Tag: Mater Dei

Vols offer 2023 wide receiver from Mater Dei

Tennessee offers 2023 wide receiver from Mater Dei in California.

2023 wide receiver prospect Jeremiah McClure has received a scholarship offer from the Vols.

“After a great conversation with Verlain Betofe and Joey Halzle, I’m blessed to say I’ve received my 13th D1 offer from University of Tennessee,” McClure announced.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound wide receiver is from Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista, California.

McClure has Power Five scholarship offers from Tennessee, Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, UCLA, USC and Washington.

Tennessee’s 2023 football commitment tracker

Vols’ 2023 recruiting tracker: Running back offers

Vols’ 2023 recruiting tracker: Quarterback offers

Follow us at @VolsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of University of Tennessee athletics. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Texas extends an offer to 2024 Mater Dei offensive tackle DeAndre Carter

Texas officially enters Carter’s recruitment alongside USC and Michigan.

The Longhorns are back in the running for another prospect from California powerhouse Mater Dei. Continue reading “Texas extends an offer to 2024 Mater Dei offensive tackle DeAndre Carter”

USC continues its recruiting success at Mater Dei with commitment from CJ Williams

C.J. Williams committed to USC, giving the Trojans another 2020 Mater Dei recruit. Could a pipeline be forming under Lincoln Riley?

USC’s proximity to Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) provides a natural recruiting advantage for the Trojans to cherrypick from the No. 1 school in the nation, but players haven’t exactly been funneling into the program. No Monarch committed in 2017, 2019 or 2020; the closest was wide receiver Bru McCoy transferring from Texas before the start of his freshman year.

However, over the last two years, there has been a major boost. With four-star wide receiver C.J. Williams’ becoming the fifth Mater Dei player in the last two years to commit tot he Trojans, it looks as though some sort of pipeline is finally appearing under head coach Lincoln Riley.

Williams announced his decision at the All-American Bowl. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound receiver is rated the No. 76 player overall and No. 11 wide receiver in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

He broke out as a sophomore at Mater Dei and continued his strong play over the next two seasons, finishing his senior year with 830 yards and 12 touchdowns on 51 receptions. He was a leader for the Monarchs, who won the National Championship.

Williams is the third top-100 player from Mater Dei alone to commit to USC in this cycle.

Five-star running back Raleek Brown, ranked No. 33 in the country, followed Riley to USC after initially committing to Oklahoma. Five-star cornerback Domani Jackson, the No. 7 player in the country, decommitted from USC but then recommitted after Riley moved to the west coast.

Those are three of the four best Mater Dei players in the 2022 class. The other, linebacker David Bailey, committed to Stanford.

Last year, the Trojans picked up two of the top three Mater Dei recruits, securing four-star linebacker Raesjon Davis and four-star wide receiver Kyron Ware-Hudson.

That makes back-to-back years in which USC has found recruiting success at a school that has won or shared National Championship honors in four of the last five years. It’s too early to proclaim that a pipeline has formed — after all, the Trojans picked up three Monarchs in 2018, only to go barren in the next two years — but there could be something brewing in southern California.

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Mater Dei boys basketball coach Gary McKnight reaches rare win plateau

Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight won his 1,200th career game, becoming the fourth boys high school basketball coach to reach that mark.

Over his three decades at Mater Dei, Gary McKnight has written a storied legacy for himself and the boys basketball team.

On Wednesday, he reached a legendary echelon of coaching talent by recording his 1,200 win.

The Monarchs took down Porterville 89-53 on Wednesday and then followed it up for win No. 1,201 with a 55-54 performance against De La Salle on Thursday at the Xavier Winter Showcase.

McKnight is the fourth boys basketball coach to reach such mark. The other three are longtime Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) coach Steve Smith, who is at 1,212 wins; Morgan Wootten, who won 1,274 games over 46 years at DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and became the first person to be inducted to the Hall of Fame solely for high school coaching credentials; and Robert Hughes, who recorded 1,333 wins over 47 seasons between I.M Terrell High School (Fort Worth, Texas) and Dunbar High School (Fort Worth, Texas).

McKnight is the 10th coach overall to hit the plateau, as six girls basketball coaches also have at least 1,200 wins. Leta Andrews, who coached at five different schools from 1962-2014, has a record 1,416 career wins and won at an 80% clip.

