The Sacramento Bee’s Best: All-Metro baseball honors for schools small, medium and large
Malcolm Moore’s junior baseball season at McClatchy High School got off to a slow start — a 14-day team quarantine due to COVID-19 issues on campus. It happened at the end of March, right when the Lions expected to be roaring toward another Metro League championship.
Some 10 weeks later, Moore’s season concluded with a statement performance, this one on Solano County. The catcher and slugger belted three hits at Dixon, including a towering home run, and drove in six runs. Moore earned The Bee’s Player of the Year honors for his impact at the plate and behind it, for his leadership and for his team’s success, which includes sharing the Metro crown with Laguna Creek.
Moore is the first McClatchy baseball player to win Bee honors since Chuck Wilborn in 1975 — and he is just the second since the school opened in 1937. He hit .535 with 38 hits, 55 RBIs and seven home runs for the 20-4 Lions. Moore would have added to that home run total if McClatchy put up fences at the school’s baseball field sooner than the middle of this season.
He has given a verbal commitment to attend Stanford, which speaks of his academic prowess. Moore had a 4.3 cumulative grade-point average as a junior. It’s possible by next summer Moore might not even have to think about college. He is on the radar of Major League Baseball scouts and could forgo a college education to play professional baseball right out of high school.
“It’s a real honor,” Moore said on being named The Bee’s Player of the Year. “I know the legacy of this school. It goes on and on. The Sacramento Bee Player of the Year is a great honor to win. I’m very proud that my team has let me succeed on the field and in the classroom.”
McClatchy baseball coach Mike de Necochea has known Moore since he was in kindergarten. He nicknamed him “The Natural” at a young age because of how good he was and how easy baseball came to him.
“Malcolm’s older brother, Wilson (who graduated in 2018) was my son Michael’s childhood friend growing up,” the coach said. “They lived a few blocks from us in Land Park. Malcolm would tag along and had no problem keeping up. It’s no surprise to me that The Bee has chosen him (for player of the year). (In Malcolm’s) freshman year, he put everyone on notice with his power and defense. Fast forward to this season, his junior year, and he already looks like a next-level player. The power he generates from his swing is superior. He’s a lift and separate guy. The ball flies off his bat at tremendous speed and distance.”
He added, “It goes without saying how proud I am of him. Especially, how he maintains a 4.3 GPA, leads our team and elevates our program. He continues to set the bar higher with his work ethic and results. He may very well be the most powerful hitter to come out of McClatchy High School, and there have been many great hitters over the years, including 10 MLB players.”
* How the team was selected: The Bee’s All-Metro team was picked through coaching nominations and personal observation by Bee staffers.
Player of the Year: Malcolm Moore, McClatchy, Jr.
Coach of the Year: Joe Bellotti, Elk Grove. He guided Elk Grove to a 23-4 record, a Delta League championship and the top spot in The Bee’s final rankings. In his first season in 2019, after taking over for the hugely successful Jeff Carlson, Elk Grove went 13-17 but reached the playoffs.
Large School Player of the Year: Andres Galan, Franklin, Sr. He was chosen as the unanimous Delta League MVP. Galan recorded 35 hits, drove in 20 and on the mound went 7-3 with a 2.86 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched. He’s heading to Cal this fall to study and play ball.
Large School Coach of the Year: Joel Manfredi, Woodcreek. In his first full season with Woodcreek, Manfredi guided the Timberwolves to a 22-4 record and Capital Valley Conference League Championship. Woodcreek ended the season on a 16-game win streak and No. 2 in The Bee’s final rankings.
Medium School Player of the Year: Ty Uber, Ponderosa, Sr. He’s off to Stanford but could garner attention from MLB scouts in next month’s draft. Uber helped elevate Ponderosa to its highest ranking in school history, up to No. 2. Uber went 5-2 and struck out 72 in 42 innings.
Medium School Coach of the Year: Ron Hall, Rio Americano. He guided Rio Americano to a 25-2 record and a Capital Athletic League championship.
Small School Player of the Year: Anthony Packard, Colfax, Sr. He will either attend Yuba College or American River College. Packard went 6-1 and struck out 76 in 56.1 innings for one of the best small-school baseball programs in the section.
Small School Coach of the Year: Chris Nave, Colfax. Colfax went 22-6 and won the Pioneer Valley League. Before the pandemic hit last year, Colfax won back-to-back Division V Sac-Joaquin Section banners.
Smaller School Player of the Year: Kyle Giovannoni, Sutter, Sr. The senior did a little bit of everything for the Huskies. Giovannoni was the team ace and went 7-2 with a 1.24 ERA and struck out 75. He also had 37 hits with 24 RBIs. He will play next season at Feather River College.
