Bee’s Best girls’ basketball: Meet The Bee’s Player of the Year and the All-Metro teams
During last spring’s shortened season, Steve White made a bold statement.
After watching his star, Oak Ridge High School’s Teagan Brown, score 27 points in a win over Whitney, the longtime Trojans coach declared Brown was “the most-talented player I’ve ever coached.”
High praise for a program that has been a powerhouse in the Sacramento area since White’s arrival at Oak Ridge in the 1990s. The Trojans won a state championship in 2010 led by star Sara James, who went on to play at Stanford. Brown didn’t just live up to that hype — she exceeded it. The 5-foot-11 guard is The Bee’s Player of the Year after helping lead the Trojans to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division l championship over rival Folsom.
“It’s a well-deserved honor for her,” White said. “She has been one of the most dynamic and enjoyable players to watch. I talked to a couple of coaches yesterday and they said she is so fun to watch play the game of basketball. She goes hard and plays well. There is no arrogance or attitude. She is a solid person. She doesn’t try and showboat, she just has fun and works hard.”
White added, “What separates her is her ability, desire and passion to get better. She puts in a ton of work outside of what we do. She’s competitive and sets goals and works really hard to obtain those goals. She is a very driven person. I have had the opportunity to coach athletes that have a lot of talent but the work ethic wasn’t there. She has combined work ethic with talent. It has created some incredible basketball moments for her and our program.”
Brown accomplished a lot in her prep career, including being named Sierra Foothill League MVP three seasons in a row. In her final season, Brown averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds. She was the primary ball-handler, star defender and prolific scorer for a team that went 25-6 and played in the prestigious Northern California Open Division tournament.
El Dorado Hills has been home for Brown since she was 4 years old. Her family moved to the area from Iowa. It was years later, when Brown was in sixth grade, that she started playing the game she grew to love.
“I started playing in sixth grade to try it out,” Brown said. “I ended up loving it and my competitiveness makes me want to go harder every day. That’s what pushed me to the collegiate level.”
The last goal on her bucket list of a stellar prep career was to win a section title. She did that. Brown also helped her team upset longtime powerhouse Pinewood of Los Altos Hills in the opening round of the state tournament.
“Winning section my senior year was amazing,” Brown said. “My sophomore year was awesome, too. The trips that coach White took us on — it was just an amazing experience to play at Oak Ridge.”
Brown added on the praise from her coach, “I’m grateful that he thinks I’m (the best player he’s coached). It’s a good feeling.”
Brown still has plenty of basketball to play after graduating. She signed her letter of intent last fall to play on scholarship at Washington, where she will study environmental science because she “loves nature and wants to make it better.”
Her coaches at Washington envision her playing point guard, a role she is excited for.
“They’re thinking about putting me at point guard,” Brown said. (Washington fans can expect me) pushing it up the floor, getting backdoor cuts and just using my speed to my advantage because I’m not super big.”
Coach of the Year
The Sacramento Bee’s coach of the year is Laguna Creek’s Cody Norman, who led the Cardinals to the section Division ll championship and a 26-3 record. He helped build the foundation of the program four years ago when Ahrray Young and Zoe Tillery stepped on campus as freshmen. Norman graduated from Laguna Creek in 1997, the school’s first graduating class.
“Cody is a down-to-earth person,” Laguna Creek athletic director Jon Ussery said, adding of the coaching grind, “When you have been doing something that long for most of your adult life, it’s tough. He’s going to still help out and be an assistant. He still wants to be involved in the campus because his heart is at Laguna Creek.”
More Players of the Year
▪ Ahrray Young of Laguna Creek is The Bee’s Large School Player of the Year. She helped lead the Cardinals to a section championship, the program’s first in 19 seasons. The senior guard averaged 21.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
▪ Mary Carter of Antelope is The Bee’s Medium School Player of the Year. Carter helped Antelope reach the Division ll section championship game and the D-ll NorCal Regional finals. The junior averaged 24.8 points and 11.4 rebounds.
▪ Brianna Humphries of Dixon is The Bee’s Small School Player of the Year. Humphries helped the Rams win the D-lV section championship, the first in program history. The senior forward averaged 16.9 points and 8.8 rebounds for the 27-4 Rams.
▪ Audrey Harris from Faith Christian is The Bee’s Smallest School Player of the Year. Harris led the nation in scoring, averaging 46.3 points for the Yuba City school. The junior had multiple 60-point scoring performances.
▪ How the teams were selected: The Bee’s All-Metro teams were picked through personal observation of Bee staffers and from coaching nominations. Playoff success was also a primary factor. Players had to be nominated to make these teams.
THE SACRAMENTO BEE 2021-22 ALL-METRO TEAMS
Player of the Year
G Teagan Brown, Oak Ridge, Sr.
Large School Player of the Year
G Ahrray Young, Laguna Creek, Sr.
Medium School Player of the Year
F Mary Carter, Antelope, Jr.
Small School Player of the Year
G Brianna Humphries, Dixon, Sr.
