Arizona
The Arizona Republic’s girls’ high school basketball players of the week: Jan. 30
January concluded with a busy week in Arizona girls’ high school basketball, full of explosive scoring outputs and heroic performances in big games. Here are the top players of the week in the state:
Trinity Alfaro, Surprise Highland Prep: Alfaro scored 27 points in a win over Tucson San Miguel and 20 in a win over Phoenix Christian. Her minutes were limited by an illness in a rematch with Phoenix Christian three days later, but still managed to contribute 10 points and five steals as Highland Prep fell, 33-30.
America Cazares, Tucson Pueblo: It’s been a somewhat rocky season for Pueblo after reaching the heights of the 4A championship game last winter. Cazares, though, has done her part. This week, she scored 25 in a blowout loss to Tucson Salpointe Catholic, 31 in a win over Tucson Cholla and 26 in a win over Tucson Canyon del Oro.
Naylissa Charles, Coolidge: It’s now six straight wins for Coolidge, which is up to No. 6 in the AIA’s 3A rankings. Charles led the way on Tuesday in a rivalry win over Florence, dropping a career-high 30.
Eanae Dagons, Phoenix Desert Vista: Dagons scored 17 points in Desert Vista’s impressive, 68-59, win over Gilbert, but it was on the defensive end where her efforts stood out most. She finished the night with eight steals.
Boys’ high school basketball news: Did Valley Christian basketball violate AIA bylaw with star Luke Shaw playing in Italy?
Bri’Ann Felix, Glendale Copper Canyon: Felix’s dominant season continued in a 3-0 week for Copper Canyon, which is right on the fringe of 5A playoff qualification. She averaged 28 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.3 steals.
Navae Guidry, Gilbert Mesquite: Guidry stepped up over the past week with a handful of Mesquite’s top players out due to a self-imposed suspension. In a win over Phoenix Arcadia on Monday, she hit the 1,000-point mark for her career. That came just four days after she had a game-high 16 in Mesquite’s crucial, 40-37, win over Chandler Seton Catholic. If this team falls out of the Open, they’re the favorites to win the 4A crown. Guidry is a major reason why.
Elli Guiney, Goodyear Millennium: Millennium has had no shortage of thrilling games this year. The latest example came on Friday, when the Tigers escaped Waddell Canyon View with a triple-overtime win. Guiney led the way with 30 points and eight boards in the contest.
Clara-Mae Hrouch, Tucson Catalina Foothills: Hrouch is averaging 21.9 points in Catalina Foothills’ seven-game win streak. She also has at least four assists in each of her last five games, helping the Falcons tick. After a tricky start to the year, they’re now 15-9.
Tianna Knighton, Phoenix Arcadia: Knighton scored at least 34 points in each of Arcadia’s three games this week. It hasn’t been an easy season for the Titans but that hasn’t stopped Knighton. She’s the state’s second-highest scorer at 27.4 points per game.
More high school sports news: Liberty’s Ryan Denhof wins Gatorade Player of the Year for boys cross country
Michelle Kogbara, Peoria: Kogbara was a double-double machine this week, averaging 20 points and 15.6 rebounds in three games. The standout performance came in a 36-32 win over Avondale Agua Fria, when she finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Maggie Luba, Phoenix Sunnyslope: This week brought two of the biggest games of the year for Sunnyslope: Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor and Phoenix Pinnacle. Luba stepped up big in both, scoring 13 to lead the Vikings to an upset win over O’Connor and 25 in a narrow loss to Pinnacle.
Ava Pautz, Notre Dame Prep: Notre Dame Prep’s recent dominance has been such that its starters haven’t had to play the fourth quarter in weeks — even on Tuesday, in a seemingly tricky matchup against Gilbert Higley. Despite that limited floor time, Pautz is averaging 17.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists over her last fout.
Aviana Scharfenberger, Coconino: Scharfenberger was the star on Tuesday in one of the biggest games of the 4A season, when she scored 20 points to lead Coconino past Prescott, 59-55. The win established them as one of the top teams in northern Arizona.
Amber Shorten, Phoenix Central: Lia Sims might be Central’s biggest star, but Shorten stepped up in support this week. In a win over Phoenix Metro Tech on Wednesday, she recorded her first triple-double, with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.
Nemo Sidhu, Goodyear Estrella Foothills: Sidhu continued her impressive freshman season against Glendale Deer Valley, hitting a new career-high with 29 points.
Dylan Swindle, Phoenix Desert Vista: Along with Dagons, Swindle was key in Desert Vista’s win over Gilbert. She led the Thunder with 19 points in that contest, and went 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Alaysia White, Coolidge: White put together an obscene stat line in Coolidge’s blowout win over Globe. She finished with 32 points, 20 rebounds and 14 steals, and is now averaging 19.8 points and 13.6 rebounds per game on the year.
GARDEN CITY, UT (AZFamily) — An Arizona teen drowned while paddleboarding at a lake in Utah, according to officials with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division.
