Pleasant Valley High basketball player Kevin Kremer, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and James Harden of the Houston Rockets now have something in common.
Kremer was named the Division III State Player of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports on Thursday.
Thompson earned the honor in 2008 playing for Santa Margarita High, and Harden was named in 2007 playing for Artesia in Lakewood.
PV capped the year with a 70-65 triumph over Notre Dame of Riverside to win the CIF D-III state championship on March 24 at Golden One Center in Sacramento.
Kremer, the 6-foot-5 senior, collected 28 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the Vikings’ win. He averaged 18.5 points and 8.4 rebounds this season earning him the top honor amongst D-III programs in California. Kremer was also named the Northern Section MVP for the second-straight year.
PV coach Tim Keating also was chosen by Cal-Hi Sports as the D-III Coach of the Year and is the Northern Section Coach of the Year.
The last time PV earned a D-III State Player of the Year honor was in 1975 when Matt Maderos was named.
The last Northern Section player to win D-III State Player of the Year was Chad Scott of Las Plumas in 1989.
Pembroke signs with Alaska Anchorage >> Pleasant Valley High’s Hannah Pembroke will be joining the University of Alaska Anchorage’s volleyball squad as an outside hitter as she signed to play for the Seawolves during a ceremony Friday.
Pembroke, who has been playing volleyball since fourth grade, said she is excited to continue playing the sport she loves and picked Alaska Anchorage because of its “phenomenal volleyball program and beautiful campus.”
The senior with a 3.8 GPA plans to double major in English and Spanish, and also said the school was a perfect fit for that.
Wildcats recognized for academics >> Anna Baytosh and Kelly McConnell were recognized for excelling in and out of the classroom at Tuesday’s annual University Awards Reception in the Bell Memorial Union.
Baytosh was named Chico State’s Richard Dahl Female Scholar-Athlete Award winner while McConnell received the Bud Hanna Male Scholar-Athlete Award.
Baytosh will graduate on May 19 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a focus in public relations and a minor in communication design. Her long-term goal is to be a public relations professional somewhere in Northern California.
As a volleyball standout, she racked up more than 500 kills and 100 blocks as an opposite and outside hitter for the Wildcats.
McConnell, who specializes in hurdles and relays as a member of the track and field team, is also a four-time letter-winner.
He was the CCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles and anchored the CCAA champion 1,600-meter relay team. The 400-meter hurdles time of 52.75 was the sixth-fastest time in school history and ranked No. 21 in the nation last season.
An exercise physiology major with minors in coaching, physical education and exercise science, McConnell plans to take a year off to coach track and field at Los Altos High then return to Chico State and pursue a master’s degree in either sports performance or biomechanical analysis.