nolan Scott was a linebacker on the CdM football team.
CdM opens the season Tuesday at Costa Mesa.
EDISON
Edison is led by Coach Josh Beaty, who led the Chargers to a 17-12 overall record and 7-5 mark in the Sunset League last year.
The Chargers are led by 5-11 junior Jackie Oei and 6-4 senior Derick Johnson, who was first team all-league the past few years and averaged 24 points a game last season.
“‘We don’t have a lot of seniors and we have a lot of young guys,” Beaty said. “We have a lot of sophomores on our varsity team.”
Players up from the junior varsity team include 6-6 sophomore Michael Parks Lee and 6-6 sophomore Cade Eden, who both made strides during the summer, according to Beaty.
Edison opens the season Monday with a home game vs. Rancho Cucamonga.
SANTA MARGARITA
The Eagles, coached by Justin Bell, were 23-9 overall and 8-2 in the Trinity League last season.
“We have a lot of guys back, I think we have eight or nine seniors,” Bell said. “We have four starters back and we have a good group. Fall has been good and we’re looking forward to starting …. “
The Eagles are led by 6-8 senior Drew Anderson, 6-8 senior Brayden Kyman, 6-3 senior Kaiden Bailey and 6-9 senior Rodney Westmoreland.
Other players who are expected to contribute are 6-9 senior Jackson Bradley, 6-4 senior Jacob Sears, senior Markee White and junior Lucas Gaspar.
Santa Margarita opens the season Monday at Temecula Valley.
LOS ALAMITOS
The Griffins, coached by Nate Berger, captured the CIF Division 1 title last season, finishing 26-9 overall and winning the Sunset League title with a 12-0 record.
“We will have a new look team in terms of personnel this year,” Berger said. “But our style is going to be pretty similar. if you’ve seen us play, we’re up and down, we’re pressing, that is not changing, if anything our focus is more hectic, now that we can hockey-sub a lot more, we have a lot of depth.”
The Griffins will be led by returners 6-5 senior Tyler Lopez and 6-4 sophomore Isaiah Williamson.
“These two guys with me will be a lot of our offensive power and hopefully make it hard for teams to guard us with their ability to score inside and outside. We’re not really concerned about our record, we’re trying to tell the boys that in my time at Los Al I lost more games than I had in any other year and everyone is going to say it’s the most successful year …. we’re trying not to be too concerned with the inevitable lumps that will come with our schedule.”
Berger said about seven other players figure to see lots of playing time, including 5-9 senior Matt Lau, 6-1 senior Landon Dorsey, 6-0 sophomore Zaelyn Corral-Wyse, 6-1 sophomore Riley Bowers, 6-5 sophomore Alfredo Herrera and 6-0 senior Joseph Ojeda and 5-11 senior guard Sean Lee.
Los Alamitos opens up with a game at Cypress on Friday.
ORANGE LUTHERAN
The Lancers were 14-14 overall and 2-8 in the Trinity League. Former Crean Lutheran coach Nate Klitzing takes over the Orange Lutheran program and has high hopes for the season.
Orange Lutheran is led by 6-4 senior Josh King and 5-10 senior Ethan McCoy.
“These two are also the captains of our team,” Klitzing said. “They’re doing an incredible job as leaders and helping with the changes and new coaching staff. I’m really excited for the upcoming season and looking forward to starting Monday.
“We’re ambitious, we want to compete for a Trinity League championship, we want to make the playoffs. That’s something that didn’t happen last year and hopefully go on a playoff run. And continuing to gel together, to build the foundation of our program and continue to grow together.”
Orange Lutheran is also looking to 6-2 sophomore guard Noah Zeola, who Klitzing said is an excellent shooter and has made great progress.
In addition, 6-2 senior Kam Young, 6-3 junior Geno Carson, 5-11 senior Joe Pfieffer and 6-2 junior James McNamara are also expected to compete for starting roles, Klitzing said.
Orange Lutheran opens the season Monday in the Sunny Hills Tournament against Oakwood.
MATER DEI
The Monarchs, coached by Gary McKnight, were 22-9 overall last and 6-4 in the Trinity League.
Mater Dei is led by 6-4 senior Luke Barnett (Kansas signee) and 6-6 senior Malloy Smith, the Monarch captains who are four-year varsity players.
