With the 2018-2019 school year approaching, Prep2Prep takes a look at 10 of the top rising athletes in each coverage area. This feature focuses on the rising athletes within the Central Coast Section, along with a few other underclassmen who are already regarded among the best in their respective sports. This is not a comprehensive list, and all athletes are listed in alphabetical order.
Natalia Ackerman, Aptos basketball/track
Last year’s MVP of the SCCAL, Ackerman averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game as the Mariners went unbeaten in league play and reached the CCS Division III title game. She then made finals at the CCS Track and Field Championships, placing in the top eight of the high jump.
Tommy Barnds, Sacred Heart Prep football/lacrosse
Barnds had over 500 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage last season for the Gators, but really shined during lacrosse season, when he was named the WCAL Player of the Year, leading SHP past St. Ignatius for the league title.
JT Byrne, Carmel basketball/baseball
As a freshman, Byrne became an immediate dual-sport impact player. He averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game to lead Carmel to the final MTAL championship, and despite a late start to the season, the 6-foot-5 standout then hit .295 with 12 RBIs for the Division III semifinalists in baseball.
Kamau Carlisle, King’s Academy football/track
The speedy Carlisle had his junior year on the gridiron cut short, but displayed his explosiveness in the spring, when he ran 11.05 in the 100 meters at the CCS semifinals and jumped 22’ 8” in the long jump at the CCS finals.
Jack Dyke, St. Ignatius football/baseball
Dyke earned honorable mention All-WCAL recognition as a lineman in football during his junior season, and was then the Wildcats’ most reliable arm in the spring, sporting a 3.00 ERA with 24 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. He was also a key contributor at the plate, hitting .318 with a home run and seven doubles.
Javi Felix, Santa Cruz basketball/baseball
Felix was a key contributor on the Cardinals’ basketball team which won the SCCAL and reached the CCS Division IV title game. But his biggest impact is undoubtedly on the diamond, where he was the SCCAL Player of the Year despite an injury which kept him off the mound for his junior year. Despite a late start to the season, Felix hit .410 with three home runs for the unbeaten SCCAL champs.
Camron Grant, Aragon football/baseball
Grant’s numbers as a junior were simply phenomenal in both sports, racking up 12 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss from his outside linebacker position, while adding 511 yards and 11 touchdowns as a running back in the Dons’ ground-heavy attack. And he was arguably even better during baseball season, hitting .482 with five home runs and 10 doubles to earn MVP honors in the PAL-Ocean.
Karlie Lema, Live Oak soccer/track
Lema is easily one of the brightest rising stars in the section, after scoring 48 goals as a freshman, and then qualifying for the state meet in the 100 meters. It would not be a surprise to see her add the hurdles and long jump to her CIF qualifying events in the next year.
Carson Yates, Leland football/baseball
Yates was named the BVAL Sophomore of the Year in both sports, accumulating 2,122 yards and 29 touchdowns from scrimmage as the Chargers’ quarterback in the fall, and then adding to a sensational sophomore campaign by hitting .451 with three home runs and 22 RBIs in the spring.
Nick Yorke, Mitty football/baseball
Yorke’s impact on the gridiron is still an unknown, since he has yet to play at the varsity level for the Monarchs, but if this past spring is any indication of his overall athletic ability, Mitty fans could be in for a year-long treat. As a sophomore, the infielder earned WCAL Player of the Year honors after hitting .494 with 18 doubles, 30 runs scored, and 22 RBIs.
Five more returners who have ‘arrived’ . . .
Joseph Barnes, Gilroy football/wrestling
One of the most successful athletes in Central Coast Section history, Barnes has already captured three straight section wrestling crowns. In the last two seasons, he has won seven of his matches by pin, and did not allow a single point in the two matches which ended in a decision. And then there is football, where Barnes led the Mustangs to an unbeaten season and section crown last year, running for 1,781 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Daniel Heimuli, Menlo-Atherton football/baseball
Arguably the top Division I recruit in the CCS for football, Heimuli comes off a junior year in which he was co-Defensive Player of the Year in the PAL-Bay, with 93 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, and six sacks. But he also extends his talents to the diamond, where he hit .377 this past spring, and boasted a .507 on-base percentage.
Haley Jones, Mitty basketball
It could seem there is little left for Jones to accomplish at the high school level, after already winning the Gatorade State Player of the Year award, and getting named to the USA Today Girls Basketball First Team. Then there is her status as a member of the USA Basketball U17 World Cup team this summer. But there is also that matter of winning a state title, after the Monarchs fell excruciatingly short this past March.
Hannah Jump, Pinewood basketball
Jump is considered by ESPN to be among the top 15 returning wing players in the nation, after averaging nearly 17 points and six rebounds per game last year, when she also shot 45 percent from beyond the arc, drilling over 100 three-pointers. The Stanford commit scored 24 points in Pinewood’s upset win over Mitty in the CIF NorCal final.
Ashley Trierweiler, Carlmont basketball/softball
Trierweiler was a first-team All-PAL selection on the hardwood, averaging nearly 11 points per game. She was then the PAL-Bay Player of the Year in softball, after hitting .600 from the leadoff spot for the league champion Scots, and not committing an error all year in the outfield.
