Jake Wojcik reached heights that few players in the WCAL have ever been able to, and for those successes, he is the Prep2Prep CCS Boys Basketball Player of the Year. In the past two years, he led Bellarmine to a 27-1 record in WCAL play, better than even the likes of Aaron Gordon over any two-year stretch. As a senior, he averaged 17 points per game and made 41.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.

“Jake leaves Bellarmine as the school leader in points, and, if it could be measured, competitive fire,” said head coach Patrick Schneider. “He hates to lose and he refused to back down to any game situation, and he was tremendous in giving his teammates confidence at moments in games where all the momentum was against us.”

Committed to Richmond, Wojcik’s hard-nosed play makes him much more than just a great shooter. He was always willing to defend the toughest opponents, set hard screens and hit the deck for loose balls. In a CCS semifinal victory where the St. Francis defense was dead-set on stopping him, Wojcik scored just five points, all from the line, but still had a significant positive effect on the game.

“It was Jake staying within the system that made a huge difference,” said Schneider after the Bells beat the Lancers for the third time on the season and sixth in the last two years. “He gave himself up to screen people and make good passes. It was so selfless of him, even when we were trying to get him open shots out of specials.”

He set the tone every single night, whether or not his shots were falling – and they usually did. Wojcik opened league play with a 21-point effort, including 9-for-11 at the free throw line, as Bellarmine held off an inspired comeback for an overtime road win over St. Ignatius.

Bellarmine’s memorable January 23 win over St. Francis before a packed home crowd had Wojcik’s mark all over it. He scored just three points until the final play of the third quarter, when he sank a go-ahead three to put the Bells up 48-46, and scored on back-to-back possessions with an up-and-under move and a three to make it 55-51.

He also participated in one of the most special moments of the season, helping escort best friend Logan Johnson during his Senior Night ceremony before the two faced off on St. Francis’ home floor. Wojcik went on to have a career night, with 22 points in the first half and 29 overall.

Regardless of the situation, Wojcik always managed to factor into his team’s achievements, and the Bells’ back-to-back league titles, their first in program history, wouldn’t have happened without him. He finished things off appropriately, dropping 24 on Mitty in the CCS Open Division Championship to erase painful memories of the prior year’s defeat.

Others players considered for this award include Los Gatos' Dylan Belquist, Palo Alto's Max Dorward, and Saint Francis' Logan Johnson.

Not since John Elway left the NFL with the Lombardi Trophy has there been a better ride into the sunset than Peter Diepenbrock’s 2017-18 season at the helm of the Palo Alto basketball program.

The 26-4 Vikings were consistent, refined and dominant throughout the year, becoming the first public school to ever defeat a WCAL team in the CCS Open Division Quarterfinals and reaching the CIF Northern California Division I Championship Game.

While most powerhouse teams get complacent at times, Diepenbrock’s Vikings never seemed to waver.

“He did a great job preparing them for every opponent, never underselling them,” said assistant coach Rich Forslund. “They always came in ready to go, knowing what their opponent’s strengths were.”

Palo Alto went undefeated in SCVAL-De Anza play with just one close call, a double-OT win at Los Gatos. There was never a letdown in the second round of league play, even against teams that the Vikings had rolled in their first meetings.

Diepenbrock’s crowning achievement came on February 23, when Palo Alto beat St. Ignatius 75-60 to become the first public school to advance to the CCS Open Division Semifinals.

“He rarely changed the system,” said Forslund. “We didn’t play a possession of zone defense all year.”

The only sort of significant changes that were mae came in the state tournament, when the Vikings slowed the pace to beat top-seeded Heritage and used a similar method to push Las Lomas to the brink despite a cold shooting performance.

“The plan was to coerce other teams into making mistakes instead of pushing the tempo and making them ourselves,” said Forslund.

An age gap of nearly 40 years never got in the way of Diepenbrock’s relationship with his players. His team always had a jovial aura, and there was a great sense of camaraderie at every turn.

“He had a great rapport with the kids,” said Forslund. “That’s one of the advantages of being an on-campus coach, you can joke around with the kids and see them all day.”

His position has been inherited by Rodney Tention, whose son, Miles, graduated in 2017 and played under Diepenbrock. Tention has a college coaching pedigree, but has big shoes to fill and quite the legacy to follow. While the future of the Vikings is an uncertain one, with all of this year’s rotation graduating, Tention does come in with a strong blueprint to follow thanks to Diepenbrock’s legacy.

Dylan Belquist

Max Dorward

Logan Johnson

Kendall Stubblefield

Jake Wojcik

Joe Foley

Riley Grigsby

Colin McCarthy

Ethan Menzies

Darrion Trammell

Kiran Kruse

Ziggy Lauese

E.J. Neal

Devan Sapp

Riley Woodson