McKnight has coached at Mater Dei since 1982. He has won one national championship, 11 state titles, and has led Mater Dei to 38 league titles in his 39 seasons.

Entering this season, he had a 90.7% winning percentage as head coach (1,188-122).

As the calendar flips to 2022, Mater Dei is 13-2 on the season.

Final USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings for 2021

Mater Dei earned its fifth USA TODAY Super 25 top spot since 1982

This is the final set of USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings for the 2021 season. Mater Dei (Calif.) is this year’s national champion after going wire-to-wire in the No. 1 spot and beating five ranked opponents.

1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)

Record: 12-0; Season Complete.

2. Westlake (Austin, Texas)

Record: 16-0; Last Result: def. Guyer 40-21; Season Complete.

3. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)

Record: 12-0; Season Complete.

4. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)

Record: 8-1; Season Complete.

5. Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.)

Record: 14-0; Season Complete.

6. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)

Record: 10-3; Season Complete.

7. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)

Record: 10-2; Season Complete.

8. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)

Record: 15-0; Last Result: def. Pine Forest 35-29; Season Complete.

9. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Record: 14-1; Last Result: def. Tampa Bay Tech 42-14; Season Complete.

10. Graham-Kapowsin (Graham, Wash.)

Record: 15-0; Last Result: def. Collins Hill 40-36; Season Complete.

11. North Shore (Houston, Texas)

Record: 15-1; Last Result: def. Duncanville 17-10; Season Complete.

12. Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)

Record: 15-1; Last Result: 40-36 loss to Graham-Kapowsin; Season Complete.

13. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Record: 12-1; Season Complete.

14. St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)

Record: 11-0; Season Complete.

15. Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Record: 12-1; Season Complete.

16. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)

Record: 11-1; Season Complete.

17. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

Record: 9-1; Season Complete.

18. Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.)

Record: 13-1; Season Complete.

19. Bixby (Okla.)

Record: 13-0; Season Complete.

20. Central (Miami, Fla.)

Record: 12-2; Last Result: def. Merritt Island 49-14; Season Complete.

21. Duncanville (Texas)

Record: 13-2; Last Result: 17-10 loss to North Shore; Season Complete.

22. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)

Record: 11-1; Season Complete.

23. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)

Record: 14-1; Season Complete.

24. Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

Record: 15-0; Season Complete.

25. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)

Record: 12-1; Last Result: def. Highland 35-24; Season Complete.

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Sooners offer 2023 WR Edward Schultz as Sooners slowly shift their offensive recruiting efforts to 2023

Edward Schultz of California receives an offer from Cale Gundy and DeMarco Murray.

While the Sooners coaching staff has a few more 2022 recruits they are hoping to add, they have already taken the time to start getting serious about the 2023 class. A recruiting class that was No. 1 in the country has seen a massive exodus in the last couple of weeks since Lincoln Riley’s exit.

Malachi Nelson (consensus top-10 player), Makai Lemon, Brandon Inniss, Trayaun Webb and Luke Hasz decommitted while Oklahoma was shopping for its next head coach. Lemon, rated by 247Sports as the number two athlete in the country and a five-star prospect, flipped his commitment to USC along with teammate and best friend Nelson after Riley became the head coach of the Trojans. Inniss, Webb and Hasz remain uncommitted as of now.

So what did the Sooners go and do? They went back to California, of course, for another wide receiver, extending an offer to Edward Schultz of J Serra Catholic. Schultz is currently unranked on 247Sports, but with Cale Gundy and DeMarco Murray as his recruiters, it’s a fair bet to suggest those eyes trust what they see.

Schultz touts offers from Florida State and San Jose State as well. He plays in a highly competitive California high school league and even returned a 91-yard kickoff for a touchdown against national power Mater Dei.

There’s a mighty long way to go from the early signing period in 2021 to national signing day in 2023. An entire spring, summer and senior season will allow players to rise and fall through the rankings. For now, we’re sitting back and watching these offers go out and will react and respond accordingly.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

With Lincoln Riley at the helm, star CB Domani Jackson re-commits to USC

With Lincoln Riley as head coach, USC signed Domani Jackson, one of the top players in the class of 2022.

