Kaluz, Caldwell, Figueroa highlight all-star selections

Seven Newport-Mesa area basketball players, along with Corona del Mar High boys’ coach Ryan Schachter and Sage Hill girls’ coach Lou Silverman, have been chosen for the 43rd annual Kiwanis/PlyoCity Orange County All-Star festivities, scheduled for April 26 at Ocean View High.

CdM senior Stefan Kaluz and junior Joe Eberhard, along with Newport Harbor senior Kyle Caldwell, will represent the South in the boys’ big schools game scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Schachter will coach the team.

In addition, Costa Mesa High senior Michelle Figueroa will play for the South in the girls’ big schools game scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Sage Hill seniors Katie McKeon and Jordan Hidalgo were selected for the North squad in the girls’ small schools game, scheduled for 3 p.m. Silverman will coach the team.

Lightning senior Preston Oklejas was selected for the boys’ South small-schools squad, which has its game at 4:45 p.m.

Caldwell, headed for UCLA for volleyball, and the Brown University-bound Kaluz were the Daily Pilot Dream Team Co-Players of the Year. Caldwell, a 6-foot-9 center, led the area with his averages of 21.9 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. He was Sunset League Co-MVP and a second-team Division I-A selection by the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Assn.

Kaluz, the Pacific Coast League Player of the Year, averaged 17.7 points, 11 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for the league champion Sea Kings. Also a 6-foot-9 center, he earned first-team Division III-A status. Eberhard, a 6-6 small forward, averaged 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds to earn first-team All-Pacific Coast League and second-team Division III-A honors.

Figueroa, a 5-foot-6 guard, was the Dream Team Player of the Year and Orange Coast League MVP in girls’ basketball. A first-team Division IV-AA selection, she averaged a team-high 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists and helped the Mustangs defend their league title.

McKeon, who averaged 4.6 points and an area-best 5.0 assists, was a Dream Team and second-team All-Academy League selection for Sage Hill, while Hidalgo was a standout defender.

For the Lightning boys, Oklejas averaged 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $8 for students and children. Proceeds of each of the four games will benefit local charitable and youth organizations, including the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, Orange Coast College Scholarship Fund and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

For more information, contact Mike Rangel at (949) 689-0807 or mrangel@plyocity.com, or call the 24-hour hotline at (949) 218-4105.

— From staff reports