After graduations, the Hollister boys basketball team has quickly reloaded and is 10-7 overall and in the thick of the league race.
After a challenging preseason slate which produced a 7-5 mark, the young crew is coming together. They opened league action with a road defeat to Marina, but rebounded to knock off Stevenson, RSJ and North Monterey County, before falling at Alvarez.
In the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Mission Division, it’s a free-for-all at the top with five of the seven teams within a game of each other. Hollister is 3-2 and tied for second with Rancho San Juan and St. Francis, a game behind 4-1 Marina. Everett Alvarez is 2-2, Stevenson is 1-3 and North Monterey County is at 0-4.
The Mission mix is illustrated by the fact that Marina beat Hollister yet lost by 20 points to St. Francis, a team that fell to Alvarez and RSJ. RSJ, just 2-10 in non-league games, beat Alvarez and St. Francis and lost to Marina by just two, yet was beaten by Hollister 63-35 and 62-54.
“I’m really proud of the team,” said Hollister coach David Kaplansky, after the Marina game. “We had a great pre-season. We lost four starters and are now finding our identity. We’ve been doing a good job underneath the basket.”
The contributions up front come from 6-foot-5, 310-pound junior Kody Dickens and the quickly-developing Rollins Bastien, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound freshman. The scoring leader is another fab freshman, Rudy Lopez Jr., who usually plays at small forward. The offense is driven by sophomore point guard Donovan Diaz.
“We move the ball well and the guys are unselfish,” Kaplansky said. “Our team defense is good.”
Other key players include Evan Perryman at forward and Cadence Smith, another freshman, at guard. Depth contributions come from Emiliano Aquino, Cameron Cooke, Ben Salome, Reece Kaplansky and Adrian Nolasco at guard, with Bronson Jenkins and Elias Tafolla up front.
In the pre-season, the Balers dumped Greenfield twice, by scores of 77-48 and 72-40. They blasted Pajaro Valley 67-10 and knocked off Gonzales 46-38, Monte Vista Christian 54-48 and RSJ 63-35 (in a non-conference game).
Highlights were plenty. In the opener against Greenfield, Lopez scored 24 points and had nine rebounds. In the win over MVC, he rolled a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. He did another double-double in the tournament win over RSJ, tallying 22 with 11 rebounds.
Diaz scored 16 and added nine assists in the opener. He scored 16 in the second Greenfield game and knocked down four 3-pointers during a 14-point outing against Gonzales. Dickens scored 16 in the opener and 13 versus MVC.
Bastien contributed seven rebounds against King City and in the Gonzales game. Perryman had eight rebounds against PV and Smith erupted with a 13-point, eight-rebound game against King City.
League play began in early January. The Balers lost the first contest, a 60-38 decision on the road at Marina.
“It’s hard to start by playing the best team in the league and on the road in the first game,” Kaplansky said. “They’re fast and quick and have a bunch of seniors.”
Lopez led the fight with 13 points and Bastien sparkled with 10 rebounds.
The Balers showed resiliency by following with a three-game winning streak. They bumped off an experienced Stevenson team by 52-42. Lopez was magical with 27 points—more than half the team’s total—and also collected nine rebounds. Smith had another great game, coming through with four assists and seven rebounds.
Hollister next took on the Trailblazers and won 62-54. Diaz was on fire with 19 points and five assists. Lopez tallied 16 and had eight rebounds. Dickens scored 13 and Perryman contributed all over the floor, coming through with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Balers got off to a slow start against NMC. They trailed 12-8 after one period and led just 24-19 at halftime. After the break, they got back on track, outscoring the Condors 17-7 in the third quarter and coasted to a 52-34 victory. Lopez was rocking and rolling as usual, scoring 16 with eight rebounds.
Bastien added 11 and Diaz had 10 points and four assists. Dickens cleaned the glass to the tune of nine rebounds and Perryman pulled down six boards.
Next up was a trip to Salinas to play Alvarez, and the Eagles halted the win streak by a count of 44-31. Lopez and Diaz each scored eight points to pace HHS.
“Rudy gets to the basket,” Kaplansky said. “He also gets to the free throw line. He is a great shooter. Donovan has been a big spark for us. He gives great leadership from the point guard position. Rudy plays the ‘3,’ the small forward on the wing. He can shoot the open 3. He leads us in scoring and rebounding.”
In the 2024-25 season, Chandler Crutcher, Brody Cotter, Savion Loza and Devin Townsend led the Balers to a 13-9 record and third place mark in league play, along with a CCS post-season invite. Dickens is the only starter who did not graduate.
Thus, it is a rebuilt Balers crew, yet they have quickly got it going well again.
Kaplansky noted this year’s edition has produced the same pre-season record as last year’s team. The Balers are again near the top of the league standings. Instant rebuild in fact.
Hollister next hosts St. Francis. The rematch with Marina is on Jan. 28 and is followed two days later by a trip to dark horse Stevenson. The week of Feb. 2 includes hosting RSJ’s Trailblazers and a jaunt to NMC. The regular season concludes with games against Alvarez and St. Francis.
The Balers are looking forward to qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs. A CCS invite would mark the sixth straight post-season for Hollister.
“We’ve won six of eight coming into league play,” said Kaplansky, and that became nine of 13 shortly thereafter. “The future looks great.”
