Bee’s Best: Meet the 2026 All-Metro Boys Basketball Teams and Players of the Year
Baron Sabir could come with a warning label.
The Sheldon High School basketball star is two different people. There is the non-game version of the junior shooting guard who blended in with his peers on the Elk Grove Unified School District campus as a good spirit and good student, polite and friendly.
In games, he’s not so friendly.
He says little during games, but his game speaks for itself, and it’s a loud, emphatic sound of scoring and success. Sabir is The Sacramento Bee’s Player of the Year because he was the best player on the best team in the Sacramento region, and for his ability to light up the scoreboard. His efforts helped the Huskies charge back to regional prominence, including a return trip to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship and inclusion in the CIF Northern California Open Division, the highest classification on the menu.
At 6-foot-4, Sabir could shoot over other guards, and he could drive past them. He was among the top scorers in Northern California, averaging 24.2 points. But he could do more than fill up the net, including dropping 41 points in a game against rival Monterey Trail. Sabir also averaged 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals in earning Delta League MVP honors.
Before the league season even started, Sabir was making noise across the state. He was the Edison Winter Classic MVP, the Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland Tournament MVP and the Rancho Mirage Holiday Classic MVP — a three-game stretch in which he scored 110 points, including 19 made 3-pointers. He scored 30 or more eight times, had five games in which he had six or more 3-pointers, and he scorched Folsom in the second half of a section Division I semifinal, finishing with 30 points.
“Baron’s just a dog,” Sheldon coach Joey Rollings said in the most complimentary of ways, including competing with the snarling efforts of a junkyard dog protecting his turf.
What made Sabir go is his relentless drive to be great. He dribbles a ball even while walking home, or in the park, in the dark and in the cold, until his mother, Jinelle Sabir, calls him in. He is inspired by his mother, a star player for Brea Olinda High School in Orange County who played on scholarship at UC Irvine.
“Mom taught me a lot about the game, about being a good student, and she’s my biggest fan,” Sabir said.
Rollings said Sabir’s ceiling is high. For one thing, he’s still growing.
“He wants it,” the coach said. “We try to get him to take it easy, to rest. He just smiles. He doesn’t rest.”
Myles Wiggins of DCA is Large School Player of Year
Myles Wiggins capped his four-year varsity career in style, clutching onto a piece of the section Division II championship banner and embracing the championship cap after helping power Destiny Christian Academy of Sacramento past Jesuit at Golden 1 Center.
He is The Bee’s Large School Player of the Year, able to score on inside moves, on jumpers, on fast breaks and from above the rim as a crowd-pleasing thunder dunker.
“It feels so good to win,” he said excitedly after the Lions topped Jesuit for the title at Golden 1 Center. “You work so hard for things like this.”
Wiggins averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds for the 24-9 Lions, who tied McClatchy for the Metro League championship.
Placer’s Rector and Rose share Medium School honors
Kannon Rector and Emmett Rose were a lethal 1-2 punch for the Placer Hillmen of Auburn, and in leading their storied school to its first section championship since 1988, it is fitting that they share The Bee’s Medium School Player of the Year honors.
Placer won the section Division III championship at Golden 1 Center with the guards doing their thing, often in spectacular fashion. Rose averaged 17.7 points and Rector 17.0 to go with 4.9 rebounds and a team-high 5.8 assists for a 29-4 team that ranks as one of the finest in program history. Rose set school records for 3-point shooting and Rector set program marks for assists.
In beating Beyer of Modesto in the D-III finals, Rector scored 9 points and had 12 rebounds, and Rose had 16 points and helped run the show.
“We’ll always remember this,” Rector said that night.
Manno Jenkins is Small School Player of Year
Someday, Manno Jenkins may have his jersey retired at Natomas for what he accomplished over four varsity starting seasons for the Nighthawks.
A guard, Jenkins is the school’s all-time career scorer with 2,055 points, and he played in three CIF State tournaments. As a senior, Jenkins was the driving force behind the Nighthawks winning the section Division IV championship at Golden 1 Center, and he is The Bee’s Small School Player of the Year.
Jenkins averaged 10.1 points as a freshman, 18.8 as a sophomore, 18.3 as a junior and 19.5 this season to go with 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.1 steals.
“He’s the heart and soul of our program,” Natomas coach Brian McKenzie said.
Natomas went 25-10 in facing a brutal schedule against state and regional powerhouse programs.
