O.C. PRESEASON TOP 10
1. University: The Trojans won’t be invincible this season after losing Gage Brymer, Tyler Lu and Stefan Menichella but remain the team to beat. Drew Dawson (Notre Dame) and Eric Tseng (UC San Diego) lead a still-loaded team.
2. Los Alamitos: The Griffins return a strong team after winning the Sunset League in 2013. They’ll get an early crack at University on March 11.
3. Corona del Mar: The Sea Kings reached the CIF-SS Division 1 final a year ago but lose top singles player Alec Adamson. Corona del Mar is likely still strong enough to hold second in the Pacific Coast League; its matchups with University are April 1 and April 29.
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Season preview: Foothill’s Doehler keeps it cool
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4. Northwood: The Timberwolves opened the season with a decisive 17-1 win over Tesoro. They came up short in the second round of CIF against Los Alamitos last year but hope to play deeper into the postseason.
5. Fountain Valley: Led by senior John Lieu, the Barons will pose the strongest threat to Los Alamitos in the Sunset League.
6. San Clemente: Nic Valko, Bill Whitaker and Jay Yeam return for the defending South Coast League champions and the Tritons add freshman Michael Bott.
7. Foothill: Stefan Doehler (Yale) anchors what should be a deep Knights lineup, which includes Nathan Richardson and Doehler’s younger brother Marcus.
8. Beckman: The Patriots will try and improve on their fourth-place finish in the vaunted Pacific Coast League. They have plenty of potential for the future with sophomores Axel Stern, Aaron Yu and Charles Tong.
9. Orange Lutheran: The Lancers boast a talented young roster after tying for the Trinity League crown with Santa Margarita last season. The league again will likely be decided when the Lancers and Eagles play April 1 and April 17.
10. Esperanza: Shane Cruz and Jake Rogers lead the defending Century League champions.
Other teams considered: Canyon,
Capistrano Valley, Santa Margarita, Woodbridge
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O.C. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Grant Alston, Capistrano Valley, Sr.; Jack Alston, Capistrano Valley, Sr.; Vatsal Bajpai, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Diego Bennett, San Juan Hills, Jr.; Tyler Bloom, Dana Hills, So.; Max Boice, Santa Margarita, Jr.; Michael Bott, San Clemente, Fr.; Lyndon Bui, Canyon, So.; Max Cancilla, Marina, So.; Shane Cruz, Esperanza, Jr.; Josh Darnbrough, Yorba Linda, So.; Drew Dawson, University, Sr.; Stefan Doehler, Foothill, Sr.; Ryan Dugan, Santa Margarita, Jr.; Matthew Floyd, Orange Lutheran, So.; Tyler Gaede, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Ryan Gee, Laguna Beach, So.; Jordan Geis, Santa Margarita, Jr.; Eddie Gutierrez, Fullerton, Jr.; Arash Hafezi, University, Jr.; Richard Han, Servite, Jr.; Bjorn Hoffman, Corona del Mar, So.; Alastair Hurry, St. Margaret’s, Sr.; Josh Kliger, Corona del Mar, Sr.; Konrad Kozlowski, University, Jr.; Garrett Kurtz, University, So.; Rohan Lageweg, University, Jr.; Austin Lee, Valencia, Jr.; Darrus Lee, Cypress, So.; John Lieu, Fountain Valley, Sr.; Chase Lipscomb, Woodbridge, Jr.; Eric Magliarditi, Sage Hill, Sr.; Chase Masciorini, Dana Hills, Sr.; Kyle McCann, Los Alamitos, Jr.; Connor Mengert, Orange Lutheran, Jr.; Derik Nguyen, Canyon, Jr.; Adrian Nilsson-Redman, Northwood, Sr.; Michael Park, Tesoro, Jr.; Scott Paz, Trabuco Hills, Sr.; Max Pham, Fairmont Prep, So.; Joshua Piatos, University, So.; Nikolas Ramadan, Crean Lutheran, Sr.; Jonathan Rhone, Corona del Mar, Jr.; Nathan Richardson, Foothill, Sr.; Remus Risnoveanu, Orange Lutheran, Jr.; Jake Rogers, Esperanza, Sr.; Riley Smith, Los Alamitos, So.; Axel Stern, Beckman, So.; Ryan Teng, Beckman, Jr.; Charles Tong, Beckman, So.; Matt Tran, Beckman, Sr.; Eric Tseng, University, Sr.; Nic Valko, San Clemente, Sr.; Bill Whitaker, San Clemente, Jr.; Carson Williams, Corona del Mar, Sr.; Arseni Yalouskikh, University, Sr.; Jay Yeam, San Clemente, So.; Aaron Yu, Beckman, So.; Justin Zhang, Crean Lutheran, Sr.
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KEY DATES
Dana Hills at Northwood, March 4; University vs. Harvard-Westlake, March 4; Corona del Mar vs. Palos Verdes. March 6; Orange Lutheran at Foothill, March 6; Canyon at Troy, March 10; University at Los Alamitos, March 11; Corona del Mar at Fountain Valley, March 11; Newport Harbor at Fountain Valley, March 14; Corona del Mar All-American Tournament, March 14-15; Fountain Valley at University, March 18; Corona del Mar at Los Alamitos, March 18; Valencia at Yorba Linda, March 18; Northwood at Corona del Mar, March 19; Dana Hills at Capistrano Valley, March 20; Woodbridge at University, March 25; Esperanza at Canyon, March 25; Northwood at Foothill, March 26; Fountain Valley at Los Alamitos, March 27; Capistrano Valley at San Clemente, March 27; Canyon at Foothill, March 27; Corona del Mar at University, April 1; Orange Lutheran at Santa Margarita, April 1; San Clemente at Dana Hills, April 1; Woodbridge at Northwood, April 1; Troy at Sunny Hills, April 3; University at Northwood, April 3; Fullerton at Troy, April 8; Northwood at Beckman, April 10; San Clemente at Tesoro, April 15; Foothill at Villa Park, April 15; Beckman at University, April 22; Ojai Valley Tournament, April 24-26; University at Corona del Mar, April 29; Corona del Mar at Beckman, May 1; Orange Lutheran at Servite, May 1; Cypress at Valencia, May 5; Pacific Coast League Individuals, May 7-8; CIF-SS playoffs, May 14-23; CIF SoCal Regionals, May 27-31.
