Santa Cruz beach volleyball talent Ciara Cantlen has transferred from University of Hawaii to compete for Santa Clara University, the Broncos announced Friday.

“We are so fortunate that Ciara chose to join the Bronco family for the remainder of her NCAA beach career,” said Jeff Alzina, the Broncos head coach, in a release. “Being from Santa Cruz, I have seen her grow, develop and become a very skilled and intelligent all-around player over the years. She will be a strong contributor on the court for us, and an equally important part of our loving and competitive culture we’ve built here.”

The Broncos, who went 13-19 last season, open their season at UC Davis on Feb. 22. She’ll return to her home beach in Santa Cruz for the West Coast Challenge on March 28-29.

Cantlen signed with Hawaii out of Soquel High in 2022, but redshirted in ’23 and didn’t compete in a match as a redshirt freshman in ’24. A class valedictorian at Soquel, she was named to Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll both years at Hawaii.

Cantlen was named the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League MVP as a senior after leading Soquel to the Central Coast Section Division IV indoor title and CIF D-III NorCal Regional semifinals.

Women’s track and field

Scott ties LBSU record >> Soquel alumna Jonelle Scott, competing in her first college competition, tied Long Beach State’s school record in the pole vault on the opening day of the Nevada Invitational at Reno-Sparks Convention Center on Friday.

Scott, a three-time Central Coast Section champion in the event, cleared 4.05 meters (13 feet, 3.5 inches). She tied Connie Jerz’s 2002 LBSU record to win the event.

“Been waiting for this one!” she posted on Instagram.

Pro baseball

Keaschall climbs in Top 100 rankings >> Watsonville’s Luke Keaschall, an Aptos High alum who competed in the All-Star Futures Game last summer, has climbed to No. 61 on MLB.com’s 2025 Top 100 Prospect Rankings.

He climbed in the ranking from No. 95 to No. 67 last season.

Keaschall, a second baseman in the Minnesota Twins’ organization, underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in August, but is still expected to make his MLB debut this season. He’s also listed an an outfielder and first baseman on his player profile.

The Wichita Wind Surge activated him from the full-season injured list on Oct. 30. Promoted from High Single A to Double A last season, Keaschall batted a combined .303 (115 for 379) with 15 home runs, 48 RBI, 80 runs scored and 23 stolen bases.

College baseball

Gaeckle honored >> Arkansas right-hander Gabe Gaeckle, a sophomore starting pitcher for Arkansas after shining as a freshman reliever, has been named a second-team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.com

The Aptos High alum, a 20th round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft, went 3-3 with seven saves and a 2.32 ERA for the Arkansas Razorbacks last season.

He made 22 appearances, spanning 42.2 innings, and gave up just 22 hits. He struck out 57 batters and walked 19. Following the season, he was named a first-team Freshman All-American by four organizations.

College commitments

Three Knights finalize commitments >> Three Soquel seniors, Oliver Santana, Ana Maurer, and Jacob Henshaw, signed college acceptance letters at Soquel on Friday.

Santana will compete in swimming for NCAA Division III New York University, Maurer will play basketball at NAIA program UC Merced, and Henshaw will play water polo at UC Merced.

UC Merced will begin NCAA D-II competition in the 2025-26 academic year and will be fully eligible for postseason in 2026-27.

Tidd commits >> Monterey Peninsula College sophomore track and field talent Ronin Tidd committed to Chico State to continue his academic and athletic careers. Ronin, an Aptos High alum, will compete as a decathlete for the Wildcats.

Tidd took up the sport as a high school senior. As a college sophomore, Tidd placed sixth with a 5,671 points in the decathlon at the NorCal Championships at Sacramento City College. He placed 11th at the 2024 3C2A State Championships with a personal record of 5,878 points at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

Men’s volleyball

UC Santa Cruz 3, Milwaukee School of Engineering 1 >> Junior outside hitter Riley Norman had a season-high 23 kills as well as two aces and two assists in the No. 13 Banana Slugs’ 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22 win at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational in Berea, Ohio, on Sunday.

Junior setter Caio Valente had season-high 47 assists and made 15 digs for UCSC (7-4).

Junior outside hitter Seth Thomas had 13 kills to lead the Raiders (0-3). Sophomore setter Parker Rings made 39 assists.

St. John Fisher 3, UCSC 2 >> Riley Norman had 20 kills for the second time this season, and day, as well as 17 digs, but the No. 13 Banana Slugs suffered a 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, 17-15 loss to close play in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational in Berea, Ohio, on Sunday.

Caio Valente set a new season-high with 48 assists, topping his previous best set earlier in the day. Senior outside hitter/opposite Dylan Foreman had 16 kills and 14 digs for UCSC. Senior outside hitter/opposite Nico Espinoza made 18 digs.

Senior setter Gavin Newman made 46 assists and 16 digs, both team highs, for the No. 11 Cardinals (8-1). Outside hitter Jake Baker, a graduate student, had 15 kills.

UCSC (7-5) plays another road doubleheader on Friday. It faces host Lakeland (2-3) in Herman, Wisconsin, at 9 a.m., and Concordia (2-4) in Mequon, Wisconsin, at 5 p.m.