Four Mater Dei High School athletes have...

Four Mater Dei High School athletes have signed letters of intent, girls’ Athletic Director Sharon Kennedy said Wednesday.

Heather Lee will play volleyball at Utah State. Jennifer Clark will play softball at Fresno State. Kirsten Keyler will play soccer at Loyola Marymount, and Amber Escobedo will play soccer at Maryland.

The Mater Dei boys’ basketball media guide is impressive. It lists 18 Monarch players, and the supplied scorecard provides space for rosters for two games. There are only 15 slots per team, however, so if you want to list every Monarch player on your scorecard, you’ll have to buy a new media guide (for $3) for every game.

Rancho Alamitos Coach Bob Becker says Akilah Rodgers is “probably the best player in the state who comes off the bench,” and he might be right. Rodgers, a junior, is averaging 20.3 points and 12 rebounds in Becker’s substitution scheme.

“I talked to her after the preseason and about the league championship and sacrifices,” Becker said. “One of her sacrifices was that she wasn’t going to start. I bring in five girls at a time, including Akilah, and it makes it difficult on other coaches if they’re not substituting.”

The Vaqueros (20-4, 12-0) are the Garden Grove champions and areranked sixth in the county.

Newport Harbor girls’ basketball Coach Shannon Jakosky doesn’t let her players’ foul trouble bother her. Kala Ross, averaging 21.4 points, got two fouls within two minutes against Woodbridge in the battle for the Sea View League girls’ basketball championship. Her third came with 4:43 left in the second quarter. Sixty-two seconds later, she picked up her fourth. Ross fouled out with at 3:26 of the third quarter in a 55-43 loss.

Jakosky said afterward: “I’ve learned you’ve got to go for it.”

Former El Modena standout Gavin Brown, now a freshman at California, is the starting third baseman for the Bears. He’s batting .430 after four games.