McKnight expects his team will be challenged during its non-league schedule.
“I made the schedule for a team that I don’t have right now,” said McKnight, referring to some players who transferred. “The kids I have are very good, so we’re pleased. I made a very tough schedule for this year’s team. I think down the road, it’s going to help us a lot, not just our pre-season schedule, but our league is very difficult and very tough. It’s a different format this year, we have five games in league then a tournament.”
Junior Zain Majeed, junior Richie Martinez and seniors Will Price, Tim Wurmlinger and Orlando Castano are among the other players expected to contribute.
Mater Dei opens play on Saturday, Nov. 22 against Crespi in the Trinity League vs. Mission League Showcase.
PACIFICA CHRISTIAN
Pacifica Christian, coached by Jeff Berokoff, was 23-9 overall and 5-1 tied with Fairmont Prep for first place. The Tritons reached the CIF 2AA championship last season losing to Fairmont Prep in the final.
The Tritons are led by 6-1 senior Michael Noel and 6-7 senior Donavan Hogan (Ottawa University in Arizona commit).
“We have a special group with a lot of leaders, but these will be two of our captains. This year we have 10 seniors,” Berokoff said. “We will most likely be starting five of them.”
Beisdes Noel and Hogan, other players expected to contribute to the team’s success are 6-3 senior Joaquin Rigdon, 5-9 senior Soloman Huang, 6-6 senior Austin Brinker (Johns Hopkins University commit), 6-5 senior Charlie Hall (Grove City College, PA commit), 6-1 senior Sammy Gibbs and 6-4 Ethan Escobar, who Berokoff describes as “one of the top freshman in Orange County).”
Pacifica Christian opens the season Monday, Nov. 24 vs. Verbum Dei Jesuit.
SAN CLEMENTE
The Tritons, coached by Landon Pluimer, were 23-6 overall last year and 7-1 atop the South Coast League.
San Clemente is led by junior guard Bryan Blake, who has made big strides since last year and senior forward Desi Gutierrez, who was second team All-South Coast League last season.
“We’re really excited for the season,” Pluimer said. “The last two years have been pretty successful for us. We went 24-6 and last year we went 23-6. Last two years, we’ve won the South Coast League title and total of the two years went 15-1 and every one of those games was a battle.
“Overall this year is going to be a lot different. It’s going to be a new team but we think still really talented as well. We’re still really hungry and hoping to continue the success we’ve had the last couple of seasons.”
The Tritons are also looking for contributions from 6-8 senior center Braeden Baggs, senior Shane Kiley, and senior forward Andrew Stakston.
The Tritons open the season Tuesday, Nov. 18, hosting Costa Mesa.
FAIRMONT PREP
Fairmont Prep from Anaheim, coached by Joedy Gardner, was 22-10 overall and tied for first place (5-1) in the San Joaquin League with Pacific Christian. The Huskies defeated Pacifica Christian 64-60 to capture the CIF 2AA championship last season.
The Huskies are led by 6-9 senior David Abisogun and 5-11 senior David Hsu.
“We’re excited for this year,” said Gardner. “We have a lot of returners who came back and we have seven seniors, I just came off a successful CIF (playoff) run, winning the championship. We started off a little slow, but we played such a tough schedule it prepared us for the rest of the season.
“We have more depth than we’ve had in the past. We have four or five guys who have to sit out the first 12 games, two of them will be starters. This fall, we probably rotated 12 guys so our depth is better once we’re whole.”
Transfer Eric Gong, a 6-7 senior from Bishop Montgomery and 6-2 sophomore Jordan Ceballos, a transfer from Crean Lutheran, will both be eligible in December, Gardner said.
Fairmont Prep opens the season Monday in the Jim Harris Classic at Ocean View against Linfield Christian.
CYPRESS
Cypress, coached by Derek Mitchell, finished 18-11 overall and 4-5 in the Crestview League but did not earn a spot in the CIF playoffs.
Cypress top players include 5-11 senior Ryan Gov and 6-6 senior Gavin Kroll.
“They’ve each taken steps to get better, they’ve both hit the weight room this summer,” Mitchell said. “These two guys are going to be exciting to watch this year.”
