ALL-USA Coach of the Year Rick Naranjo, left. (Photo: Northern California Golf Association)
Rick Naranjo of Westlake High (Westlake Village, Calif.) has been named the 2014-15 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Boys Golf Coach of the Year.
The selection was made by Chris Langrill, USA TODAY High School Sports’ golf correspondent, with input from national golf associations, state associations and media throughout the country.
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COACH PROFILE:
Coach: Rick Naranjo
School: Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Naranjo coached a team that made California history as it won back-to-back CIF state championships. The Warriors are the first team to repeat as state champions.
And winning a state title in California is no small feat. Schools must go through league play, two rounds of sectionals and the Northern or Southern California championships (which would rival most states’ championships).
Westlake, which went unbeaten in league play, beat Torrey Pines by four strokes in the final.
A season ago, Westlake was led by Sean Crocker, who now plays at USC and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. But Westlake returned a group of players who was more than up to the challenge without Crocker.
Matt Wolff and Spencer Soosman led the way in this year’s tourney with even-par 71s, good for fourth-place finishes in the individual standings.
Naranjo and Westlake figure to have more big wins ahead of them, too. This year’s squad was made up of all juniors, with the exception of Wolff, who is a sophomore.