Former Soquel High basketball player Sam Walters, 28, has been named an assistant for new head coach Mike DeGeorge at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
Walters will be joined on DeGeorge’s staff by former UC Santa Cruz men’s coach Ron DuBois, most recently a volunteer assistant for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Kyle Bossier, Jesse Pruitt, and BJ Andrews.
Walters, a two-time Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League MVP who played for NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara out of high school, finished his collegiate career playing for DeGeorge at D-II Colorado Mesa.
“I’m very excited,” Walters said. “It was a cool opportunity to work with a group of people who have been mentors of mine.
“This can be something special. Every job has something to be proud of. I’m proud of how academic this place is and how successful its graduates are. In my opinion, it’s one of the best college towns on the West Coast.”
After his playing career ended, Walters was an assistant at D-III UCSC for two seasons under DuBois, and served as interim coach during the COVID-19 season after DuBois was released as coach.
Walters spent the past two seasons as an assistant under Danny Yoshikawa at West Valley College, which beat Sequoias for the 3C2A State Championship on March 17 to cap a 33-0 season.
“I played for or coached under six coaches in nine years,” said Walters, of his knowledge gained and route to the D-I level. “Nothing is a straight line. That’s a misconception in coaching.. No one has the same path.”
Walters is grateful for his time working with Yoshikawa, who he said treated the community college like a four-year program.
Walters said he learned some valuable skills with the Vikings, like the importance of getting players to work together while each was focused on showing well for himself to open the eyes of D-I coaches. He also stressed the importance of valuing players lower on the depth chart as much as he did the starters.
“If one thing is off, it doesn’t work,” Walters said.
The Mustangs went 4-28 under coach John Smith last season, 0-20 in the Big West Conference. The school announced it was parting ways with Smith with three games left in the season. Smith finished out the season.
Signing ceremonies
St. Francis: St. Francis High will host a National Letter of Intent signing ceremony for its college-bound seniors on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Three baseball players are among the five athletes who will finalize their commitments:Pedro Ibarra (San Jose State University),Micah Cervantes (Cal State University East Bay), andTrey Silva (Menlo College).
Softball talent Aaliysah Gomez (South Dakota State University) and football player Markel Parker (Simpson University) will also take part in the ceremony.
San Lorenzo Valley: SLV wrestler Logan Hede will sign a National Letter of Intent to compete for Nebraska Wesleyan University during an on-campus ceremony on Friday at 12:20 p.m.
Scotts Valley: Scotts Valley had two athletes sign their National Letter of Intent during an on-campus ceremony on Wednesday.
Cross country and track star Ashlyn Boothby signed with Stanford University, and wrestler Danica Kelley, the 2024 CIF State Champion at 135 pounds, signed with Menlo College.
High school baseball
Time change: Aptos (12-11-1), the No. 1 seed in Central Coast Section Division III playoffs, moved its first-round home game against No. 8 Hollister (12-15) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Beach volleyball
ALL-SCCAL: Harbor senior Gwen Grigsby and junior teammate Isla Johnson, the repeat SCCAL champions, were named to the all-league first team.
Pirates juniors Sabine Kemos and Maren O’Farrell were also named to the first team.
Santa Cruz also had two teams honored: SeniorsSummer Pederson and Antonia Wilson, and juniorShelby Leonardich and sophom*ore teammate Natalie Monroe.
Scotts Valley seniorGrace Emanuelson and sophom*ore teammate Hayden Smith, and Aptos sophom*oreKenzie Smith and freshman teammate Ella Dueck rounded out the first team.
Boys golf
CCS Championships: Stevenson School junior Luke Brandler shot a course-record 62 to win medalist honors at the Central Coast Section Championships at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey on Tuesday.
James Lee of Nueva and Edan Cui of Crystal Springs Uplands tied for second at 66.
Brandler helped the Pirates win the team title with a 344 total. Crystal Springs Uplands (367) took second, and Bellarmine (372) was third.
The top three teams and top four individuals not on those teams qualified for the CIF NorCal Regional Championships at Berkeley Country Club on Monday.
College baseball
3C2A playoffs: Two people with county connections will take part in the regional finals on Friday through Sunday. The winners of the best-of-three series advance to the 3C2A State Championship tournament at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on May 27-27.
In the North,No. 7 Chabot (29-10), the Coast Conference North Division champion, plays at No. 3 West Valley, the the Coast Conference South Division champion, andNo. 13 Sacramento City (22-16) plays at Big 8 Conference champion San Joaquin Delta (27-13), the No. 5 seed. Bob Kittle, the former head coach at both Santa Cruz High and Cabrillo College, serves as pitching coach for Delta.
In the South, No. 5 Saddleback (24-15) plays at No. 1 Cerritos (32-8), andNo. 6 Santa Ana (28-11-1) plays at No. 2 Palomar (30-9).Scotts Valley’s Jacob Hudson, a freshman utility player who prepped at Valley Christian in San Jose, plays for Saddleback.
Hudson is batting .283 (28 for 99) with seven extra-bases hits through 33 games.
ALL-SCCAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL
FIRST TEAM
Summer Pederson (Sr.) and Antonia Wilson (Sr.), Santa Cruz
Shelby Leonardich (Jr.) and Natalie Monroe (So.), Santa Cruz
Sabine Kemos (Jr.) and Maren O’Farrell (Jr.), Harbor
Gwen Grigsby (Sr.) and Isla Johnson (Jr.), Harbor
Grace Emanuelson (Sr.) and Hayden Smith (So.), Scotts Valley
Kenzie Smith (So.) and Ella Dueck (Fr.), Aptos
SECOND TEAM
Gemma Reyes (Fr.) and Zoe Adams (So.), Soquel
Cy Harris (Sr.) and Anya Gonzalez (Sr.), Mount Madonna
Ava Boyd (Sr.) and Haley Curatin (Sr.), Aptos
Ava Lord (Sr.) and Lily Pederson (Sr.), Santa Cruz
Aila Papopoulos (So.) and Makayla McDonnell (So.), Scotts Valley
Grace Stryker (Jr.) and Tea Stockwell (Jr.), Harbor
Reporting Scores
Coaches are encouraged to report scores and highlights to sports@santacruzsentinel.com following games. Please include your name and contact number in the email.
