HB quartet commit to programs

Four members of the Huntington Beach High baseball program got their recruiting process out of the way early by recently committing to three NCAA Division 1 schools.

Oilers Head Coach Benji Medure said Logan Pouelsen and Hagen Danner both committed to UCLA, Jake Brodt to Santa Clara, and Noah Davis to UC Santa Barbara.

“I am very proud of all four of them,” Medure said. “I am pumped that they will have an opportunity to continue their baseball careers. One of my goals as a head coach is to get my players to the best school possible and all four of these guys picked great schools, not only for baseball but to get a great education.”

Pouelsen, a third baseman, had a standout freshman year last spring. He hit .387 and was named the Sunset League’s Rookie of the Year.

Brodt, a first baseman who is starting his senior year, hit .366 and was named second team all-league as a junior.

Davis, a pitcher, is now a junior and Danner, a catcher, is entering his freshman year at Huntington.

“It is nice to get this [recruitment] out of the way early and commit to a school I’ve always wanted to go to,” Pouelsen said of UCLA. “I just loved it there when I walked onto the campus, and saw the facilities when I went on a tour. Coach [John] Savage and all the coaches are just great. I’m really excited.”

Savage coached UCLA to its first national championship in baseball in June when the Bruins won the College World Series at Omaha, Neb. That team included former Oiler, freshman Brett Urabe who was an all-Sunset League player at Huntington and graduated from the school in 2012.

Another former Oiler, Beau Amaral, had a three-year career at UCLA and played in two (2010, 2012) College World Series. Amaral was drafted in the seventh round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.

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Football

Edison has been selected as part of the game package for the Ford CIF Southern Section Game of the Week for the 2013 prep football season. FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket, in partnership with the CIF Southern Section, announced its 16-game television schedule Aug. 22.

Edison’s Sept. 27 nonleague game against Mater Dei at Santa Ana Bowl will be televised by FOX Sports 1. Calling the game action will be MLB on FOX play-by-play announcer Daron Sutton and analyst Ben Leber, a former NFL linebacker who also is part of FOX College Football on FOX College Sports (FCS).

The Edison-Mater Dei game also will re-air on FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket during the week following the matchup.

“It’s exciting to be part of the Game of the Week and playing Mater Dei. We’re looking forward to a great matchup,” Edison Coach Dave White said.

The 17th season of the Game of the Week starts Friday when Corona Santiago plays host to Newhall Hart at 8:30 p.m. on FOX Sports West. The televised game schedule includes three CIF Southern Section divisional championship games ending with the Pac-5 Conference final Dec. 7.

The High School Spotlight Scoreboard show returns to the lineup this fall and will be telecast following postgame coverage each week.

Preseason Football Rankings

The 2013 CIF Southern Section preseason prep football divisional rankings were released Tuesday and defending champion Edison enters the season with the top ranking in the Southwest Division. Also ranked among the top 10 in the poll are Huntington Beach, which comes in tied for the No. 6 spot with Placentia Valencia, and Sunset League teams Los Alamitos (No. 5) and Newport Harbor (No. 8).

Fountain Valley received votes in the Southwest Division poll but did not crack the top 10.

Southwest Division preseason poll: 1. Edison; 2. La Habra; 3. Villa Park; 4. Foothill; 5. Los Alamitos; 6T. Huntington Beach and Placentia Valencia; 8. Newport Harbor; 9. Tustin; 10. Yorba Linda. Others: Capistrano Valley, Fountain Valley, Esperanza, Laguna Hills.