Bay Area’s top football recruit picks Stanford

DIGEST

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Stanford’s new football coach Troy Taylor is still more than two months away from coaching his first game, but the Cardinal is picking up steam on the recruiting trail. DAI SUGANO — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Bay Area’s top football prospect in the class of 2024 is set to stay close to home for his college career.

Four-star outside linebacker Naki Tuakoi, a 6-4 and 222-pound edge rusher from Fremont-Oakland who is the region’s highest-ranked recruit according to 247Sports, has committed to Stanford.

Tuakoi, who was named all-Oakland Athletic League as a junior, officially committed to the Cardinal on June 12.

The Cardinal’s 2024 class is now ranked No. 10 in the country by 247Sports, after Dylan Stephenson, a four-star pass-rusher from Columbus-Miami, committed to Stanford.

“I have been blessed with life-changing opportunities and am grateful for it all,” Tuakoi wrote on his personal Instagram page. “This was not an easy decision but is one that I felt presented me with amazing opportunities both on and off the field.”

The talented defender also held offers from USC, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee and other Power 5 schools.

Tuakoi is the second high-profile Oakland-area athlete and the third East Bay standout to commit to the program after Troy Taylor succeeded longtime head coach David Shaw.

Oakland Tech alum and three-star defensive end Omar Staples Jr. was part of Taylor’s first recruiting class, as was Jackson Harris, a receiver from Berkeley who also joined Staples on the all-Bay Area News Group team.

247Sports has Tuakoi ranked as the 29th-best prospect in the state and the 18th-best edge rusher in the country.

Stanford struggled through a second consecutive 3-9 season in 2022, with a defense ranked 113th in points allowed.

- Joseph Dycus

Soccer

San Jose native Girma inks extension WITH SAN DIEGO >> San Jose native Naomi Girma signed a three-year maximum contract extension with San Diego Wave FC, the team announced on Wednesday.

Girma, 23, went to Pioneer High School in San Jose was the first overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft out of Stanford.

A defender who will likely start for the U.S. women’s national team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, Girmawas considered to be a player of major interest to Bay FC, the new NWSL team that’s likely to play in her hometown at San Jose’s PayPal Park.

This deal for the 2022 NWSL Rookie of the Year will all-but-guarantee that Girma remains with San Diego through 2026.

- Alex Simon

Dempsey: U.S. taking too long to hire USMNT coach >> Clint Dempsey thinks the U.S. Soccer Federation hurt the men’s national team by delaying its decision on a coach leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired Dec. 31 and the USSF appointed Anthony Hudson as interim coach while it investigated a decades-old domestic violence allegation against Berhalter. An outside law firm said in March there was no impediment to retaining Berhalter, but British executive Matt Crocker was hired in April as sporting director and said he likely will take until the end of summer to decide on a coach. In the meantime, Hudson quit and B.J. Callaghan took over as the second interim U.S. leader.

“I think that they need to hurry up and make that decision because we’re running out of time,” Dempsey, a former American forward and now a CBS broadcaster, said ahead of Thursday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Mexico in Las Vegas. “I think we took too long in terms of appointing our sporting director and we’re taking a little bit too long in terms of appointing our manager, because time is of the essence.”

Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has won just one knockout game, against Mexico in 2002. With the expansion of the tournament to 48 nations, the Americans figure to be among 12 seeded teams — meaning they won’t face a top-nine nation in the group phase. Reaching the new round of 32 and winning at least a pair of knockout games figures to be the minimum required to consider the tournament a success.

Crocker hasn’t publicly identified who is under consideration, though former Leeds manager Jesse Marsch could be a contender.

WNBA

Jones shines in starting role as Dream beat Liberty >> Former Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and Stanford star Haley Jones had 13 points and nine rebounds in her second start to help the Atlanta Dream beat the short-handed New York Liberty 86-79 on Tuesday.

In her second start, Jones sank a long jumper just before the third-quarter buzzer to tie it at 60-all. She added a three-point play early in the fourth to start a 9-0 run for a 74-63 lead.

Jones finished the night by making 4-of-11 shots in 37 minutes for Atlanta (3-5), including making 2-of-4 shots from 3-point range.

New York (6-3) was without Concord native Sabrina Ionescu (hamstring), who scored a career-high 37 points on Friday in a 106-83 victory over Atlanta. She is considered day-to-day.