Officials responded to Ideal Beach on Bear Lake on Saturday for reports of a drowning and found that the 17-year-old had become separated from his paddleboard and was not wearing a life jacket.
First responders pulled the teen from the lake and gave life-saving measures, but he did not survive, officials said.
“This is a tragic and unfortunate circumstance. The Utah Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division extends condolences to family and friends,” the department said in a statement.
The teen was not identified. The drowning is under investigation.
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Here are The Arizona Republic’s high school players of the year for the spring 2026 Arizona Interscholastic Association season. The players were selected by the Republic sports staff based on coaches’ input along with performances during the season and AIA statistics. All of them were included as part of The Republic’s All-Arizona teams for each sport that were presented over the previous week. Sports on this list are listed alphabetically.
Baseball
Kellan Tom, Tempe Corona del Sol, 1B/RHP, Sr.
The Arizona State commit was voted the AIA 6A Conference Player of the Year by the coaches. He became the ace of the pitching staff, leading the Aztecs to the state final with a 7-2 record. He hit .440 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Beach volleyball
Vivian Hickman, Sr., and Kate MacDonald, Sr., Xavier Prep
We select two players in this category since beach is a pairs game. MacDonald and Hickman won the Division I pairs championship. MacDonald, who committed to Boise State, finished runner-up in 2024 and 2025 while teamed with different partners. This year, she clicked with Hickman, who competed in her freshman year, but then stepped away for two seasons while focusing on indoor volleyball. Hickman, a UCLA commit, was part of the Gators’ fall indoor volleyball championship teams in 2024 and ’25 before returning to beach this spring.
Boys volleyball
Tommy Henige, Gilbert Perry, MH, Jr.
Biggest force in the state and one of the greatest impact players in the nation, the 6-foot-9 UCLA commit helped lead the Pumas to a second straight 6A championship with a dominating performance against Mesa Mountain View. He crushed every ball near him. Henige, who comes from a family of volleyball players, competed in the USA Volleyball Boys U19 National Team that competed in the world championships last summer.
Softball
Tanner Banks, Mohave Accelerated, C, Sr.
She ended up the state’s all-time record holder at any level for home runs (70), RBIs (303) and doubles (77). The Boise State commit played on baseball teams until she was 12, before staying with softball full-time. This season, she led the 2A team with a .710 batting average, 21 home runs, 20 doubles and 82 RBIs.
Tennis
Boys: Vikram Narendran, Tucson Rincon/University, Sr.
Narendran won his third straight Division I state singles championship, entering the bracket as the No. 1 seed and becoming one of six players in state history to win three straight singles titles.
Girls: Japneet Kaur, Boulder Creek, Jr.
Kaur, the No. 1 seed, defeated her teammate and No. 2 seed Michelle Bullock for the D-I title for second title in the past three years. She also won in 2024 and finished runner-up in 2025 to Bullock.
Track and Field
Boys: Ryder Hall, Snowflake, Sr.
The state’s definitive best jumper. The future decathlete at BYU spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in Arizona for the triple jump (48 feet, 11.5 inches), long jump (23-11) and high jump (6-10). He won Division IV state titles in all three jump events and the 110-meter hurdles, running 13.99 (ranked No. 3 in the state). Hall was the AIA state champion in the triple and long jump.
Girls: Imani Galera-Young, Chandler, Sr.
She put together a year to remember, breaking the Arizona state record in the 300-meter hurdles at 40.65. In the 300-hurdles, the Arkansas signee won eight out of nine races. Galera-Young swept both hurdle titles at the Division I and AIA State Championships. She ended the season at 13.53 in the 100-hurdles, No. 2 in the state.
(The Republic’s Chris Coppola contributed to this report).
TUCSON, Ariz. – A former Tucson mental health counselor was arrested for allegedly producing child pornography.
What we know:
According to the Department of Homeland Security, 33-year-old Xiomar Diaz, of Tucson, is accused of being involved in the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with child victims, one of whom lived in Tucson.
(Department of Homeland Security)
Diaz, who was a mental health counselor at a behavior health care organization, worked in some capacity with kids. Officials said he spoke to children online under the usernames “velander12” or “Xixi.”
Several items, including two iPhones, were seized. Officials found around 20 CSAM images or videos, including ones of Diaz engaging in sexual acts with a “young male in the back of Diaz’s vehicle,” according to a criminal complaint. Those videos were created on May 11.
On a second phone, 20 additional images or videos were discovered, along with a conversation on Snapchat between Diaz and a 15-year-old victim, where they exchanged sexual videos and talked about filming sexual acts together, the report said.
Dig deeper:
Dropbox also reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a user uploading videos of suspected CSAM in November 2025.
He was arrested by special agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, following an investigation with Tucson Police.
What you can do:
Due to his profession working in proximity with children, authorities are looking for additional information to help identify potential victims he may have abused.
“If your child, or a child you know, was in contact with Xiomar Diaz, please contact the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE or through ICE’s online tip form, or contact your local law enforcement.”
The Source: Department of Homeland Security
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