CIF-SS Large Enrollment Division
Preview:
South Coast League 2001-02--(Nov. 10, 2001)
| SOUTH COAST LEAGUE Capistrano Valley Dana Hills El Toro Mission Viejo San Clemente Trabuco Hills |
The South Coast League is one of the most competitive in Orange County and annually produces one, two or three teams who are contenders for a CIF Section championship and this past season two of the top teams in the league made it all the way to the Section finals in Divisions I-AAA (Capo Valley), and I-AA (El Toro), and these were two teams we consistently had ranked among our top 5 in each division throughout the season. El Toro made it to the I-AA finals losing to Glendora, while Capo lost to Upland in the title game in I-AAA. Mission Viejo, a Division I-AA team last year, made it to the second round of playoffs, beating Jurupa Valley (Mtn. View League's No. 3 team) and then losing to Cajon. San Clemente, which entered the Division I-AA playoffs as an "at-large" entry (only the top three teams in the league get automatic entry into the playoffs), made it to the quarterfinals, beating Westminster in the first round (Golden West League's No. 2 finisher), Silverado (Desert Sky's No. 2), and then pulling up just short to JW North (Ivy League's No. 1 team). San Clemente's coach, Brad Davis, however resigned abruptly this past month, so what effect that will have on them is uncertain. Trabuco Hills also entered the playoffs as an "at-large" team, but as the 5th place team in the league, wound up in a "Wild-Card" (or "out of bracket") game prior to the first round, and wound up losing to Arlington, a team which shocked a lot of people making it all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Claremont. Only Dana Hills did not make it to the playoffs, and as a result, we know next to nothing about them this year.
The league has several top players and college prospects, including a few who have already committed, and the talent in this league is perhaps equivalent to Orange County's other top league, the Serra League. Travis Niesen from Mission Viejo has committed to the University of Santa Clara, and will sign a letter of intent in a few weeks, and others who are receiving serious attention from colleges include Jake Franzen, Matt Sweany and Pete DeCasas from Capo Valley, Kevin Stacey (a transfer from Santa Margarita who didn't play at all last year other than club ball), Aaron Tudor and James Webster (a transfer from Mater Dei, who is also a top baseball player and who this season also emerged as a potential college prospect for football--he had never played the sport prior to this season, but has the potential to play at the D-I level according to most who follow that sport), and several others.
What follows is what we know about the teams thus far this season, which means we're looking at old rosters and trying to predict who will be returning and which younger players will be stepping up. The schedules are accurate as far as we know. We encourage coaches to send us their official rosters (via e-mail, not on the message board, please) and any other information about their teams so we can update the previews and rosters as the season progresses.
| South Coast League Rosters | South Coast League Schedules |
| Capistrano
Valley-- 10-0, 23-3 (1st) Returning players for 2001-2002 include: Jake Franzen 6'-3" Sr. F Capo is always loaded and they return All-CIF 1st team players Franzen and Sweany, has a terrific JV system so they are always bringing new players up to replace the seniors who graduate, and this year, they'll have to find some players to replace Jeff Gloger (now at UCI on scholarship), Pat Lefler, Justin Demere, and Bryan Mallon, who all graduated. The schedule is very ambitious, including an early start at the tough Clovis West Tournament, which will feature many of the top teams from the Southern, Central and Sac Joaquin. Update 11/28/01: The OC Register (print version only) published their South Coast League preview. Here's the information we gathered from that preview: Coach: Brian Mulligan (7th year, 120-49) Returners: Newcomers to watch: Outlook: The defending champion Cougars have a talented trio of guards in Decasas, Franzen and Sweany. The coaches in the league have picked this team to finish first again, according to the Register.
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Capistrano Valley Coach: Brian Mulligan N-28/D-1 @ Clovis West TournD 12 Woodbridge 15 Los Alamitos 18-22 @ Anaheim Conv Cntr Tourn 26-29 @ Torrey Pines Tourn J 02 @ Sonora 05 @ Alta Loma 09 *Trabuco Hills 11 @ *San Clemente 14 *Mission Viejo 16 @ *El Toro 18 @ *Dana Hills 25 @ *Trabuco Hills 26 *San Clemente F 01 @ *Mission Viejo 05 *El Toro 07 *Dana Hills |
| El Toro--8-2,
23-3 (2nd) "Chargers" El Toro lost Chris Parish (All-CIF 2nd team), Ashkan Nazeri (All CIF 1st team), and Matt Green (All-CIF 1st team), but they still return some excellent players. Here's a list of the players we believe will be on this year's roster: Jonathan Duran 6'-1" Jr. G Updated 11/28/01: The OC Register published their league profile and preview today. Here's what the paper had about El Toro, which the league's coaches pick to finish 5th this season: Coach: Todd Dixon (6th year, 103-39) Returners: Newcomers to weatch: Outlook: Potentially, El Toro could start two freshman and three juniors.