Smallest School Player of the Year
G Audrey Harris, Faith Christian, Jr.
Coach of the year
Cody Norman, Laguna Creek
First team
F Madison Butcher, Del Oro, Sr.
G Alyssa Jackson, Vanden, Jr.
G Makayla Jackson, Folsom, Sr.
F Katie Leeth, Lincoln, Jr.
F Ella Ray, Oak Ridge, Sr.
G Zoe Tillery, Laguna Creek, Sr.
Second team
G Charlotte Climenhage, Folsom, Jr.
G Jada Hunter, Christian Brothers, Jr.
F Harper Peterson, Whitney, So.
F Julia Riley, Granite Bay, Sr.
G Kira Sadler, Vista del Lago, Sr.
G Saray White, McClatchy, Sr.
Third team
G Donnelli Allen, Capital Christian, Sr.
G Gabriella Biittner, Colfax, Sr.
F Nina Cain, McClatchy, Fr.
G Jocelyn Medina, Pierce, Jr.
F Keke Scott, Rocklin, Sr.
G Gracie Williams, Valley Christian, Sr.
Fourth team
G Kaia Foster, Christian Brothers, So.
G Lakayla Hale, Monterey Trail, Jr.
F Gabby Kime, Del Oro, Sr.
G Ava Rawlins, Folsom, Fr.
G Ella Skrzyniarz, Vista del Lago, Fr.
G Isabel Tan, Cosumnes Oaks, So.
Fifth team
G Juliana Chavez, Antelope, Sr.
F Jordan Foster, Bear River, Sr..
G Paige Krenecki, Del Campo, Sr.
G Sofia Lendahl, Vista del Lago, Sr.
G Abby O’Brien, Rio Americano, Sr.
F Tessa Schouten, Davis, So.
Honorable Mention: Mia Alvarez-Tostado, Casa Roble, Fr.; Aujanai Barnett, Highlands, Sr.; Madison Barr-Zeltvay, Lincoln, Sr.; Mara Bledsoe, Davis, Sr.; Ashleigh Briggs, Bella Vista, Sr.; Karisma Briggs, Marysville, Jr.; Quiana Brown, Natoms, So.; Soquel Childers, Pioneer, Sr.; Jessica Crannell, Oak Ridge, So.; Jiana Creswell, Vanden, Sr.; Sandra Dell, Placer, Sr.; Karine Dhaliwal, Yuba City, Jr.; Samaya Dillard, Antelope, So.; Sa’Nia Dixon, Sheldon, So; Leilani Edinburgh, West Campus, So.; Christina Edwards, Wood, Sr.; Gwen Fayard, Sacramento Adventist Sr.; Jakayla Gilmer, Laguna Creek, So.; Brynlie Headrick, Vacaville, Jr.; Maycee Heimann, Colfax, Jr.; Maya Hodge, Lincoln, So.; Samaya Jenkins, Valley, Fr.; Aaliyah Johnson, Inderkum, Sr.; Emily Ko, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.; Janie Ming, Dixon, Sr.; Marina Montez, Woodland, Sr.; Ryan Nair, Woodcreek, Fr.; Leah Nelson, Christian Brothers, So.; Jill Ngo, West Park, Fr.; Destiny Nichols, Valley, Jr.; Olivia Nicolas, Franklin, So.; Brooklynn Nordquist, Ponderosa, Fr.; Chidera Okoye, St. Francis, So.; Esa Otsuji, West Campus, Fr.; Julia Pisenti, Bear River, Sr.; Riley Prewit, Placer, Jr.; Becca Reed, Golden Sierra, Sr.; Kiari Roberts, Vanden, Sr.; Samia Smith, Grant, Sr.; Monet Stallworth, Grant, Sr.; Daysha Trujillo, Wheatland, Jr.; Patricia Turner, Inderkum, Sr.; Aubrey Wallace, El Dorado, Sr.; Jene Wells, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Kyalei Williams, Rio Linda, Sr.; Christelle Williams, Valley Christian, Sr.; Livi Wood. Del Oro, Sr.
THE BEE’S FINAL TOP 25
1. Oak Ridge 25-6
2. Folsom 26-4
3. Laguna Creek 26-3
4. Vanden 26-4
5. Antelope 26-7
6. Lincoln 30-4
7. Vista del Lago 26-4
8. Del Oro 23-9
9. McClatchy 20-7
10. Colfax 26-6
11. Christian Brothers 23-6
12. Dixon 27-4
13. Cosumnes Oaks 20-8
14. Whitney 15-15
15. Bear River 23-3
16. Granite Bay 15-13
17. Rocklin 11-13
18. Monterey Trail 18-9
19. Marysville 22-6
20. Valley Christian 22-3
Bubble teams: Capital Christian (18-12), El Dorado (21-8), Grant (17-11), Inderkum (16-13), Pioneer (17-11), Placer (19-11), Sacramento Adventist (26-7), St. Francis (14-12), Wood (13-11), Yuba City (15-10)
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.