Three Student-Athletes To Join Cal Football In 2015

Article by Cal athletics 
BERKELEY – Cal head coach Sonny Dykes announced Wednesday that junior college transfers safety Derron Williams-Brown (Mesa Community College) and defensive end DeVante Wilson (Riverside Community College) have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Cal football program in January of 2015. Wilson will be a junior for the 2015 season, while Williams-Brown comes in as a sophomore.
The duo joins high school quarterback Ross Bowers, who signed a financial aid agreement at Cal in September and will begin his collegiate career as a true freshman in January.
“They are all very high character kids that fit well into our program,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We’re excited about their potential to improve our football team but most importantly to be good student-athletes, get their Cal degrees and be successful when they graduate.”
Williams-Brown has been ranked as high as No. 3 among junior college safeties in 2014 according to Scout. He was a second-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference selection in his lone campaign at Mesa Community College as a true freshman in 2014, recording 48 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss. Williams-Brown was also an All-Arizona selection as a prep in his 2012 junior season at Betty H. Fairfax High School before missing his entire 2013 senior campaign due to injury.
Wilson was a Prepstar All-American as a 2010 senior and a four-star recruit in the 2011 class from Corona High School after a prep career that included 192 tackles and 11.5 sacks over three campaigns (2008-10). Wilson missed the 2011 season and spent the 2012 campaign at USC but injuries kept him on the sidelines both years and necessitated a transfer to Riverside Community College for the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. Wilson returned to form as a 2014 sophomore when he recorded 36 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss (-41 yards) and 3.0 sacks (-18 yards) to earn first-team All-Southern California Football Association National Central League honors for a 10-2 team that reached the Southern California Regional final.
“We had some obvious needs to address defensively,” Dykes said. “It all begins with the pass rush and I feel like DeVante gives us an athletic, long and explosive pass rusher who is going to make us instantly better. We also needed to address our needs in the defensive backfield and picked up a player in Derron that is a physical player, good open-field and tackler, and gives us both size and length in that area.”
Bowers is a four-star ESPN recruit that has led his team to its first Washington state title and also a KingCo crown as well as a current 14-0 record as a 2014 senior. The Cougars will play their final game of the season against Miami’s Central High School in the first annual Burger King State Champions Bowl Series on December 27 in Boca Raton, Fla. Bowers has completed 208-of-294 passes (70.7%) for 3228 yards with 37 touchdowns and six interceptions to earn first-team All-KingCo honors. He also produced one of the most viewed football plays ever in the state championship game when he landed on his feet in the end zone after a full flip over a defender to cap off a four-yard touchdown run. The play has been viewed by millions worldwide and is under consideration for Play of the Year after picking up multiple Play of the Week mentions.
“We are excited to have Ross join the Cal football program,” Dykes said. “He’s exactly what we are looking for in a quarterback. He has shown great leadership and does all the things we want a quarterback to do. We’re excited about his future and what he will bring to our program. We’re also excited that he will join our team in January and be able to start learning the offense and get into the mix at the quarterback position.”
The National Letter of Intent midyear junior college transfer signing period for prospective student-athletes enrolling for the 2015 spring semester that began Wednesday continues through January 15, 2015. The regular signing period kicks off with 2015 National Signing Day on February 4 and runs through April 1.

Casiple and Hallisey Invited to MLS Combine

Article Courtesy: Cal Athletics. Photo Courtesy: GoldenBearSports.com

BERKELEY, Calif. – Two members of the California men’s soccer team earned invitations to the 2015 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine, MLS announced on Thursday. Senior Golden Bears Seth Casiple and Connor Halliseyclaimed combine invitations, which marks the fourth time in school history that the Bears have sent multiple players to the combine (five in 2010, three in both 2005 and 2013). The combine will take place in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. from Jan. 8-13 ahead of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 15.

"This is a great honor for both Seth and Connor," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "They have had tremendous careers here at Cal. We will miss them for sure, but feel very fortunate that they will have an outstanding opportunity to play at the next level."

