2025-2026 HMG-COMMUNITY NEWS WINTER ALL-AREA TEAMS: Eight area basketball teams highlight stellar seasons as players are recognized

 Half of the area’s boys basketball teams and half of the area’s girls basketball teams participated in the CIF-Southern Section divisional playoffs with each one having its own story of advancement past the regular season. The Gahr High boys team lost in the Division 5 semifinals but won a game in the state playoffs while La Mirada High finally played a home playoff game. Both Gateway League rivals were top-seeded teams in Division I and III, respectively.

Both Cerritos High squads bid a farewell to the current 605 League format by claiming at least a share of first place while the youth of the Norwalk High and Valley Christian High girls teams should provide for a better 2026-2027 season with deeper playoff runs.

In fact, of the 40 players on the 2025-2026 HMG-Community News Winter All-Area Teams, 23 are underclassmen, including nine who were either a freshman or a sophomore.

Note: The HMG-CN All-Area Teams are put together solely by sports editor Loren Kopff based off observations from covering the games.

BOYS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Jordyn Houston (La Mirada)

Jace Ribac (Cerritos)

Gene Roebuck (La Mirada)

Christian Stewart (Artesia)

Bryce Titus (Gahr)

SECOND TEAM

Bundana Adams (John Glenn)

Jezreel Dela Cruz (Whitney)

Devon Hardy (Cerritos)

Jordan Heredia (Artesia)

David Zazueta (Norwalk)

THIRD TEAM

William Kang (Whitney)

Nathan Mauer (Valley Christian)

Cisco Munoz (La Mirada)

Kingston Nathaniel (Gahr)

King-Riley Owens (La Mirada)

HONORABLE MENTION

Andrew Castro (La Mirada)

Rocco Chua (Cerritos)

Mikey Fuentes (Valley Christian)

Jonathan Lara (John Glenn)

Kobe Young (Artesia)

Player of the Year: To put things into perspective, if La Mirada’s Gene Roebuck played in only his team’s 20 non-league games, his scoring total would be just the second best out of the area players. As it turned out, he finished his junior season with 714 points and was the only area player to score over 500 points. Roebuck averaged 22.3 points per game and was one of two La Mirada players to grab over 130 rebounds, have over 80 assists and over 10 blocks. He scored a season-high 34 points against Roosevelt High in the second game of the season and was held to under 10 points only once.

Coach of the Year: Gahr has had success on the court in the past, but now you can add Marcus Girley to the list of great coaches to have come through the program. Girley, in his fifth season, guided the Gladiators to a 22-11 record, a trip to the Division 3 semifinals and an appearance in the Division III Southern California regionals. The 22 wins are the most for Gahr since the 2014-2015 team won 26 games and the Division III-AA championship and his record of 81-56 is the third best in the past 27 seasons of Gahr coaches through his first five seasons with the program, trailing Bob Becker (107-46) and Ricky Roper (98-53)

Players to look for in 2026-2027

De’Marii Ancheta (Artesia)

Aidan Atkins (Artesia)

Kaleb Duag (Cerritos)

Noah Edwards (Cerritos)

Jeremiah Ju (Cerritos)

Noah Lai (Cerritos)

Vincent Valenzuela (Cerritos)

Antonious Youseff (Cerritos)

Konner Bookman (Gahr)

Xavier Brown (Gahr)

Aricen Cruz-Davis (Gahr)

Jaylen Maxwell (Gahr)

Island Smith (John Glenn)

Kael Gabourel (La Mirada)

Lamek Kifle (La Mirada)

Noah Correa (Norwalk)

Bhavya Verma (Norwalk)

Michael Alviar (Valley Christian)

Finn Berkes (Valley Christian)

Jayden Gardner (Valley Christian)

Simon Vasquez (Valley Christian)

Mateo Aquino (Whitney)

Jack Diancin (Whitney)

Wilbur Lai (Whitney)

Joseph Roman (Whitney)

GIRLS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAM

Hannah Burgoyne (Valley Christian)

Connie Esquival (Norwalk)

Cameron Lacorte (Cerritos)

Tina Namaranian (Whitney)

Alyssa So (Whitney)

SECOND TEAM

Aleeah Lopez (Norwalk)

Madelyn Macaraeg (Cerritos)

Ariel Martinez (Valley Christian)

Isha Morales (Norwalk)

Kianna Rangel (Cerritos)

THIRD TEAM

Analiyah Coneita (Cerritos)

Jay Curl (John Glenn)

Rachel Fredenburg (Gahr)

Kim Ixta (Artesia)

Jordin Shaw (La Mirada)

HONORABLE MENTION

Molly Douglas (Valley Christian)

Ella McIntosh (Gahr)

Katlyn Moreno (Norwalk)

Ella Nelson (Whitney)

Kalana Nguyen (Cerritos)

Co-Players of the Year: Two of the most decorated players from their respective schools who can shoot at will, and from three-point territory, share this honor. Valley Christian junior Hannah Burgoyne, who has been nothing short of impressive since the day she stepped on the school’s campus, led the Defenders with 435 points, averaged five and half rebounds a game, four assists a game and two steals a game. She poured in a season-high 30 points on Dec. 19 against Oxford Academy and had 13 games in which she scored at least 20 points.

When you talk about leaving a legacy, you can’t ignore the job Cameron Lacorte of Cerritos has done over her four years with the program. Lacorte led the Dons with 331 points. 39 shy of 1,000 and during the 12-years of head coach Marcus Chinen, Lacorte sits in third place behind Onyeka Nwanze (1,247 points) and Alyssa Movchan (1,240 points) in the scoring department. Lacorte scored a career-high 23 points against John Glenn High on Jan. 21 and missed two of her team’s 29 games.

Coach of the Year: Valley Christian had struggled in the Olympic League since the 2018-2019 season, going 17-39 before this season, finishing no better that a tie for third place and three trips to the playoffs. But this past season, head coach Dan Leffler and his team finished in a tie for second place with a 5-3 mark. The Defenders went 16-9, posting the most wins the program has seen since the 2016-2017 team went 22-10. In fact, since that season, V.C. reached at least 10 wins just four times. The Defenders also won their first six games of the season, capturing their own tournament and finishing runners-up to Fullerton High in the Orange Holiday Classic.

Players to look for in 2026-2027

Sophie Nunez (Artesia)

Jazmine Ramirez (Artesia)

Mia Ramos (Artesia)

Leah Lopez (Cerritos)

Jaslyn Macaraeg (Cerritos)

Jordin Pulley (Cerritos)

Julia Santos (Cerritos)

Mia Aguilar (Gahr)

Aren Cornejo (Gahr)

Giselle Franco (Gahr)

Kanon Moody (Gahr)

Maya Moreau (Gahr)

Kaylie Golden (John Glenn)

Elissa Jacobo (John Glenn)

Cyena Elmore (La Mirada)

Julianna Martinez (La Mirada)

Charlize Parris (La Mirada)

Kaitlyn Suzuki (La Mirada)

Nadia Tamayo (La Mirada)

Natalia Tamayo (La Mirada)

Juliet Tapia (La Mirada)

Mya DeLaRosa (Norwalk)

Jaiya Lee (Valley Christian)

Cheyanne Cheung (Whitney)

Sophia Kang (Whitney)

Kenzie Shiotsugu (Whitney)