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ALL-ORANGE COUNTY BOYS TENNIS TEAM 2026
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Matteo Huarte, Mater Dei, Junior
The total package for high school tennis.
That’s arguably the best way to describe Mater Dei’s Matteo Huarte based on his accomplishments this season, and the way he conducted himself.
The junior swept the singles titles in the Ojai tournament and CIF-SS individual finals to finish the spring undefeated. He also earned strong reviews from coaches for respecting opponents and being a team leader.
Mater Dei’s Matteo Huarte, right, defeated Woodbridge’s Brady Tallakson, left, in three sets in the CIF-SS singles championship at Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (Courtesy of Adrian Games)
Mater Dei’s Matteo Huarte, left, defeated Woodbridge’s Brady Tallakson 7-6 (3), 6-1 to claim the CIF boys singles title at The Ojai Tennis Tournament on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Libbey Park. (Courtesy of The Ojai Tennis Tournament)
Mater Dei’s Matteo Huarte hits a backhand shot during the CIF boys singles final at the 2025 Ojai Tennis Tournament at Libbey Park. (Photo by Dan Albano, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Huarte’s profile now includes The Register’s Orange County boys tennis player of the year award.
“I was really impressed with the way Matteo played and more importantly, with the way he handled himself on the court,” University coach John Kessler said of Huarte, who is committed to USC. “A real class act.”
Huarte, the grandson of Heisman Trophy quarterback John Huarte (Mater Dei), captured the Ojai after losing in the finals in 2025 to University’s Rishvanth Krishna.
Huarte didn’t drop a set in the tournament in notching Mater Dei’s first singles crown at the prestigious event.
He later became the first Mater Dei player since Kaes Van’t Hof in 2004 to claim the singles title at the CIF-SS individual tournament.
In both finals this season, Huarte defeated Woodbridge senior Brady Tallakson, who won the Pacific Coast League title and is committed to Boise State.
“Me and Brady had two really long matches and two competitive matches,” Huarte said. “I’m happy I was able to pull them both out because he’s such a good competitor, such a good player and such a good friend, too. It’s tough to play him.”
First-year Mater Dei coach Adrian Games said Huarte’s well-rounded game makes him a challenging foe.
“He really dictates with that forehand of his,” he said of the 6-foot-1 Huarte, who selected the SoCal MVP for the National High School All-American team. “(On his serve) I started seeing in this last tournament, at CIF, where he was using his legs and coming in. I just saw a serve that’s going to be a monster in two years.”
Huarte finished the season with a 58-0 record. His resume includes a combined 12-0 mark for Ojai and CIF individuals, the Trinity League singles title and a 9-0 record in CIF-SS team competition.
Mater Dei reached the Division 2 semifinals, its best postseason run since a runner-up finish in Division 3 in 2019.
The team component means so much to Huarte, he said he will play for Mater Dei next season. Several players at his level choose not to play high school tennis.
“He plays for more reasons than himself,” Games said. “He plays for his parents. He plays for his school. He plays for Southern California.”
“If it helped the team, he was like ‘I’m in,’ ” the coach added. “He sacrificed a lot to do it.”
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Mater Dei’s 2019 squad was led by Huarte’s brother Jake, who went on to play at Army and is now training in Colorado Springs, Colo. to be an Army Ranger.
Huarte credits his parents Mark and Kelly, and his brother, for his sportsmanship.
“Most important for me is just to have fun out here but I think parents raised me that way, my coaches raised me that way,” he said. “I’m exactly who my brother is. I try to be, actually. He’s a lot better of a guy than I could ever be but I try to be more like him every single day.”
COACH OF THE YEAR
Gary Greenberg, San Clemente
In his fifth season after replacing longtime coach John Stephens, Greenberg led the Tritons to their first CIF-SS championship match since 2015.
In the Division 5 final at The Claremont Club, San Clemente lost to San Marcos on games 85-81 after dueling to a 9-9 deadlock on sets.
The runner-up finish punctuated the Tritons improvement under Greenberg, who counts Stephens as a coaching mentor.
After missing the playoffs in 2025, San Clemente finished fourth in the South Coast League, which included Division 1 qualifier Beckman.
With an 8-8 record in the regular season, the Tritons earned an at-large bid in Division 5.
San Clemente beat Villa Park and North Hills League champion Cypress by 15-3 margins in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Tritons collected 11-7 victories against Millikan and La Serna in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Greenberg said he aimed to inject his players with confidence.
“They deserved to win given the effort and dedication they were contributing to each practice and every match,” he said.
ALL-COUNTY FIRST TEAM
SINGLES
Matteo Huarte, Mater Dei, Jr. (Player of the Year)
JiHyuk Im, University, Jr.: The Pacific Coast League runner-up advanced to the semifinals in The Ojai and the CIF-SS individuals. He was named to the SoCal National High School Tennis All-American team.
Brady Tallakson, Woodbridge, Sr.: The Boise State commit won the Pacific Coast League title and finished second to Huarte in Ojai and the CIF-SS individuals. He was selected to the SoCal National High School Tennis All-American team.
DOUBLES
Jack Barnes, Sr., Quynh Tran, Fr., Corona del Mar: The Sunset League runner-ups finished second at the CIF-SS individuals. They were the first Corona del Mar duo to reach the section finals since 2022.
David Tran, Sr., Alejandro Hill, Sr., Marina: The Sunset League champions reached the semifinals in Ojai and CIF-SS individuals. Tran earned first-team All-County last season with Trevor Nguyen.
Hans Sempre, Jr., Ryan Meis, Fr., San Juan Hills: The South Coast League champions made the semifinals at CIF-SS individuals.
DJ Buchfeller, So., Everett Somerville, Sr., Tustin: The Empire League champion lost in three sets to Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals in Ojai.
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ALL-COUNTY SECOND TEAM
SINGLES
Nikhil Bommaiah, Tustin, Jr.
Rohan Grewal, Beckman, Sr.
Ivan Pflueger, Corona del Mar, Sr.
Advaith Surabhi, Tustin, So.
DOUBLES
Landon Le, So., Sammy Grewal, Fr., Beckman
Hansford Warner, Sr., Kayden Kral, Jr., JSerra
Cade Faul, Sr., Connor Faul, Sr., JSerra
Tyler Chandler, Jr., Reid Hashimoto, Jr., University
Langston Walter-Wu, Sr., Daniel Zhu, Jr., University