Camarillo’s Young Gets Honor

Camarillo outfielder Delmon Young, selected No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in baseball’s amateur draft, was named USA Today’s player of the year.

Young was joined on the national publication’s first team by Westminster La Quinta infielder Ian Stewart and Huntington Beach Marina catcher Daric Barton, who played third base for the Vikings this season.

Jeff Flaig, an infielder at Placentia El Dorado, was named to the second team.

Tom Meusborn, who led Chatsworth (33-1) to the City Section championship and the top spot in The Times’ final rankings, was named national coach of the year.

Zech Zinicola, The Times’ pitcher of the year in the Inland Empire region, was one of four players from the Southland selected to the U.S. junior national team.

Zinicola, who went 9-1 with a 1.61 earned-run average for Riverside Arlington, is joined on the team by pitcher Armando Carrasco of Santa Ana Mater Dei, outfielder Nathan Faulkner of Temecula Valley and infielder Chris Valaika of Newhall Hart.

Encino Crespi pitcher/infielder Trevor Plouffe, a Times’ all-star and player of the year in the San Fernando Valley, is among those participating in the Valley Invitational Baseball League All-Star game at 6:30 tonight at USC’s Dedeaux Field.

Basketball player Bryce Taylor of North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, a Times’ all-star last season, has made a verbal commitment to Oregon.

Taylor, a 6-foot-5 guard who will be a senior this fall, averaged 27.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and made 40.2% of his three-point shots while leading Harvard-Westlake to the Southern Section Division III-A title and to the Division III final of the state championships last season.

-- John Ortega