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El Toro Coach: Todd Dixon N 26 Santa Ana |
| Mission
Viejo--5-5, 16-10 (3rd) "Diablos" Mission Viejo was good last year, but this year with Neisen, Stacy, and Engstrom and Hanson, they will be one of the taller teams in Orange County. Here's who should be on the roster: Lance Ortiz 5'-7" Jr. G Updated 11/28/01: The OC Register published their league preview and a capsule report on Mission Viejo. The coaches in the league pick them to finish second behind only Capo Valley. Here's what the preview said: Coach: Jeff Cunningham (5th year, 49-58) Returners: Newcomers to watch: Outlook: The Diablos have Santa Clara-bound Niesen and football standouts Fleskoski, Palmer and Wittick. Misison Viejo also has three transfers from Santa Margarita in Stacey and the Collins brothers.
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Mission Viejo Coach: Jeff Cunningham N-26/D-1 Mission Viejo TournD 05 Canyon/A 07 @ Fontana 14 @ Aliso Niguel 18-22 @ Katella Tourn 26-29 @ Mt Carmel Tourn J 04 @ Foothill 09 *San Clemente 11 *Dana HIlls 14 @ *Capistrano Valley 16 *Trabuco Hills 18 @ *El Toro 25 @ *Dana Hills 26 @ *San Clemente F 01 *Capistrano Valley 05 @ *Trabuco Hills 07 *El Toro |
| San Clemente--4-6, 17-9
(4th) "Tritons" San Clemente graduated 8 seniors, and in large part will be rebuilding. Here are the players slated to return: Craig Miller 5'-10' Sr. G Updated 11/28/01: The OC Register did their preview of San Clemente today, and here's what the paper noted about the team, which the coaches pick to finish 6th in league: Coach: Shawn Mulligan (1st year) Returners: Newcomers to watch: Outlook: Mulligan, an assistant the past two season at Dana Hills, was hired earlier this month. Therefore, the Tritons might start slow as evaluations are made and lineups are set.
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San Clemente Coach: Brad Davis N-26/D-1 @ Mission Viejo TournD 07 Canyon/A 17-22 @ La Costa Cnyn Tourn 26-29 @ Estancia Tourn J 09 @ *Mission Viejo 11 *Capistrano Valley 14 *El Toro 16 @ *Dana Hills 18 @ *Trabuco Hills 23 *Mission Viejo 25 @ *Capistrano Valley F 01 @ *El Toro 05 *Dana Hills 07 *Trabuco Hills |
| Trabuco Hills--3-7, 13-12 (5th) "Mustangs" Trabuco Hills returns just about everyone, having graduated just two seniors. This will be a tallish and very tough team, with good guard play and nice rebounding. Here are the players returning: Aaron Tudor 6'-2" Sr. G Updated 11/28/01: The Register published their team and league previews for the South Coast League, and here's what they had on Trabuco Hills, which the coaches in the league have picked to finish 3rd: Coach: Rainer Wulf (15th year, 225-162) Returners: Newcomers to watch: Brian Clement 5'-9" Sr. G Outlook: The Mustangs are stocked with guards, led by Tudor, a Division I prospect.
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Trabuco Hills Coach: Rainer Wulf N 27 @ Aliso Niguel |
| Dana Hills-- 0-10, 9-16
(6th) Dana Hills didn't make the playoffs, and as a result, we just don't know who they will have. Dana Hills has a nice website for it's boys' hoops program, and hopefully they'll update it shortly with rosters (it has a schedule and other info, but no rosters). Updated 11/28/01: Thanks to the OC Register, which published a team capsule as a part of their league preview, we now have something to say about Dana Hills besides what's on their website: Coach: Mark Thornton (6th year, 54-79) Returners: Newcomers: Outlook: thornton believes the Dolphins are quicker and whil shoot better than last year. The coaches in the league pick the team to finish 4th. |
Dana Hills Coach: Mark Thornton N-26/D-1 @ Loara TournD 05 Laguna Hills 07 @ Aliso Niguel 11 Laguna Beach 14 @ Irvine 18-22 @ Irvine Tourn 26-30 @ Century Tourn J 09 *El Toro 11 @ *Mission Viejo 14 @ *Trabuco Hills 16 *San Clemente 18 *Capistrano Valley 25 @ *El Toro 26 *Mission Viejo 30 *Trabuco Hills F 05 @ *San Clemente 07 @ *Capistrano VAlley |
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