The Sacramento Bee’s Best: All-Metro baseball honors for schools small, medium and large
Just like last season, there was a bump in the road for Malcolm Moore’s McClatchy High School baseball team this past season.
The 2021 season for the Lions was delayed and shortened because of COVID-19. This year, a Sacramento City Unified School District teacher strike paused all academic and athletic events for more than a week.
Both seasons had the same result, in a way. Moore is The Sacramento Bee’s Baseball Player of the Year, an honor he earned last season. Moore is also the two-time California Gatorade baseball player of the year.
The graduated senior catcher helped lead McClatchy to a 29-5 record. The Lions made it to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division l championship by knocking off top-seeded Franklin. It was McClatchy’s first appearance in the section final since 1998, well before Moore was born.
The hype around Moore started as a freshman, when he was an anchor on a team that reached the section semifinals. Because the pandemic wiped out the postseason the last two years, Moore was one of the only players who had postseason experience prior to the tournament.
“If I was going to compare all four years, there was definitely an improvement and his power and leadership,” McClatchy coach Mike de Necochea. “By the time he was a senior, he was the complete package. I thought his receiving and pitch-calling was exceptional.”
In his final prep season, Moore hit .500 with 47 hits, 51 RBIs and had a section-leading 13 home runs. In his 94-game varsity career, Moore had 131 hits and 147 RBIs.
“It’s a great honor,” Moore said of earning player of the year honors. “During the season I’m not thinking about the honors because I just want to win games. Now it’s good to look back on my season and think man that was really special. It’s really awesome to be grouped with these players The Sac Bee (picked) for player of the year.”
He added, “There’s a rich history at McClatchy. This year was special and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. So will our coaches and alumni who were at our games.”
Moore is awaiting what his next move may be. He signed a national letter of intent with Stanford last year but is receiving major buzz for next month’s MLB draft. According to MLB.com, Moore is ranked the 53rd-best draft prospect.
Despite being one of the best players on the board, it will be more complicated than that if he wants to forgo his college career. High school catchers are the one position group that rarely gets taken early in the draft. Jesuit catcher Daniel Susac in 2020 turned down potential big money and went to the University of Arizona. Susac and Moore are two of the top projected area prospects in this draft.
If a high school prospect elects to go to college, they either have to spend three years at a four-year college or be 21 years old before they can be taken. Moore says that if he goes to Stanford, he hopes to study business, but all undergrads come into the school as an undeclared major until they’re a junior.
Moore recently attended the MLB Draft Combine in San Diego. He didn’t work out for teams but met with MLB clubs. Day one of the MLB Draft is July 17.
His coach is an advocate for Moore and has had high praise for him since he stepped on campus. He says Moore exceeded expectations despite having dozens of MLB scouts in attendance on dozens of occasions.
“He did get a lot of attention being the state player of the year,” de Necochea said. “Everybody knows who you are. What’s so amazing is all the pressure that was on him this year, he was still able to match his totals from last year and exceed some of them. He was an incredible start before the shutdown because of the strike.”
The coach added on the influx of scouts in attendance at McClatchy games, “In the beginning, it was like, ‘Wow.’ Then it kept growing. Then after it started to dwindle down … they stopped coming because they had made their decisions and homework. Decisions were already made.”
There is a notable history for McClatchy baseball players going on to successful careers. He might go down as one of the best to ever play in red and white. That doesn’t particularly matter to Moore. For now, he’s savoring the relaxation with being done and the anticipation of what’s next.
“This year was special and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. So will our coaches and alumni who were at our games. … I’m glad school is over. It was really fun. It’s kind of a bittersweet ending. But it’s exciting … pretty much excited for whatever (is next).”
All-Metro baseball team
* 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, Sr.
Coach of the Year: Jackson Watt, Whitney. He led Whitney to its first section baseball championship. In his first four years, Whitney only won 24 games total. This year, Whitney went 28-6 and ended the season as The Bee’s top-ranked team. The Wildcats return their core players next season.
