South El Monte outfielder Jazmine Leyva deserves a lot of credit. She chose to stay at her hometown school, where she dominated in every way imaginable, showcasing her talents for her community to watch over the past four years while earning a scholarship to UCLA.

Leyva was the Mission Valley League most valuable player all four years and was an All-CIF Southern Section honoree four years straight, including being named to the Division 4 first team this season.

Her senior season was the best one. Leyva batted .691 with 48 RBIs and an area-leading 16 home runs, which were the third most in the CIF-SS. She also belted 14 doubles and set a CIF-SS record for doubles in a career with 62.

For her efforts, Leyva has been selected the San Gabriel Valley’s softball player of the year.

“It’s an incredible honor to be named the SGV softball player of the year, and it’s even more special to have achieved this recognition while representing South El Monte,” Leyva said. “Growing up and playing here has provided me with unforgettable experiences and memories that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else, and to be able to make my community and school proud is a dream come true.

“I am so grateful for all the support and encouragement from my family, friends, coaches, and staff have shown me. I am so glad that I had a positive impact on the city that has given me so much.”

Over her four-year varsity career, Leyva batted .638 with 156 RBIs and 40 home runs. And she led the Eagles to four straight Mission Valley League titles and a 47-1 record in league play. The Eagles went undefeated in the MVL the past three seasons.

The Eagles finished 21-6 this past season, and advanced to the second round of the Division 4 playoffs.

Leyva belted two home runs in a game five times. In the Eagles’ 20-7 win over Summit in the first round of the playoffs, Leyva was 4 for 4 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Alison Ortega, La Mirada, Sophomore: The future in the circle is bright for the Matadores, and they can thank the arrival of Ortega.

There are no days off or easy games when you pitch for the Matadores, who played a daunting schedule and finished as one of the 10 best teams in the CIF Southern Section, proving it with a quarterfinal run in the Division 1 playoffs.

At the center of it was Ortega, who became the Matadores’ top pitcher and thrived under all the pressure in helping them to the Gateway League title and a 25-5 overall record.

Ortega’s final numbers were incredible considering the opposition, finishing 13-2 with a 1.61 ERA. She had 125 strikeouts in 109 innings and completed 10 games with three shutouts.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Kaylahni Duenas, Los Altos, Freshman: With one of Los Altos’ all-time best players, shortstop Brianah Alejandre, graduating and heading to UCLA, the Conquerors found their next big star with the arrival of pitcher and slugger, Duenas.

Duenas finished with a 2.02 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 104 innings. She helped the Conquerors go undefeated in the Hacienda League and finish 19-9 overall.

She was always at her best in the biggest games.

Duenas’ most memorable games were tossing a one-hit shutout in a 6-0 victory over South Hills and a two-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over Tesoro.

At the plate, Duenas batted .400 with 26 RBIs, seven doubles and two home runs.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Brent Tuttle, La Mirada: Tuttle wins his second SGV coach of the year award after leading the Matadores to the Gateway League title. It was the Matadores’ sixth straight league crown.

The Matadores were far and away the area’s best team, reaching the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals before a heartbreaking 9-5 loss to Ayala in eight innings.

The Matadores finished 25-5 with two losses to Trinity League champion Orange Lutheran and a loss to Norco, which won the CIF-SS Division 1 title.

La Mirada went into the playoffs ranked No. 30 in the country by Maxpreps and sixth in the state.