Smaller School Coach of the Year: Stewart Peterson, Sutter. Sutter went 19-8, including an 8-1 record in Butte League play.
Catchers: Kolby Amaral, Nevada Union, Sr.; Anson Aroz, Placer, Sr.;Nolan Barry, Rio Americano, Sr; Eli Campbell, Cordova, So.; Noah Canter, Elk Grove, Jr.; Aidan Chang, Roseville, Sr.; Jacob Cullen, Vista del Lago, Jr.; Trevor Davis, Colfax, Sr.; James Epperson, Sacramento, Sr.; Jaxon Finley, Marysville, Jr.; Brett Hughes, Liberty Ranch, Jr.; Justin Matsui, Sutter, Sr.; Chase Meggers, Rocklin, Sr.; Austin Nissen, Sheldon, Sr.; John Sheehan, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.; Ryan Stafford, Folsom, Sr.; Nate Vargas, Whitney, Sr.; Landon Weiss, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Infielders: Drew Anderson, Vista del Lago, Jr.; Julian Carmona, McClatchy, Jr.; Devon Conway, Marysville, Sr.; Landon Cooper, Sutter, Sr.; Marcellus Cueva, Vanden, Sr.; Nathan Erickson, Whitney, Fr.; J.R. Freethy, Granite Bay, Sr.; Lucas Gibbons, Franklin, Sr.; Will Heron, Rio Americano, Sr.; Tyler James, Vanden, Jr.; Gage Johnson, River City, Sr.; Colby Lunsford, Bear River, Sr.; Rockwell Lybbert, Davis, Sr.; J.T. Maloney, Del Oro, Sr.; Anthony Martinez, Del Campo, So.; Thomas Martinez, Del Campo, Jr.; Brewster Mott, Vacaville, Sr.; Nolan Mulay, Colfax, Sr.; Lincoln Nichols, Valley Christian, Sr.; Isaac Ortega, McClatchy, Sr.; Brett Ott, Granite Bay, Jr.; Chase Pfeifer, Colfax, Jr.; Kobe Rolling, Wood, Sr.; Lance Sabatke, River City, Jr.; Logan Schweizer, Ponderosa, Sr.; Matt Scott, Vista del Lago, Sr.; Carson Seeman, Placer, Sr.; Tejean Smith, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Austin Stapleton, Woodland, So.; Caden Thompson, Woodcreek, Jr.; Kyle Wehner, Lincoln, Sr.; Robert Whittaker, Elk Grove, Sr.; Korey Williams, Elk Grove, Jr.; Zack Wood, Kennedy, So.; Ryan Zamora, Elk Grove, Jr.
Outfielders: Dean Bernaldez, Ponderosa, Sr.;Bobby Blandford, Pleasant Grove, Sr.; Brody Boyle, Pleasant Grove, Sr.; Payton Brennan, Rocklin, Jr.; Jordan Davis, Franklin, Sr.; Dan Giberson, Rio Americano, Sr.; Josh Gonzales, Valley, Fr.; Luke Greene, Rio Linda, Sr.; Parker Hellekson, Roseville, So.; Jordan Jacobson, Jr.; Will Linberg, Rio Americano, Sr.;Joe Lopez, Franklin, Sr.; Eddie Madrigal, Elk Grove, Sr.; Spencer Marr, Vista del Lago, Jr.; Gavin McLendon, Whitney, So.; Matt Moses, Del Campo, So.; Darrell Reddick, Wood, Sr.; Jesse Reyes, Marysville, Sr.; Noah Souza, Colfax, Jr.; Andrew Stalcup, Sheldon, Sr.; Michelangelo Taylor, Colfax, Sr.; Chris Wagner, Whitney, Sr.; Cooper Williams, Marysville, Sr.
Pitchers: Nikalis Alexander, Valley, Jr.; Woody Brennan, Rocklin, Sr.; Luke Carrell, Davis, Sr.; Kaden Clive, Delta, Fr.; Brayden Dotoli, Roseville, Sr.; Jaren Ekkelboom, Del Oro, Jr.; Andrew Finnegan, River City, Sr.; Dylan Gladden-Ward, Center, Jr.; Josh Gonzalez, Roseville, Sr.; Matthew Haggard, Marysville, Jr.; Martin Haswell, Placer, Sr.: Gabe Henderson, McClatchy, Jr.;Hayden Hughes, Del Campo, Jr.; A.J. Hutcheson, Elk Grove, Jr.; Aiden Jimenez, Elk Grove, Jr.; Kaden Knapp, Vista del Lago, Jr.; Gabe Maya, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Thomas Meyer, Granite Bay, Sr.; Myles Meyer, Placer, Sr.; Jaron Nicholas, Colfax, Sr.; Jack Nilsson, Lincoln, Sr.; Tyson Pereira, Pleasant Grove, Sr.; Ben Pernetti, Pleasant Grove, Sr.; Logan Piper, Vacaville, Sr.; Bryson Reif, Yuba City, Sr.; Cooper Robinson, Folsom, Sr.; Tyler Stewart, Ponderosa, Sr.; Hunter Timothy, Pioneer, Sr.; Ryan Verdult, Del Oro, Sr.; Taylor Wake, Rocklin, Sr.; Gavin Wilhelm-Smith, West Campus, Jr.; Isaac Zaldivar, Vanden Jr.