In late November, after visiting Alabama, five-star cornerback Domani Jackson decommitted from USC. The Trojans didn’t have a coach, and Jackson saw an opening to reconsider whether he wanted to join the legacy of the Crimson Tide, commit to a Michigan program that he had previously called his “dream school,” or return to USC.

Oh how the times have changed.

With Lincoln Riley in tow, Jackson signed with the Trojans on Friday. The Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) star tweeted a photo with graphics of himself overlooking the Coliseum. In one of the graphics, Jackson is holding the 2016 Jim Thorpe trophy that former USC star Adoree’ Jackson won.

USC tweeted a video welcoming the star to the school.

Jackson is ranked as the No. 3 player (tied) in the class of 2022 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Recruiting Rankings. He emerged as a star at Mater Dei as a sophomore, looking like one of the better cornerbacks in the nation regardless of class, but his high school season was ended prematurely due to a knee injury.

He’ll be back, just as he returned to USC after initially decommitting. Jackson is staying home.

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USA TODAY Super 25 Week 14 Recap: Mater Dei downs Servite for Southern Section title

USA TODAY High School Sports takes a look at how each team ranked in the Super 25 fared in Week 14.

No. 1 Mater Dei’s high-flying passing attack took a back seat to its ground game against No. 5 Servite on Friday night, relying on its running backs to lead it to a 27-7 win and a CIF Southern Section title.

Raleek Brown, Ajon Bryant and Quincy Craig each rushed for a touchdown as Mater Dei took care of Servite to win its third Southern Section championship since 2017. Mater Dei will now play in the CIF Open Division championship game on Dec. 11.

Mater Dei wasn’t the only program ranked in the USA TODAY Super 25 to score a big win over the weekend. No. 4 Bergen Catholic won a state championship with a victory over rival Don Bosco Prep, No. 7 Center Grove edged a tough Westfield team to keep its season alive and Miami Central knocked off undefeated Killian.

With all of that being said, let’s take a look at how each team ranked in the Super 25 fared over the weekend.

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No. 1 Mater Dei handles No. 5 Servite in Southern Section title game

No. 1 Mater Dei beat No. 5 Servite on Friday night to win its third Southern Section title since 2017.

No. 1 Mater Dei’s high-flying passing attack took a back seat to its ground game against No. 5 Servite on Friday night, with the Monarchs relying on their running backs to help bring home a Southern Section championship.

Raleek Brown, Ajon Bryant and Quincy Craig each rushed for a touchdown as Mater Dei took care of Servite by a final score of 27-7 to claim its third Southern Section crown since 2017 and its second win over Servite this season. Mater Dei will now play in the CIF Open Division championship game on Dec. 11 against a yet to be determined opponent.

The rematch between Mater Dei and Servite did not resemble the high-scoring regular season meeting in which the Monarchs held on for a 46-37 win. Mater Dei turned to a ground and pound style of play, with Craig rushing for four touchdowns and Brown, an Oklahoma commit rushing for 163 yards and a score.

Star sophomore quarterback Elijah Brown pitched in 247 yards through the air for Mater Dei, helping to mitigate a monster game by Servite’s quarterback-wide receiver duo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Fifita threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns — both of which went to McMillan, who caught 15 passes for 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first meeting between the two teams.

Elijah Brown threw an interception on the first play of the game and Servite took advantage of the score to take an early 7-0 lead. The Friars would not find paydirt again, though, as Mater Dei’s defense took over and its offense made more than enough plays to put its Trinity League rival away. Servite had a chance to tie things up at 14 in the second quarter, but Craig came up big on defense by forcing a fumble to protect Mater Dei’s lead heading into halftime.

Mater Dei gave itself some breathing late in the third quarter with a short Raleek Brown rushing touchdown and sealed the game with an Elijah Brown touchdown pass to Notre Dame commit C.J. Williams with two minutes remaining.

Mater Dei entered Friday night’s title bout facing controversy after reports of an alleged hazing incident surfaced during the week, making national headlines. The news took much of the focus away from the championship game, but Mater Dei was able to lock back in against one of the best teams in the nation to keep its season alive and add some hardware to its trophy case.

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