Luke Smith of Victory Christian is Smallest School Player of Year
Luke Smith was the engine that propelled a small school tucked away in Carmichael, so small in enrollment in grades 9-12 with fewer than 100 students that Victory Christian does not field a football program.
But it does have quite the boys basketball program, and Smith was the star. He is The Bee’s Smallest School Player of the Year for his ability to rise to the occasion in the biggest game, though he had a lot of help in skilled and bruising senior teammate Daniel Kapelkin.
Smith averaged 23.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.1 steals for the 25-4 Vikings. He scored 22 point in the section Division VI title game at Golden 1 Center, a 74-66 overtime effort over Sacramento Adventist Academy. His four late free throws iced it, giving the program its fifth section crown in eight title game appearances.
In a NorCal playoff game, Smith scored 28 in a 73-59 loss to St. Vincent de Paul of Petaluma.
“It was all of us that got us here and made history,” Smith said after the title game at Golden 1, sounding every bit like a team leader.
Folsom’s Mike Wall is Coach of the Year
Mike Wall is a taskmaster on the fundamentals of the sport, a master of his craft as one of this region’s greatest coaches with 574 career wins and a full trophy case.
He is The Bee’s Coach of the Year for how his team played unselfishly and relentlessly, including holiday tournament success in Southern California and winning the rugged Sierra Foothill League at 14-0 before staging an epic run in the CIF State tournament.
Folsom lost a tight section Division I semifinal to powerhouse Sheldon, and then charged through the NorCal Division I bracket to emerge as the only boys team in the 200-member Sac-Joaquin Section to reach a CIF State final this season. Folsom lost to Southern Section heavyweight Damien High of Los Angeles County, 58-55, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort of fundamentals. Folsom finished the season 29-7 and ranked second in the region to Sheldon.
Wall called his team “a great group” that “played beautiful basketball, the right way.”
“A fun, great group to be around. I’ll miss the seniors,” Wall said after the title game. “I’m going to miss them a lot. They showed what can happen when you play the right way. They’re a model of how you play the game of basketball.”
Others considered for Coach of the Year: Also in the running for Bee honors included Tony Vaughn of McClatchy, who led the Lions to their best season in more than 25 years at 24-5; Nate Swesey, who led Placer to its first section title in 38 years; Joey Rollings, who coached The Bee’s top-ranked team back to a NorCal Open tournament; Ken Manfredi, who led Franklin to the best season in the 22-year history of the school at 28-5, and Rich Sondhi, who in his first season, led Destiny Christian to the section Division II championship.
Sacramento Bee 2026 Boys Basketball All-Metro Honors
Player of the Year
Baron Sabir, Sheldon, Jr.
Large School Players of the Year
Myles Wiggins, Destiny Christian Academy, Sr.
Medium School Co-Players of the Year
Kannon Rector, Placer, Jr.
Emmett Rose, Placer, Sr.
Small School Player of the Year
Manno Jenkins, Inderkum, Sr.
Smallest School Player of the Year
Luke Smith, Victory Christian, Sr.
Coach of the Year
Mike Wall, Folsom
First Team All-Metro
Kai Bradford, McClatchy, Sr.
William Phillips, Sacramento, Fr.
Aiden Rollins, Franklin, Sr.
Joven Dulay, Folsom, Sr.
Max VanLaningham, Woodcreek, Sr.
Juleeyan Williams, Monterey Trail, Fr.
Second Team All-Metro
Micah Boman, Twelve Bridges, Jr.
Jordan Boyce, McClatchy, Sr.
Tae Carter, Sheldon, Sr.
Jaeden Goodman, Inderkum, Sr.
Jack Shull, Folsom, Sr.
Brandon Williams, Jesuit, Sr.
Third Team All-Metro
Zech Beatty, Sheldon, Sr.
Fred Blue III, Destiny Christian, Sr.
Lucas Cutler, Oak Ridge, So.
Andre Gomez, Grant, Sr.
Maison Phillips, Jesuit, So.
Parks Weaver, Folsom, So.
Fourth Team All-Metro
Josiah Andrews, Rocklin, Sr.
Ian Engh, Rio Americano, Sr.
Templeton Fontaine V, Vanden, Sr.
Joe Manley, Placer, Sr.
Mikey Root, Del Oro, Sr.
Benjamin Sandy, Franklin, Sr.
Fifth Team All-Metro
Malichai Brown, Antelope, Sr.
Alec Day, Folsom, Sr.
