For the first time since its 2019 NCAA approval, California is holding two June Scholastic Live period events.
The Girls California Live 23 for high school basketball teams will be held June 15-17 at the 12-court Roebbelen Center in Roseville. A separate boys event, Boys California Live 23, will be held June 16-18 at high schools in Orange County.
The NCAA certified scholastic boys basketball events in 2019, but the California Interscholastic Federation opted not to participate until the opportunity was extended to girls as well. The Girls California Live 23 was sanctioned on March 24 and is being produced by the Bay Area Basketball Coaches Association and is being coordinated by its president, Randal Bessolo, the boys head coach at
University (San Francisco).
Girls California Live 23 is limited to high school teams from California that are full CIF members and select schools from Nevada, Oregon and Hawaii that are members of their state associations. It is intended to showcase teams with Division I college prospects but also lower level prospects as well. The application process is
available here.
Longtime California sportswriter Harold Abend and
Priory (Portola Valley) girls head coach Buck Matthews will serve as co-tournament directors.
Archbishop Mitty coach Sue Phillips is among the advisors to the Girls California Live 23 scholastic viewing event in June in Roseville. The Monarchs are among a host of teams participating in the first event in California. (Photo: Ralph Thompson)
The format consists of multiple divisions playing similar schools based on a competitive equity model, playing a predetermined showcase format to accommodate Division I college coaches. One goal of Girls California Live 23 is to provide a platform for high school student-athletes to demonstrate their talent in front of NCAA women's basketball coaches in a scholastic setting with their high school teams.
The Coaches Advisory Board is chaired by Maya Fork of
St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco) and includes Sue Phillips of
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), Terri Bamford of
La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla), Kevin Kiernan of
Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Chris Roemer of
Lincoln (Stockton), Monica Mertle of
Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa), Marlon Wells of
Rancho Christian (Temecula), Bryan Gardere of
Piedmont, Mary Hile-Nepfel of
University (San Francisco), Christopher Kroesch of
Mission Hills (San Marcos), Jerica Williams of
Windward (Los Angeles), Kristina Santiago of
St. Joseph (Santa Maria) and Brittany Woodard of
St. Francis (Sacramento).
For more information about Girls California Live 23, including event applications deadlines, team announcements and schedules, follow them on Instagram @girlscalifornialive and Twitter
girlscalilive.
