Santa Barbara's Derek True was named to the All-CIF Southern Section team on Thursday, after posting a 9-1 record this spring. KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE
Santa Barbara's Will Rottman was named an All-CIF Southern Section pick on Thursday.
Santa Barbara High volleyball star Will Rottman and baseball pitcher Derek True were both named to All-CIF Southern Section teams on Thursday.
Rottman, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, was tabbed to the Division 1 team after powering the Dons boys volleyball team to the playoff semifinals.
He had 39 kills in a four-game, quarterfinal victory over third-seeded Corona del Mar, the two-time defending champion. He added 25 more kills in a four-game, semifinal loss to second-ranked Mira Costa.
Rottman, who has been recruited to play at Stanford next year, was also named most valuable player at Santa Barbara’s Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions. His 27 kills helped beat highly ranked Loyola in the final. It marked the Dons’ first title in the prestigious tournament since 2005.
Just a few weeks earlier, Rottman helped Santa Barbara advance to the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 3A basketball playoffs.
“I think that made me a little more hungry,” Rottman said. “I went into basketball every day obviously being competitive but it was good to be there to have fun, too.
“Once volleyball season came around, I was a little more hungry and that’s helped me a lot, actually.”
True posted a win-loss pitching record of 9-1 in 13 starts, leading the Dons to a 17-10-1 record and their first Channel League championship since 2011. He finished his Santa Barbara High career with a varsity record of 15-1.
The 6-foot-2 and 175-pound right-hander signed a national letter of intent to play at Cal Poly after a stellar club season last summer with Laguna Niguel’s Baseball Performance Academy team.
“My command has really been a key factor this year, which helps a lot for pitch counts and what-not,” True said. “I’m able to spot my fastball a lot better, and spin breaking balls down to get swings and misses early in the count. I’m better able to finish now, which has really helped, too.”
TRACK AND FIELD
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
UCSB senior Hope Bender warmed up for today’s start of the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Tex. by placing 24th in the women’s long jump on Thursday with a leap of 5.73 meters (18 feet, 91/4 inches).
She is seeded third the heptathlon, a two-day event which begins this afternoon with the 100-meter hurdles.
UCSB’s Tyler Nelson had to pull out of the men’s decathlon on Thursday after pulling a hamstring muscle in his right leg during Wednesday’s competition. He was in 16th place with 3,791 points after the first four events.
