Sports
Column: Peering into the crystal ball for 2025 high school sports predictions
It’s time to peer into my crystal ball to see what 2025 has in store for the Southland’s high school athletes (and a few former ones), coaches and fans.
Dominic Cadiz of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will hit so many home runs that he’ll get a name, image and likeness deal with Wheaties.
Sophomore Julius Truitt of Birmingham will become the second-most famous person named JuJu in Los Angeles when he hits above .400, steals double-digit bases and breaks a school record for triples in his first season as a varsity starter.
Corona will win the Southern Section Division 1 baseball championship, with Seth Hernandez earning praise as the Shohei Ohtani of high school baseball.
Win Gurney of Mira Costa, an Oregon State commit, will hit a home run so far that the ball will go missing until a Golden Retriever is brought in to find it.
Quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park will promise his dad all A’s on his report card and to never dump Gatorade on him when it’s cold if he gets a new truck.
A group of El Segundo Little Leaguers from the championship team of 2023 will enroll at Loyola, and white smoke will be seen rising from historic Ruppert Hall.
Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian will score 50 points in a girls’ basketball game, then get a shoe by Adidas in her honor.
The NFL draft on April 24 will feature two former Servite players, Mason Graham and Tetairoa McMillan, selected in the first round, causing their former coach, Troy Thomas, to sing the school fight song.
Quarterback Koa Malau’ulu of St. John Bosco will treat his group of talented receivers with so much love that he’ll buy them whatever they want from In-N-Out as long as the bill doesn’t exceed $150.
Brothers Jared (left) and Trent Grindlinger of Huntington Beach. Jared is a freshman pitcher. Trent is a junior catcher.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Grindlinger brothers, Trent and Jared, will hit back-to-back home runs for Huntington Beach, causing mom and dad to scream so loudly that the umpire will stop the game for a moment of calm.
Gary Morse, a 6-foot-8 junior pitcher for Orange Lutheran, will be compared to Tyler Glasnow.
Pitcher Addison Moorman of Granada Hills.
(Craig Weston)
Addison Moorman of Granada Hills will strike out 18 in a softball game.
Eighth-grader Ezrah Brown, the brother of Stanford quarterback Elijah Brown, and seventh-grader Ryu Sanchez, the brother of Columbia quarterback Caleb Sanchez, will continue their rise as youth quarterbacks as they move closer to the day of taking over the offenses at Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, respectively.
Former Sierra Canyon defensive back Kamari Ramsey will be an All-American for USC, then become a first-round draft pick in 2026.
Bell celebrates after defeating Birmingham in the City Section Open Division championship at Dodger Stadium.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Bell will become the first school outside the San Fernando Valley since Fremont in 1947 to win consecutive City Section upper division baseball championships.
Defensive lineman Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra will be so successful sacking quarterbacks that he will change his uniform number to 99.
Teagan O’Dell of Santa Margarita will end up with so many swimming medals around her neck that there will be a contest to guess how many.
Bishop Alemany freshman Demare Dezeurn displays his medal after winning the boys’ 100 meters in 10.47 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 20, 2024.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Demare Dezeurn of Bishop Alemany will be the fastest 100-meter runner in the Southern Section at age 16 as he blossoms under coach Terrell Stanley.
Nikolas Khamenia of Harvard-Westlake will set a record for triple-doubles in a season.
Lino Mark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Nick Koza)
Lino Mark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will receive an NIL deal for his hair.
Dylan Moreno of San Pedro will kick so many field goals that coach Corey Walsh will offer to serve as his holder at practice.
Birmingham and El Camino Real will meet again to determine the City Section boys’ soccer title and instead of the match ending in a fight, players will agree to shake hands as long as they get invited to the next World Cup.
Jaden Soong competes during the U.S. Open qualifier at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles on June 5, 2023.
(Brody Hannon)
Freshman golf phenom Jaden Soong of St. Francis will agree to a skins game against Charlie Woods sponsored by the SGA.
