There are a lot of lists in Bay Area high school sports. Our All-Metro lists in five sports are exhaustive.
Picking the Top 15 athletes of the past decade is no easy chore, and the honorable mention list approaches triple digits. Here are the best, based 75% on high school performance and 25% on post-prep credentials.
If prep careers began prior to 2010, only those seasons after Jan. 1, 2010 count.
1. Aaron Gordon (Mitty basketball, 2009-2013) — Considered the greatest prep basketball player in Bay Area history, the high-flying, high-energy 6-foot-8 wing was a three-time Metro Player of the Year as he led Mitty to two Division 2 state championships before losing in the 2013 state Open Division final. His teams won 112 games in four seasons, he averaged 21.6 points, 15.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game as a senior, and he was the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP in 2013 with 24 points and eight rebounds in a West win.
Post prep: The 2013-14 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at Arizona was the fourth pick of the 2014 NBA draft and had career averages of 12.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in his first five seasons. This season through 30 games, he averages 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists. His most famous NBA moment was the 2016 All-Star dunk showdown with Zach LaVine.
2. Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte-Orinda basketball, 2012-16) — In a long and impressive history of Bay Area standouts who include WNBA players Courtney Paris, Jayne Appel and Brooke Smith, the 5-11 do-everything guard was considered the region’s all-time best after leading the Matadors to a 119-9 record, four league, three section and two NorCal titles. A two-time Metro Player of the Year, she averaged 28.5 points, 9.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 5.5 steals her senior year, when the Matadors went 32-1. She was the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP.
Post prep: The face of women’s college basketball currently, the Oregon senior won the national Freshman Player of the Year award in 2017 and was the overall national Wooden Award winner last season, when she averaged 19.9 points, 8.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, leading the Ducks to the Final Four.
3. Jared Goff (Marin Catholic-Kentfield football, basketball, baseball 2010-2013) — The 2012 Metro Football Player of the Year threw for 7,066 career yards and 93 touchdowns for the Wildcats. A strong leader known for his cool under pressure, Goff threw for 3,692 yards and 40 TDs as a senior, when Marin Catholic lost in the CIF State D3 bowl game championship. The Wildcats went 39-4 when he started at QB.
Post prep: The No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams set 26 school records during a three-year career at Cal, including passing yards (12,220), touchdown passes (96) and completions (977). He led the Rams to the 2019 Super Bowl, and in 54 regular-season starts he’s thrown for 14,219 yards and 87 touchdowns. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and NFL co-record holder with Drew Bledsoe for most completions in a game with 45.
4. Najee Harris (Antioch football, 2013-2017) — In the long list of Bay Area running back greats — Jahvid Best, Dick Bass, O.J. Simpson, Marshawn Lynch, Maurice Jones-Drew, D.J. Williams and Joe Mixon — the 6-2, 230-pound Harris was statistically the best with 7,948 career rushing yards to go along with 99 total touchdowns. Harris was ranked the nation’s No. 1 recruit for his 2017 class most of his junior and senior seasons, and despite being keyed on he averaged 9.5 yards per carry. He was a two-time Metro Player of the Year.
Post prep: After two seasons as a productive backup at Alabama, Harris emerged as the starter this season and responded with 1,224 rushing yards (5.9 yards per carry) and 20 total touchdowns. He was terrific down the stretch, including 136 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a 35-16 season-ending win over Michigan on Wednesday in the Citrus Bowl. He’ll likely declare for the NFL draft, in which he’s projected to go in the first two rounds.
5. Haley Jones (Mitty basketball, 2015-19) — On the heels of Ionescu, the 6-foot-1 wing had a comparable prep career and, in fact, was voted the Naismith National Player of the Year for her 2018-19 season after averaging 26.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while helping the Monarchs to a 25-3 season and No. 1 spot in The Chronicle’s Metro rankings. The two-time Metro Player of the Year led Mitty to a 105-11 record in her four-year career.
Post prep: So far, so good for the Stanford freshman as she’s already won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award twice. Through 13 games (eight starts), she’s averaging 10.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the fifth-ranked Cardinal (12-1).
6. Ivan Rabb (Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland boys basketball, 2011-15) — The two-time Metro Player of the Year — he and teammate Paris Austin shared it in 2015 — led the Dragons to a memorable 2015 state Open Division title over Mater Dei-Santa Ana. On the heels of Gordon’s great career, Rabb piled up more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career with single-game highs of 42 points, 26 rebounds, 13 blocks and eight assists. He was a McDonald’s All-American. He averaged 24.5 points, 16.3 rebounds and 4.5 blocks as a senior.
Post prep: In two seasons at Cal, he averaged 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game and was selected in the second round (35th pick overall) by the Orlando Magic. He’s currently a two-way player with the New York Knicks.
7. Tierna Davidson (Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton girls soccer, 2013-16) — A two-time West Bay Athletic League MVP midfielder, she led SHP to two CCS titles and a runner-up finish and a 53-10-8 record in three seasons, when she piled up 57 goals and 48 assists.