Mitchell said his team is motivated to get back in the CIF playoffs.
“The seniors were really sad,” Mitchell said. “These guys really took it to heart, they’ve been the leaders of our team, getting guys in the gym when they normally wouldn’t go in the off-season. It’s been a blessing in disguise.”
“Our goal this year is going to be for a league championship, that’s always the goal,” Gov said. “And make a deep playoff run hopefully.”
Other players expected to contribute are senior Ethan Mai, who has been on varsity for three years; junior Tyrus Allen who is up from the junior varsity team; and 6-6 senior Immanuel Igbekoyi.
The Centurions open the season Wednesday hosting Cerritos at 6:30 p.m. before facing defending CIF champion Los Alamitos at home on Friday.
CANYON
Canyon, coached by Nate Harrison, was 21-10 overall and 5-4 in the Crestview League last season. The squad was led by two-time Orange County player of the year Brandon Benjamin, who had an outstanding senior season.
Top players include 6-7 senior Pierce Haugen, 6-1 senior Rami Awad and 5-11 senior Mohmmed El Baba.
“We lost basically every point, every rebound, assist, block from last season, graduated,” Harrison said. “It’s really a brand new team, I’m really high on these seniors, they’re going to step into a much bigger role than they had last season and we think they’re going to surprise a lot of people. We’ve also added a few new faces to the team.”
Sophomore Jonah Kim will be Canyon’s starting point guard. Transfers include sophomore Tolu Akomolafe from Sage Hill and senior Bryson Toiluy-Allen from Servite. Freshman Dean Dormann is another talented player, Harrison said.
The Comanches open the season Monday night, hosting University.
SERVITE
The Friars were 14-14 overall and winless in the Trinity League last season. First-year coach Matt Dunne brings some optimism and confidence leading the Friars.
“I’m really excited about the upcoming season and what we’re building at Servite in the Trinity League,” Dunne said.
Servite is led by 6-4 senior captain Jake Schutt, the leader of the program who has attracted interest from college coaches; 6-4 junior Hugh Hannon, who Dunne said “is our best passer and sees the floor really well,” 6-0 junior Marcus Gragg-Buchanon, “a dynamic and explosive guard joining us from Rancho Mirage High School,” and 5-10 freshman Tariq Johnson, who is “as good a freshman as you’re going to find, he will be our starting point guard,” Dunne said.
The Friars open the season Monday night against United Christian Academy in the Rumble on the Hill Tournament at Sunny Hills.
FOOTHILL
The Knights, coached by Yousof Etemadi, were 14-14 overall and 1-7 in the Crestview League last season.
Foothill is led by 6-4 senior Marlee Slone, a transfer from Costa Mesa and 6-3 senior Braeden Davidson, a standout on last year’s team.
“We’re really excited, we’ve worked really hard, put a lot of time in the weight room and on the court and off the court, we do stuff together,” said Etemadi. “We have a tough schedule but another thing about us is we have two freshmen (Damir Buckingham and Sean Dao) who I think are as good as anyone in Orange County.
“It’s a really different kind of team we’ve had, we’ve had a lot of size in the past. I think we can compete with anybody out there.”
Foothill opens the season Thursday vs. Great Oak.
LA HABRA
The Highlanders, coached by Aaron Riekenberg, were 20-9 overall and 4-4 in the Crestview League last season.
La Habra is led by 6-2 senior Acen Jimenez and 6-4 junior Javier Nash.
“We graduated 10 seniors from a CIF championship team two year prior,” said Riekenberg, who is entering his ninth year. “There are some big shoes to fill for this roster but we’re very excited. Any time you have Acen Jimenez, a Dartmouth commit, who elevates everybody. He’s a four-year varsity player and he’s been a CIF champion and league champion.
“And Javier Nash had key minutes last year as a sophomore on the varsity team. He has taken another step to elevate his play, he had a great summer and fall and we’re really excited about what he is going to bring to the table.”
Other key players include 6-1 senior Josh Desatoff and freshmen Aaron Wilson (5-9) and Derek Soloway (5-11).
“We have a nice balance for the future and those freshmen guards can really play,” Riekenberg said.
La Habra opens the season Monday at home vs. Whittier in the Rumble on the Hill.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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