Cathedral sophomore quarterback Jaden Jefferson.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Quarterback Jaden Jefferson of Cathedral will throw for six touchdowns in a game, then do the Heisman pose.
Huntington Beach baseball coach Benji Medure will promise to try surfing if his team beats Corona.
Mater Dei left-hander Jackson Campbell will be a surprise pitching star because of his ability to throw strikes.
Softball standout Taelyn Holley of Murrieta Mesa, a Tennessee commit, will hit so many home runs that Erewhon will name a smoothie after her.
USC’s surprise freshman standout in baseball will be Augie Lopez from Loyola High.
Receiver will be the strongest position in Southern California football, led by the St. John Bosco group of Madden Williams, Carson Clark, Daniel Odom, Christian Davis and Darren Tubbs.
Corona Centennial football coach Matt Logan.
(Jeremiah Soifer )
Matt Logan of Corona Centennial will win his 300th career football game, then be presented with a new jersey, No. 300.
Sports
CM Punk to defend Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam
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CM Punk appeared on “Friday Night SmackDown” ready to take on any challenger that was ready to step to him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship against Sami Zayn.
Punk entered the ring in Oklahoma City and called back to the “Monday Night Raw” after WrestleMania 42 when he told Cody Rhodes he’d be ready to deliver if a championship opportunity fell “out of the sky.”
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Cody Rhodes and CM Punk face off during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
“When championship opportunities fall out of the sky, CM Punk catches them,” he said.
Punk named potential SmackDown superstars he’d think might come for the title, including Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keys, Damian Priest and Trick Williams. He even said that Zayn could come back around and get his rematch if he wanted. He didn’t mention Rhodes’ name, but the “American Nightmare” came out uncalled and marched his way down to the ring.
“I don’t think you and I can run away from each other anymore,” Punk told Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes looks on during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images)
Rhodes agreed and mentioned that Punk would want a match with him, just “say when.” It was a quick retort from Punk, who said, “when.” SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, who was in the ring for the segment, booked the match for SummerSlam.
Punk will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam, which takes place Aug. 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
First, however, Punk and Rhodes will be involved in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City next week. Aldis made the match after Gunther demanded that Aldis put him in a match against Punk. Gunther was hoping it would be for the championship. Instead, Gunther will tag with Zayn.
Gunther didn’t take too kindly to that and attacked Aldis. Rhodes came back out to break up the calamity. He wanted to take on Gunther after the show went off air but Gunther walked away.
Gunther makes his entrance during SmackDown at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on July 10, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE via Getty Images)
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Punk definitely has his hands full as he moves to SmackDown to become a fighting champion.
Sports
World Cup fans flock to In-N-Out, Erewhon and Trader Joe’s for a taste of California
World Cup tourists are coming to L.A. for the soccer, but they’re staying for the $21 smoothies and Double-Doubles.
As the last Los Angeles FIFA World Cup event ended Friday, soccer fans were eating like locals and famous chains from the region were cashing in.
In the weeks that L.A. has hosted the World Cup, international soccer enthusiasts have flocked to big brands from the area, often in large groups wearing their countries’ jerseys.
It is a phenomenon seen at many of the host cities. In Dallas, giant gas station Buc-ee’s is the main attraction. For people visiting New Jersey, deli shops have been a hot ticket. In L.A., the place to be between matches was Erewhon.
Thirsty international sports fans gathered for pictures outside different Erewhons, wandered their aisles smiling, and, of course, picked up pricey smoothies.
While Erewhon would not comment on its business, mobility data company Arity, which uses phone data to track consumers, said Erewhon visits at the outlets around SoFi Stadium were quadruple what they were a week earlier on June 12, the day of the U.S. national soccer team’s opening match there.
Arity looked at what stores people visited within a 10-mile radius of SoFi that day and also found surges in visitors to nearby El Pollo Loco and Trader Joe’s.
Locals have spotted groups of people in Korea jerseys huddled together, trying to decide what to order at In-N-Out.