Post prep: The 2019 World Cup champion had two stellar seasons at Stanford, earning national Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, leading the Cardinal to a national title. She broke her ankle as a junior then skipped her senior season to enter the 2019 NWSL College Draft, in which she was the first overall pick of the Chicago Red Stars. She was the youngest member of the 2019 USA Women’s World Cup team that won the FIFA championship.
8. Niamey Harris (Mission football, basketball, 2013-17) — One of the truly dominant two-sport athletes in San Francisco’s history, Harris was Academic Athletic Association Player of the Year in both sports twice. His greatest feat was leading Mission to a historic state D3 basketball title in 2017 as he averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists per game and shot 64% from the floor. He also led the Bears to two San Francisco football championships as the team’s quarterback.
Post prep: After two productive basketball seasons at City College of San Francisco, where he helped the Rams to a state title, Harris transferred to NAIA Bellevue University in Nebraska. This season he has started all 17 games for the Bruins, averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 1.8 steals.
9. Brittany Boyd (Berkeley girls basketball, 2007-11) — A three-time All-Metro first-team performer, the 5-9 point guard led Berkeley to 106 wins in her four-year career, including a 55-6 record in her final two seasons.
Post prep: In a brillant four-year career at Cal, she was the first Pac-12 player to reach totals of 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 600 assists and 300 steals. Her senior season for the Bears she averaged 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game, earning second-team All-American in 2015, the same year she made the All-WNBA rookie team for the New York Liberty. The ninth pick of that year’s draft, Boyd is still a member of the Liberty.
10. Ben Burr-Kirven (Sacred Heart Prep football, 2011-14) — The stout and speedy linebacker-running back led the Gators on a remarkable 39-3 three-year run that included two Northern California titles and three straight CCS crowns, including an Open Division title his senior year. In 35 varsity games, he had 238 tackles to go with 15 sacks and six interceptions. Offensively he rushed for 1,613 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Post prep: Was the 2018 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year at Washington and drafted in the fifth round that spring by the Seattle Seahawks. He has eight tackles this season heading into the playoffs.
11. Megan Reid (Miramonte, soccer, basketball, water polo, track and field, 2010-14) — One of the area’s most remarkable all-around athletes, Reid actually played soccer and basketball every winter season throughout her four years, earning seven All-Diablo Foothill Athletic League honors between the two sports, including MVP soccer honors as a freshman. She often would finish a game, switch uniforms and go right to the other sport.
Post prep: Completed a stellar four-year soccer career at the University of Virginia, where she was second-team All-ACC as a senior. She had two career goals and 15 assists.
12. Kristian Ipsen (De La Salle diving, 2008-11) — In four seasons, he owned the North Coast Section meet, destroying a 36-year-old scoring mark as a freshman and then breaking it two more times, including as a senior with a still-record score of 708.60.
Post prep: A three-time NCAA champion and three-time runner-up at Stanford, Ipsen broke the college record for 1-meter diving with a score of 473.75 in 2013. He represented the U.S. on the 2012 Olympic team in London, winning a bronze medal along with 3-meter synchro partner Troy Dumais, the first U.S. diving medal of any kind since 2000.
13. Johanna Grauer (Amador Valley-Pleasanton softball, 2011-14)/Danielle Williams (Amador Valley softball, 2015-18) — Almost impossible to separate these two hurlers who handed off the softball to turn Amador Valley into a national power for nearly a decade. Grauer was the Cal-Hi Sports Player of the Year her senior year, going 27-0 with a 0.51 ERA and 290 strikeouts. Williams was the Metro Player of the Year her senior season, going 21-4 with 363 strikeouts in 178 innings (0.59 ERA) with a .411 batting average and five home runs. Each led teams to two NCS titles.
Post prep: Grauer went 40-13 in four seasons at UCLA while Williams was named 2019 Schutt Sports National Freshman of the Year for Northwestern, winning 31 games (13 shutouts) to go with a 1.55 ERA and 317 strikeouts in 230 innings.
14. Austin Hooper (De La Salle, football 2010-12) — Though known for his tight end prowess as a pro, Hooper was more recognized as a defensive force for the Spartans with 90 tackles and 18.5 sacks for teams that won three consecutive state Open Division titles. Of his 20 career catches (23.8-yard average), five went for touchdowns.
Post prep: In two seasons at Stanford, he had 74 catches for 937 yards and eight scores and was first-team All-Pac 12. A third-round pick of the Falcons in the 2016 NFL draft, Hooper has steadily risen to be one of the league’s top tight ends and had 71 catches for 660 yards and four scores in 2018. In 2019, a season shortened by a knee injury, he had 75 catches for 787 yards and six scores.
15. Damari Milstead (Moreau Catholic-Hayward boys basketball, 2015-18) — The 2016-17 Metro Player of the Year completed a stellar four-year career by averaging 25.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game his senior season. In four seasons, the 6-2 guard amassed 2,353 points, 577 assists, 434 rebounds and 375 steals, leading Moreau to 100 wins, three NCS and two NorCal titles.
Post prep: He started 26 of 60 games in two seasons at Grand Canyon University, averaging 10.3 points as a sophomore, before transferring to USF, where he’ll be eligible for the 2020-21 season.