Brianna Bouton led Sobrato to superb seasons in basketball and volleyball and will continue with hoops in college, recently signing a National Letter of Intent with CSU Monterey Bay.
In her last three years of competition, Bouton and teammates have excelled, with three straight Central Coast Section playoff appearances in each sport. In basketball, Sobrato was 42-29 during that span, while in volleyball, the Bulldogs put together a 52-35 mark. In both cases, Sobrato moved up a division during her tenure.
Sobrato’s hoops team was strong in 2022-23 and was thus moved up from the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa – East Division to the BVAL’s top grouping, the Mt. Hamilton Division. The climb was even harder due to graduations.
With new team members and new faces taking over key roles, prospects were challenging. Early in the year, Sobrato Athletic Director/head basketball coach Lawrence Crawford looked at the horizon.
“We’re a very young team,” Crawford said. “We have five freshmen on varsity. Brianna is at wing and she does it all for us.”
Bouton did it all and her teammates came through too. Bouton led the Bulldogs in scoring at 11.9 points per game and in assists with 2.5 assists per contest, while pulling down an average of 4.1 rebounds. In the new and higher division, she garnered first team All-League honors.
“This season and every season I played the guard position but at times was able to get the ball down in the post,” Bouton said. “Highlights from this season as a team was being able to make it to third round of CCS with a younger team.”
Notable victories included regular season wins over Salinas 58-42 and over Harker 48-46 and a playoff win 56-50 against Willow Glen. In the victory against the Cowboys, Bouton brought Sobrato from behind by scoring four baskets in each of the middle two periods, propelling the Bulldogs into control.
Even in defeat this past year, the young Bulldogs were competitive, such as in a 35-32 loss to Branham, the eventual Central Coast Section Division I champion.
In the summer, Bouton plays for the South Bay Red Devils. She mentioned the highlight of being undefeated at the Oregon Trail tournament in Portland and noted finding a role on both offense and defense.
Coach Ahmad Senegal of the Red Devils was effusive about the modest Bouton. Senegal has coached her for about four years and has personally witnessed her growth since eighth grade.
“Bri has always brought the energy and has taken pride in being a great defender,” Senegal said. “She had the task to always guard the other team’s best wing scorer. Bri showed great versatility playing multiple positions. On offense, she shoots the 3-ball well and she developed a very solid post-up game which created mismatches for the opponents.”
Senegal continued in his description of Bouton, echoing the view of coach Crawford.
“I think her biggest strength is leading,” Senegal said. “It’s a skill that many don’t possess or would like to take on that responsibility. I refer to Bri as ‘Cap’ but she’s been my captain and continuously leads the way during her time with me and SBRD.”
In volleyball, Sobrato finished 7-5 for third place in the highest BVAL Division, the Mt. Hamilton. Bouton had 259 kills, second on the team behind Kaylee Clayton.
Highlights included victories over Soquel, Christopher and Aptos. Coach Daniel Clifton’s Bulldogs also swept second-place Leigh on the road, with Bouton leading with nine kills, and gave unbeaten league champ Branham a five-set battle, with Bouton on fire that night with 25 kills and a .328 attack percentage.
“My senior night for volleyball was one to remember against Branham High School, a very good team,” Bouton said. “We took them to five sets and almost won. My senior night for basketball was also very memorable playing against Live Oak. We won and it was a lot of fun.”
Bouton said her parents emphasized playing multiple sports. Both were athletes in college in their day, mother Janet in volleyball and father Chad in basketball.
Brianna Bouton likes volleyball due to the high energy and pace of the game. In club season, she competes with the Morgan Hill Volleyball Club. One of the special joys in volleyball came with playing on the same Sobrato volleyball team with younger sister Jordan Bouton.
Now it’s time to head over to the coast at Cal State Monterey Bay, in Seaside. Bouton will be a young Otter and a key part of Coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery’s building of the program.
“The recruiting process is definitely not easy but if you want it that bad like I did, putting in the constant work will show in games,” Bouton said. “I didn’t start getting much attention from coaches until last summer and that’s when I started talking to Coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery. We set up a visit of the school and team and I immediately loved everything. The team and coaches were so welcoming and that’s when I knew this was where I was meant to be.”
A few days later, she gave Hopkins-Chery a call with her commitment. Later in the school year, she signed her NLI in a ceremony at Sobrato.
Hopkins-Chery had major success during seven seasons at the helm of UC Merced before moving over to CSUMB. Her Bobcat teams were 103-66 overall and 57-17 in California Pacific Conference play. She is in the early stages of making a big mark with CSUMB and looks to players such as Bouton as key components.
“We are excited to have Bri joining our team,” Hopkins-Chery said. “She is a great person who fits our playing style. Her work ethic and talent will help her have a successful college experience and impact in our community. I’m looking forward to coaching Bri and seeing her growth over the next four years.”
Senegal also foresees great things in Bouton’s future.
“All in all, Bri Bouton is a kid that won’t be duplicated in this South Bay area,” Senegal said. “A fierce competitor whose willingness to grit and grind it out is one of one! I’m lucky and beyond blessed to coach and be a part of her journey.”