Large School Player of the Year: Nolan Stevens, Franklin, Jr. He was one of the top two-way players in the area. The junior, who has verbally committed to defending national champion Mississippi State, had 30 hits, drove in 32 runs and went 9-1 on the mound with 86 strikeouts. He will be one of the top prospects in the 2023 MLB draft.
Medium School Player of the Year: Matt Moses, Del Campo, Jr. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore last spring and followed it up with an even more impressive season. Moses was an anchor on Del Campo’s section championship team, had 47 hits and went 6-1 on the mound.
Small School Player of the Year: Malachi Fuller, Bradshaw Christian, Sr. He was named the MVP of the Sierra Valley Conference after amassing 30 hits and 22 RBIs. Fuller also lead his team in runs scored on Bradshaw Christian’s run to a CIF NorCal Regional championship.
Smaller School Player of the Year: Jaxon Byrd, Alpha Charter, Sr. Byrd surely left his legacy on a school that shut down at the end of the academic year. The Sacramento State-bound player helped lead his school to a section championship win and a spot in the Division lll NorCal final.
First team
Erick Deiz, Vanden, P, Sr.
Sebastian Edwards, Lincoln, P, Sr.
Preston Fondren, Granite Bay, UTL, Sr.
Brandon Forrester, Jesuit, INF, Sr.
Jace Gillmore, Whitney, P, Jr.
Jake Harvey, Woodcreek, UTL, Sr.
Gabe Henderson, McClatchy, UTL, Sr.
Hayden Hughes, Del Campo, UTL, Sr.
Tyler James, Vanden, INF, Sr.
Kaden Knapp, Vista del Lago, P, Sr.
Brandon Larson, Rocklin, UTL, Sr.
Jake Marr, Rio Americano, UTL, Sr.
Kurt Marton, Oakmont, UTL, Jr,
Gavin McLendon, Whitney, UTL, Sr.
Jackson Nichols, Valley Christian, UTL, Jr.
Freddy Rodriguez, River City, UTL, Sr.
Mike Santos LaPlaca, Kennedy, UTL, Jr.
Braeden Sloan, Woodcreek, P, Sr.
J.P. Smith, Granite Bay, INF, Sr.
Noah Souza, Colfax, P, Sr.
Carson Timothy, Pioneer, P, Jr.
Korey Williams, Elk Grove, UTL, Sr.
Second team
Conner Barth, Woodcreek, UTL, So.
Jack Brooks, Vanden, UTL, Sr.
Colin Callahan, Folsom, UTL, Jr.
Julian Carmona, McClatchy, UTL, Sr.
David Centeno, Roseville, UTL, Sr.
Brian Chin, Davis, UTL, Jr.
Jaxon Finely, Marysville, UTL, Sr.
Jon Handy, Placer, P, So.
Jordan Jacobson, Del Campo, UTL, Sr.
Matt Jernigan, Cordova, UTL, Jr.
Brent Jones, Oak Ridge, P, Sr.
Jordy Lopez, Franklin, P, So.
Shon Lor, McClatchy, UTL, Jr.
Zack Malone, Woodcreek, UTL, Sr.
Tyler Moore, Del Campo, UTL, Sr.
Chase Nye, Nevada Union, INF, Jr.
Brett Ott, Granite Bay, INF, Sr.
Aiden Russell, Vacaville, UTL, Sr.
Kenny Winters, Lincoln, INF, So.