Some complained on social media that international tourists at Trader Joe’s were buying up all the mini canvas tote bags.
Soon after the Belgium vs. Spain quarterfinal ended Friday, the In-N-Out near SoFi had a long line of soccer fans stretching out the door in bright red and yellow and black jerseys and matching striped hats and scarves.
One of the workers said he had to explain “spread” and “animal style” to foreign football fans.
“I didn’t know this place existed,” a fan from Romania said while waiting in line.
Los Angeles and other cities and states that have hosted the event need the soccer fans to spend money to make the event worth all the time, effort and money it requires.
A rosy 2024 report projected the World Cup could bring more than $800 million to the L.A. region as 180,000 people converge on the area to sleep, eat and spend.
There were early concerns people weren’t turning up for the event because of the high ticket prices and the difficulty of obtaining visas for citizens of some countries.
However, at least for some L.A. hotels, there was a surge of last-minute visitors which pushed up occupancy and room rates.
While sports fans are not in the region to shop, they do make time for it.
World Cup customer spending is also apparent in beer sales. Andrew Heritage, the chief economist at the Beer Institute said beer purchases at entertainment and attractions in L.A. – outside of World Cup spaces – were up around 10% from normal.
“That tells me that fans in the L.A. area have decided to extend their stay and take in all the other things that the area has to offer, rather than just the match itself,” he said.
On social media, the purpose of these shoppers is clear: grab a quick souvenir or local specialty and take a selfie.
The data from Arity suggests that fans are very efficient when they spend at local spots, diving in, getting what they want and getting out as soon as possible, said Jeff Schlitt, a director at the company.
“Normally you’re there for an hour. They’re going to be there for 15, 18 minutes,” he said. “Why is that? Because they were purpose-driven shoppers.”
For some travelers, the more popular American chains aren’t unfamiliar. But some of the native L.A. fare still comes as a surprise.
As one Belgium-Spain matchgoer from the Netherlands stood taking a picture of the In-N-Out sign after the game, he said he’d never had a burger like the one he’d just tried.
“We only have McDonald’s and Burger King,” he said. “It’s way better.”
Sports
Shohei Ohtani ruled out of MLB All-Star Game as Dodgers plan to manage nagging injury
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The face of baseball will not be at Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his start on Friday as the Los Angeles Dodgers said he will also miss the Midsummer Classic with what the team called left knee irritation.
Ohtani, for obvious reasons, has become an All-Star Game fixture. He has earned the honor in each of the past five seasons and made his first start in 2021.
Starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up before the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The two-way phenom is on his way to winning his fifth MVP award in his last six seasons as he is hitting .290 with a .939 OPS and pitching to a minuscule 1.79 ERA, the second-lowest in the sport among pitchers with 80-plus innings. His OPS is also the seventh-best mark in the league.
The Dodgers said Ohtani will be the team’s designated hitter up until the break, but he will “have some interventions on his knee to put him in the best position for the second half of the season.”
Ohtani dealt with knee issues earlier in the season.
It is certainly a big hit for the game as the other face of the sport, Aaron Judge, will miss the game due to a fractured rib that has kept him out since late May.
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets ready in the on deck circle against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on June 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) (Norm Hall/Getty Images)
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Ohtani hit 99 home runs combined in 2024 and 2025, leading the National League with a 1.025 OPS in that span. Ohtani did not pitch in 2024 after elbow surgery but returned to the bump last year and owned a 2.87 ERA and 11.9 K/9, a figure he also put up in 2022 that led the American League.
The “Japanese Babe Ruth” is the only player in MLB history to have 300-plus plate appearances and 40-plus innings in six separate seasons (Ruth only did it twice and never stole 50 bases), and he has more than excelled at both.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on May 13, 2026. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
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Ohtani is not hitting like he has in the past, but certainly the best pitching performance of his career will make up for it. He “only” has 20 homers and 56 RBI this season.
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