All-SoCal Team: Seven Honorable Mentions (Part I)

If you missed any of our post-season award coverage last week, we named our Coach of the Year (Josh Giles), Player of the Year (Brandon Boston, Jr.) along with three All-SoCal Teams consisting of five players per squad. We wanted to take a couple stories to honor those who just missed the cut for our first, second and third team selections.

Don’t miss our other All-SoCal Teams! First Team, Player and Coach of the Year, Second Team, Third Team

G Amari Bailey Amari Bailey 6'4" | SF Sierra Canyon | 2022 State #2 Nation CA-S , Sierra Canyon – Bailey was one of the more important two-way players in the region as his versatility on defense and athletic, high-flying finishes on the break defined what made the Trailblazers so good. The 6-foot-4 sophomore guarded three spots on the floor as needed, used his strength, physicality and quick twitch athleticism to cause problems in passing lanes and finished at a high clip in the paint. Bailey was a key component in Sierra Canyon winning the CIF Southern Section and CIF State SoCal Regional Open Division titles. 

G Ian Martinez Ian Martinez 6'3" | SG JSerra | 2020 State #47 Nation CA-S , JSerra – Martinez did a little bit of everything for a JSerra team which needed him to show up on a nightly basis. The 6-foot-3 Utah signee finished the season with an impressive stat line, which included 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game, all while facing defenses designed to stop him at all costs. Martinez, a senior, paced the Lions to 25 wins on the year.

G Malik Thomas Malik Thomas 6'3" | SG Damien | 2021 State #99 Nation CA-S , Damien – The scorer-extraordinaire set a single-season school record with 888 points during his junior campaign. When you do the math, the 6-foot-3 off-guard averaged 25.4 points per game on the season in leading the Spartans to 26 wins. Thomas’ instant-offense impact helped Damien have strong showings in both the Southern Section and State Division 1 playoffs.

G/F Jahmai Mashack Jahmai Mashack 6'3" | SG Etiwanda | 2021 State #68 Nation CA-S , Etiwanda – Mashack won’t get a whole lot of style points for his game, but it’s his substance that makes him such a valuable piece of a good team. The 6-foot-3 junior is the ultimate team guy: He guards every spot on the floor when asked, he makes the extra pass, takes charges, rebounds well for his size and does it all with a hardhat approach to the game.

F Brandon Angel Brandon Angel 6'8" | SF Torrey Pines | 2020 State #192 Nation CA-S , Torrey Pines – Angel had a true breakout season for the Falcons as his role grew exponentially during his senior year. The 6-foot-8 swingman showed vast improvements to his all-around offensive game. He became more comfortable putting the ball on the deck and attacking the basket, while still knocking down the catch-and-shoot triple with consistency. Angel, headed to Stanford, has as much upside as any prospect in SoCal’s 2020 class.

F Kijani Wright Kijani Wright 6'8" | PF Sierra Canyon | 2022 State #63 Nation CA-S , Windward – Wright continues to blossom as one of 2022’s most intriguing big man prospects. The 6-foot-8 forward, when engaged, is a beast of a rim protector and defensive rebounder. Offensively, Wright has the tools to beat you both inside and out with his ability to finish with power in the paint and step out to the three-point line and knock down open triples. Wright helped lead the Wildcats to the Southern Section D1 championship.

F Wilhelm Breidenbach Wilhelm Breidenbach 6'8" | PF Mater Dei | 2021 State #91 Nation CA-S , Mater Dei – The Monarchs could always rely on Breidenbach to impact multiple aspects of the game, whether it was the scoring column, snatching rebounds or dishing out a handful of assists from the forward spot. The 6-foot-8 junior is as versatile as they come and proved to be a matchup nightmare for many of Mater Dei’s opponents.