Honorable mention: Nic Abraham, Franklin, So,; Tyler Allen, Whitney, Jr.;Drew Anderson Vista del Lago, Sr,; Connor Babler, Sutter, Sr.; Chase Bentley Granite Bay, Fr.; Griffin Brown, Pleasant Grove, Sr.; Kade Brown Elk Grove, Sr.;Eli Campbell, Cordova, Jr.;Dillon Castellanos, Whitney, Sr.; Alfredo Cervantes, Cordova, Jr.; Ryan Christiansion, Rio Americano, Sr.; Kaden Clive, Delta, So.; Ruben Contreas, Inderkum, Sr.;Jacob Cullen, Vista del Lago, Sr.; Tyler Davis, Vista del Lago, Sr.; Tyson DeWall, Folsom, Sr; Bennie Dyer, Vacaville, Jr.;Jaren Ekkelboom, Del Oro, Sr.; Jake Fields, Oak Ridge, Jr.; Tyler Finley, Delta, Jr.; Brent Gallegos, Yuba City, Jr.; Gabe Garcia, Colfax, Jr.; Jax Gimenez, Whitney, Jr.; Davis Grawey, Rio Americano, Sr.; Logan Hearney, West Park, Jr.; Parker Hellekson, Roseville, Jr.; David Henry, El Camino, Sr.; Jaylon Hodges, McClatchy, Jr.; A.J.Hutcheson, Elk Grove, Sr.; Carter Imbach, Woodland, Jr.; Darius Jacobs, Marysville, Jr.; Jace Jones, Casa Roble, Sr.; Tony Lira, Oakmont, So.; Ethan Louie, Woodcreek, Jr.; Marcus Maeder, Colfax, Jr.; Thomas Martinez, Del Campo, Sr.; Logan McCord, Del Campo, Sr.; Cowen Meyer, Placer, Jr.; Manny Montanez, Cosumnes Oaks, Sr.; Gio Munoz, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Danny Myles, Oakmont, Sr.; Micah Nicholson, Bradshaw Christian, So.; Ryan Okino, Sheldon, Jr.; Toran O’Haran, Rocklin, Sr.; Daniel Paul, Bella Vista, Jr.; Chase Pfeifer, Colfax, Sr.; Brady Ranallo, Roseville, Jr.; Braden Frank, Oak Ridge, Sr.; Bobby Romitti, Vista del Lago, Sr.; Logan Sabatke, River City, Sr.; Santiago Sandoval, Center, Jr.; Shane Saunders, Whitney, Jr.; Kyle Seo, Inderkum, Sr.; Brandon Silva, McClatchy, Jr.; Aiden Sinor, Antelope, Jr.; Andrew Sloan, Jesuit, Sr.; Connor Smith, Alpha Charter, Sr.; Austin Stapleton, Woodland, Jr.; Jake Tandy, Christian Brothers, Sr.; Leighton Tarke, Sutter, Sr.; Cole Tyler, Marysville, Sr.; Andy Uharriet, Oak Ridge, Sr.; Matthew Walkup, Laguna Creek, Sr.; JT Wright, Rio Americano, Sr.; Ryan Zamora, Elk Grove, Sr.; Nick Zuccaro, Ponderosa, Jr.
The Bee’s Final Top 25
1. Whitney 28-6
2. Granite Bay 21-14
3. Del Campo 29-6
4. Woodcreek 25-3
5. McClatchy 29-5
6. Franklin 24-7
7. Vanden 29-6
8. Vista del Lago 23-7
9. Elk Grove 20-9
10. Oak Ridge 17-15
11. Alpha Charter 29-4
12. Rio Americano 21-13
13. Bradshaw Christian 26-4
14. Marysville 26-6
15. Jesuit 18-12
16. Folsom 13-17
17. Oakmont 20-9
18. Placer 18-12
19. Rocklin 15-14
20. Vacaville 15-15
21. River City 21-7
22. Roseville 16-14
23. Pioneer 15-8
24. Lincoln 18-11
25. Ponderosa 18-13
Bubble teams: Bella Vista (14-13-1), Casa Roble (15-12), Colfax (18-11), Cordova (20-6-2), Davis (12-17), Del Oro (12-16), Delta (21-5), Laguna Creek (11-14), Sutter (25-7-1), Yuba City (16-12).
This story was originally published June 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.