A panel of NCAA Division I coaches from every conference and MLS representatives selected a total of 55 college seniors from 41 Division I schools to invite to the combine. This is an initial list of invitees, as MLS will also invite players from Division II, Division III and NAIA schools as well as players from the Generation adidas program and other international invitees, all of whom will be announced at a later date.

The two Bears were starters and integral members of Cal’s run to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16 this season and were also instrumental during Cal’s historical 2013 season. Previous Bears’ combine invitees are Calen Carr, Eric Kronberg and Tyson Wahl (2005) as well as Servando Carrasco, Hector Jimenez, Demitrius Omphroy, Davis Paul and A.J. Soares (2010) and Steve Birnbaum, Alec Sundly and Ryan Neil (2013).

Casiple, one of the team’s co-captains in 2014, had another very successful season in central midfield for the Bears. He finished the year with one goal and seven assists in 19 games played, all of which were starts. In addition to his second team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Far West selection, Casiple also was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and was named as an honorable mention as a Pac-12 All-Academic. The Rocklin, Calif. native has made 73 career appearances (72 starts) for the Golden Bears, posting six goals and 27 assists for a total of 39 points. His 27 assists rank fourth all-time in school history behind Mike Nieto (40 from 1982-85), Paul (35 from 2007-10) and Jimenez (34 from 2006-10).

Hallisey, a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, NSCAA All Far-West first team selection, an All-Pac-12 first team selection and Pac-12 All-Academic second team selection led the Bears in points, with 30, posting nine goals and a team-high 12 assists this year for the Golden Bears in 19 appearances, all of which were starts during California’s run to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16. The senior had a breakout season offensively for the Bears, finishing second in the Pac-12 in points behind Pac-12 Player of the Year, Oregon State’s Khiry Shelton (31 points). Hallisey tallied a goal and an assist in Cal’s NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament Round of 16 loss to UCLA on Nov. 30. The Granite Bay, Calif. native capped his career in Berkeley by posting the fifth most points in a season in school history and the most since Paul equaled his feat in 2010. Hallisey appeared in 70 games (53 starts) over his four year career in Berkeley, scoring 12 goals and notching 18 assists for a total of 42 points.

Cal Men's Swimmers Visit Georgia Invitational

Article by Courtesy: Cal Athletics Photo by Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com
BERKELEY – The Cal men’s swimming team, winners of three of the last four NCAA team titles, will have a stern mid-season test when the Golden Bears travel to the prestigious Georgia Fall Invitational Friday-Sunday, Dec. 5-7, in Athens, Ga. David Durden’s squad will be competing against athletes from host Georgia, plus swimmers from Auburn, Florida State, Penn State and Virginia (Live Stats available by clicking here).
Durden’s talented team, which is 3-0 so far this season with victories over Pacific, Hawaii and Wisconsin – has won 18 straight dual meets over the last three and a half seasons; and features defending national champion (100 and 200 backstroke) Ryan Murphy. Also included among the 2014-15 Bears are 2014 NCAA relay champions Seth Stubblefield, Tyler Messerschmidt, and senior breaststroker Chuck Katis.
Katis, who transferred last January from Harvard, swam the breaststroke leg on Cal’s 2014 NCAA champion 200 medley relay that set an American record, then produced the second-fastest time ever (50.40) on his breaststroke leg of the 400 medley relay that captured the national crown. Individually, Katis placed fourth in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast at last year’s NCAA meet. He will have a busy schedule this weekend in Georgia – competing in the 200 IM and the breaststroke leg of the 400 medley relay on Friday, the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay and the 100 breast on Saturday and the 200 breast on Sunday.
The Bears will again vie for an NCAA crown in 2015 after winning national championships in 2011, 2012 and 2014 under Durden. Besides returning Murphy, Stubblefield, Messerschmidt, and Katis, several other Cal swimmers have shined during Pac-12 and NCAA championship competition in recent years, including junior Josh Prenot, who has been the Pac-12 400 IM champion the past two seasons. The Bears also feature a stellar 2014-15 freshman class