With the spring season getting set to unfold, Mission Bay teams are preparing for action. Baseball
Head coach Dennis Pugh’s team went 16-11 a season ago. In looking at the 2018 campaign, Pugh expects key players to include senior outfielder Parker St. Germain, junior infielder/pitcher Aliden Young, junior infielder Zay Pena, sophomore infielder Dusty Shraeder, senior outfielder Brad Palmer, senior pitcher Shane Severson, senior catcher Javy Norriega and senior first baseman Jayden Correa.
“We are in a tougher league with a tougher schedule,” Pugh commented. “If we learn commitment to improvement, we have an opportunity to be successful.”
Pugh added that the program is on an upswing, with a very good freshmen group in place. Softball
The Bucs, under head coach Vince Ichihara, went 19-10 last season. Mission Bay went undefeated as league champions and lost in the CIF title game.
For this season, Ichihara expects big contributions from seniors Maya Cota, Serena Castro and Paige Parkhill; juniors Keke Flores and Maddie Grooms; sophomores Cassidy West, Cheyenne Chavez and Cat Griffiths; and freshmen Paige Pallamary, Victoria Tapia and Maci Grenfell.
“We just want to make sure we take care of the little things and the rest will fall into place,” Ichihara stated. “We have great leadership from our seniors as well as some very mature underclassmen. It’s a good mix and a great group of girls that work really hard. There are a lot of things we are still improving on and will get better as the season progresses but it’s going to be a fun season. I and our staff are excited for Bucs softball.” Boys volleyball
In indoor volleyball action, the Bucs return this year after posting their best record in over a decade and making a strong run into the playoffs.  According to head coach Nikki Caufield: “We had a big group of seniors graduate last year, including two all-league players. However, we have several strong starters returning including junior Zander Caufield, senior Stephen Tarbell, junior Tetsoro Escudero and junior Josh Leone. 
“When basketball is over and we get a couple of guys from the team and a couple other guys back we have a really good chance to have a strong team.”  As the Bucs wait to have their full lineup in place, they will look at some youth to fill some big shoes.
“Until we get some of our big guys back we are going to be leaning hard on some of our younger players, like freshman Filippo Miticocchio, to carry a heavy load,” Caufield added.  The Bucs start league play on March 13. Boys tennis Mission Bay did not field a team a year ago.
Turning to 2018, the Bucs, under head coach Trong Tong, look to Arthur Maury, Jacob Price and Jake Stone (all freshmen) to lead the charge in singles play. On the doubles court, Tong expects Alex Li and Nicolas Guevara (sophomore and junior, respectively) to be key.
“Despite not fielding a team last year, we hope to regain some momentum for our program this season,” Tong commented. “Our core of seasoned players is looking forward to leading our team back on the path of competitive tennis. “While we have a handful of beginners, our experienced freshmen are challenged to fill in the gaps until our team begins to find its footing. Lastly, since our Bucs have been reshuffled into a different league from which we last played, we’re all excited to see how the season will unfold as we’ll play mostly unfamiliar rivals.”