Ontario Christian sophomore guard Kaleena Smith is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year honor.
Smith is just the second sophomore to be chosen in the 40-year history of the award. Mater Dei’s Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was a sophomore when she took home the honor in 2009. This also marks the fifth time the award has gone to an Inland player. Maylana Martin of Perris was the area’s first player to receive the honor in 1996. Don Lugo’s Diana Taurasi won back-to-back awards in 1999 and 2000, and Etiwanda’s Kennedy Smith was chosen last year.
Other past winners include Lisa Leslie (Morningside), Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte), Chelsea Gray (St. Mary’s) and JuJu Watkins (Sierra Canyon).
Kaleena Smith averaged 23.2 points, 8.1 assists and 4.5 points steals per game and made 92 3-pointers during her sophomore season. She helped the Knights capture the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship, the program’s first section title in 45 years. Ontario Christian spent much of the season as the No. 1 team in any national rankings. The Knights finished with a 30-2 record and also reached the CIF State Open Division regional final.
Smith is the No. 1-ranked player in the 2027 recruiting class and was a finalist for the 2025 Naismith Award that recognizes the top player in the nation.
“Kaleena Smith just makes the game look really easy,” Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said in the press release that revealed Smith as this year’s winner. “She lives up to the nickname of ‘Special K.’ Her pace on the floor is what you want from a point guard, but she can also put it in the hoop from anywhere. She is someone you have to game plan for at all times.”
Smith carries a 3.43 GPA and has volunteered locally with the Salvation Army and as a youth basketball coach. She has also completed an internship with the Creative Artists Agency and donated her time as a youth Bible study group supporter.
GATORADE CALIFORNIA GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
2025: Kaleena Smith, Ontario Christian, So.
2024: Kennedy Smith, Etiwanda, Sr.
2023: JuJu Watkins, Sierra Canyon, Sr.
2022: JuJu Watkins, Sierra Canyon, Jr.
2021: Brooke Demetre, Mater Dei, Sr.
2020: Te-Hina Paopao, La Jolla Country Day, Sr.
2019: Haley Jones, Archbishop Mitty, Sr.
2018: Haley Jones, Archbishop Mitty, Jr.
2017: Destiny Littleton, The Bishop’s, Sr.
2016: Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte, Sr.
2015: Katie Lou Samuelson, Mater Dei, Sr.
2014: Katie Lou Samuelson, Mater Dei, Jr.
2013: Erica McCall, Ridgeview, Sr.
2012: Nirra Fields, Mater Dei, Sr.
2011: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Mater Dei, Sr.
2010: Chelsea Gray, St. Mary’s, Sr.
2009: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Mater Dei, So.
2008: Jasmine Dixon, Long Beach Poly, Sr.
2007: Jeanette Pohlen, Brea Olinda, Sr.
2006: Jayne Appel, Carondelet, Sr.
2005: Courtney Paris, Piedmont, Sr.
2004: Sade Wiley-Gatewood, Lynwood, Sr.
2003: Noelle Quinn, Bishop Montgomery, Sr.
2002: Willnett Crockett, Narbonne, Sr.
2001: Loree Moore, Narbonne, Sr,
2000: Diana Taurasi, Don Lugo, Sr.
1999: Diana Taurasi, Don Lugo, Jr.
1998: Michelle Greco, Crescenta Valley, Sr.
1997: Naila Moseley, Crenshaw, Sr.
1996: Maylana Martin, Perris, Sr.
1995: Adrian Williams, Clovis West, Sr.
1994: Nicole Erickson, Brea Olinda, Sr.
1993: Danielle Viglione, Del Campo, Sr.
1992: Kristen Mulligan, Peninsula, Sr.
1991: Kellie Cook, Nevada Union, Sr.
1990: Lisa Leslie, Morningside, Sr.
1989: Lisa Leslie, Morningside, jr.
1988: Rise Jackson, Lynwood, Sr.
1987: Terri Mann, Point Loma, Sr.
1986: Linda Staley, Palmdale, Sr.
