Going out on a limb with Southland prep predictions for 2012

It’s time to peer into my crystal ball and see what 2012 has in store for Southern California athletes, coaches and fans:

Right-hander Lucas Giolito of Studio City Harvard-Westlake will strike out 18 batters in a baseball game, then sign so many autographs his hand will need ice.

Nike will begin development on a shoe named “Air Cartwright,” for when Parker Cartwright of Los Angeles Loyola enters the NBA draft in 2016.

A youth football phenom in Baldwin Hills will announce his high school choice via Twitter.

The Los Angeles Unified School District will run out of money for buses in the spring, forcing teams to come up with innovative transportation ideas, including bicycles, tricycles and camels.

A Sylmar fan will purchase a seat belt for the chair of basketball Coach Bort Escoto after he receives his 10th technical foul of the season.

When St. John Bosco upsets Santa Ana Mater Dei in basketball, Coach Derrick Taylor will do a Jim Valvano dance across the court.

There will be so many basketball fans trying to get a seat in the Crespi gym for its Wednesday game against Loyola that the fire marshal will threaten to shut the doors unless he gets a seat, too.

Etiwanda Coach Dave Kleckner will proudly replace Ben Howland as the only basketball coach in America who refuses to play zone defense.

Outfielder Ty Moore of Santa Ana Mater Dei will hit for the cycle.

Left-hander Max Fried of Harvard-Westlake will end his prep career throwing a shutout in the Southern Section Division 2 final at Dodger Stadium, then will take home some dirt from the mound where his hero, Sandy Koufax, once stood tall.

Pitcher Justin Garza of La Verne Bonita, 13-0 in 20011, will finish 12-0 and earn the nickname “Mr. Perfect.”

College football recruiters will discover that Crespi has another big-time quarterback prospect in 6-foot-4 junior-to-be Brad Kaaya.

Incoming freshman quarterback Cole Parkinson, the son of former USC lineman Brent Parkinson, will be the talk of the Santa Clarita Valley after enrolling at Valencia.

Santa Margarita quarterback Johnny Stanton, who said, “I swear I’ll never get tired of being asked for autographs,” will fulfill his promise after throwing five touchdown passes in a game and facing an onslaught of adoring fans.

The new 16-game prep football schedule that begins in mid-August and ends in mid-December will be so long that the wives of several coaches will threaten divorce if they don’t get a diamond ring for Christmas.

California’s two-year drought in failing to land a McDonald’s basketball All-American will end with the selection of Grant Jerrett of La Verne Lutheran and Gabe York of Orange Lutheran.

Junior-to-be Chrissy Jones of Los Alamitos will be recognized as the top girls’ volleyball player in Southern California.

The baseball game of the year will match Lakewood and pitcher Shane Watson against Long Beach Wilson and pitcher Chase DeJong on March 30 at Blair Field.

Anaheim Servite running back Charlie Etiaki will rush for 250 yards in a game and tell his coach, “All that sweating in the weight room paid off.”

There will be so many high school football coaches at the Valley Youth Conference All-Star games Jan. 15 that everyone will agree to take a group photo.

Shabazz Muhammad of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, the No. 1 basketball prospect in the nation, will come to the Nike Extravaganza on Feb. 4 at Mater Dei and spend 60 minutes signing autographs.

Former El Toro softball player Lauren Chamberlain, a freshman at Oklahoma, will hit a ball so far for a home run that a tape measure will be required to confirm the real length of the blast.

Palisades and standout junior shortstop Elliott Barzilli will be the surprise City Section Divison I baseball finalists, losing to Chatsworth at Dodger Stadium.

College football recruiters, determined to land Su’a Cravens of Vista Murrieta, will keep driving hundreds of miles to Murrieta and not complain one bit.

Khalfani Muhammad will become the third state 100-meter track champion from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Harbor City Narbonne will win the City Section Division I title in football for the second consecutive season and become only the second City team to be selected for a CIF state championship bowl berth.

Mater Dei will need to clear more trophy space after another alumnus, Matt Barkley, becomes the third ex-Monarch to win the Heisman Trophy.

Sophomore shortstop Luke Dykstra of Westlake will be so good that baseball scouts will mark him down as a first-round pick for 2014.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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