Utility: Dominic Agrella, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Vincent Agrella, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Josh Alger, Roseville, Sr.; Frank Arcuri, Monterey Trail, Jr.; Alex Baeza, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Wyatt Bahlke, Woodcreek, Sr.; Trevor Baker, Bradshaw Christian, Sr.; Drake Bicknell, Jesuit, Sr.;Brandon Bigornia, Johnson, Sr.; Riley Bilaver, Casa Roble, Sr.; Ryan Bradford, River Valley, Jr.; Steven Brooks, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.; Landon Comer, Yuba City, Jr.; Joey Cox, El Camino, Sr.; Adam Davies, Oakmont, Sr.; Jeremy Davis, Inderkum, Jr.; Ezekiel Dutra, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Sam Frizzi, Elk Grove, Sr.; Jake Harvey, Woodcreek, Jr.;Isaac Hawthorne, Alpha Charter, So.; Matthew Jernigan, Cordova, Jr.; Jace Jones, Casa Roble, Jr.; Hunter Kelly, River City, Sr.; Brandon Larson, Rocklin, Jr.; Hunter Lee, Del Oro, Sr.;Jordan Lewis, Alpha Charter, Jr.; Anthony Lopez, McClatchy, Sr.; Noah Lucchesi, Laguna Creek, Sr.; Jackson Malchow, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Josh Maldanado, Natomas, So.; Sterling Fields, Johnson, Sr.; Zack Malone, Woodcreek, Jr.; Damian Martinez, Antelope, Jr.; Kurt Marton, Oakmont, So.; Austin McKinney, Pioneer, Sr.; Tyler Moore, Del Campo, Jr.; Devon Nelson, Mesa Verde, Sr.; Cameron Orr, Ponderosa, Sr.; Ethan Padilla, Bella Vista, Sr.; Ian Paule, Casa Roble, Sr.; Gabe Petrucelli, Rocklin, Sr.; Joe Plise, Granite Bay, Sr; Freddy Rodriguez, River City, Jr.; Elijah Rogalski, Rio Americano, Sr.Bryce Sabatke, River City, Fr.; Ben Silva, McClatchy, S.r; J.P. Smith, Granite Bay, Jr.; Nolan Stevens, Franklin, So.; Logan Sutter, Del Oro, Sr.; Jacob Tandy, Christian Brothers, Jr.; Carson Timothy, Pioneer, So.; Ty Tobey, Franklin, Sr.; Andrew Uharriet, Oak Ridge, Jr.; Gianni Vanacore, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Devon Walczykowski, Jesuit, Sr.; Matthew Walkup, Laguna Creek, Jr.Trevor Watkins, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.; J.T. Willis, Lincoln, Sr.; Tyler Wong, West Campus, Jr.; Logan Wurm, Christian Brothers, Sr.
THE BEE’S Final TOP 25
1. Elk Grove (23-4)
2. Woodcreek (22-4)
3. Franklin (20-8)
4. Granite Bay (20-7)
5. Rio Americano (25-2)
6. Pleasant Grove (18-10)
7. McClatchy (20-4)
8. Laguna Creek (18-3)
9. Placer (20-8)
10. Davis (18-10)
11. Rocklin (15-11)
12. Ponderosa (18-7)
13. Folsom (13-10-1)
14. Jesuit (15-13)
15. Del Campo (20-9)
16. Cosumnes Oaks (14-14)
17. Roseville (20-8)
18. Vista del Lago (14-13-1)
19. Oak Ridge (12-12)
20. Vanden (12-5)
21. River City (18-5)
22. Lincoln (16-12)
23. Bradshaw Christian (11-4)
24. West Campus (19-5)
25. Pioneer (12-3)
On the bubble: Alpha Charter (8-6),Bella Vista (9-13), Christian Brothers (13-14, Colfax (21-6), Cordova (15-9), Marysville (18-4), Nevada Union (8-12), Oakmont (13-12), Sutter (17-7), Vacaville (8-9)
This story was originally published June 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.