Michael Kirby, Jr., Woodcreek, Sr.
Tariq Lofton, Casa Roble, Sr.
Joaquin Lucero-Mattis, Christian Brothers, Jr.
Tyler Ritter, Roseville, Sr.
Sixth Team All-Metro
Aldin Bubic, Oakmont, Sr.
Kejshaun Brooks, Sheldon, Jr.
Mason Pearcy, Casa Roble, Sr.
Zach Villanueva, West Campus, Sr.
Vinny Seyford, Del Campo, Sr.
Mark Williams, Nevada Union, Sr.
How the teams were selected: The Bee’s All Metro Teams were chosen based on personal observation, local media and coaches’ input, playoff team success and stats entered into MaxPreps.
Honorable Mentions
Gus Bailey, Rosemont, Jr.; Malakai Baker, Woodland Christian, Sr.; Ben Beasley, El Dorado, Sr.; Josiah Blackwell, Adventure Christian, So.; Andre Brooks, Antelope, Sr.; Zach Bualat, Woodcreek, Jr.; James Carraway, Vanden, Sr.; Trey Howell-Chase, Rio Americano, Jr.; Marvin Crump, Grant, Fr.; Daniel Deenjalba, Mira Loma, Sr.; Wyatt Griffiths, Delta, Sr.; Josiah Haliburton, Burbank, Sr.; Brendan Hawkins, Del Oro, Jr.; Noah Hargrove, McClatchy, Sr.; Marcus Harris, Natomas, Fr.; Tomari Harris, Foothill, Sr.; Braeden Hennelly, Christian Brothers, Jr.; Gavyn Hoenig, Oak Ridge, Sr.; Brendan Hooper, Forest Lake Christian, Jr.; Cobe James, Grant, Sr.; Ezrah Kaheaku, Antelope, Jr.; Mohamed Kamara, Destiny Christian, Sr.; Daniel Kapelkin, Victory Christian, Sr.; Nadir Lockhart, Grant, Sr.; Mathias MacPahil, Elk Grove, Sr.; Steven Martin, Marysville, Jr.; Ryan McCarty, El Dorado, Sr.; Joseph McNeal, Oakmont, Jr.; Anthony Moore, Futures, So.; Damajae Moses, Cordova, Sr.; So.; Keyaan Moulla, Del Oro, Fr.; Scott Nardinelli, Folsom, Sr.; Goshen Nealy, Faith Christian, Fr.; Preston Palmer, Sutter, So.; Santiago Espinoza-Palomera, Encina, So.; Aiden Panock, Del Campo, Sr.; Cole Patterson, Union Mine, Sr.; Melvir Pooni, Pioneer, Jr.; Sahib Randhawa, Jesuit, Sr.; Baron Roseborough, Monterey Trail, Sr.; Drew Veronie, River City, Jr.; Caleb Serna, Sacramento Adventist, So.; Kwali Simmons, Franklin, Jr.; Kyler Simpton, Colfax, So.; Brock Strauch, Whitney, Jr.; Damare Taylor, Sacramento, Sr.; Tavin Thomas, Del Campo, Sr.; Ace Villegas, Casa Roble, Sr.; Mason Volzer, Lincoln, So.; Jack Walker, Jesuit, Sr.; Aeron Wallace, Natomas, Jr.; Jayden Washington, Oakmont, Fr.; JJ Yong, Roseville, Sr.
Special recognition
Jaden DeJesus-Eves of Christian Brothers had the potential and promise to be a multi-time Bee All-Metro pick, but, sadly, he died in his sleep during the section playoffs.
Known for his broad smile and good spirit, the 6-foot-8 DeJesus-Eves averaged 9.6 points for the Falcons, and he led the team in rebounds (7.4) and blocked shots (1.5).
The Bee’s Final Top 20
1. Sheldon (27-6)
2. Folsom (29-7)
3. Destiny Christian (24-9)
4. Franklin (28-5)
5. McClatchy (24-5)
6. Jesuit (22-11)
7. Placer (29-4)
8. Sacramento (23-10)
9. Vanden (23-7)
10. Woodcreek (24-9)
11. Monterey Trail (14-14)
12. Natomas (25-10)
13. Whitney (20-10)
14. Antelope (22-8)
15. Casa Roble (24-6)
16. Inderkum (21-9)
17. Del Oro (16-14)
18. Twelve Bridges (25-5)
19. Oak Ridge (16-13)
20. Oakmont (27-2)
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 5:00 AM.