UPLAND — A.J. Contreras began his career with the Upland boys volleyball program as a secondary player for the Highlanders’ offense.
By the end, he was in the starring role.
Contreras embraced the role, leading Upland to another Baseline League title and earning IE Varsity boys volleyball player of the year honors.
Contreras is the third straight player from Upland to earn the honor, following Jordan Lucas two years ago and Aiden DuFour last year.
“I’ve always wanted to be in that role,” Contreras said. “I’ve been waiting for it. I was confident I could hold that position. I think it worked out pretty well.”
Contreras, a 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter and opposite hitter, led Upland with 395 kills, 5.8 kills per set with a 47.0 kill percentage, and a .317 hitting percentage.
He had more than twice the kills of anyone else on the team, in sharp contrast to his other three varsity seasons. As a junior, he led the team in kills but was only one of three hitters with at least 300 kills in a very balanced attack. As a sophomore, he was fourth on the team in kills and as a freshman he was third.
“This was the first year he got to play his natural position,” Upland coach Scott Robertson said. “Last year he was on the right side. Previous year, he was on the right side. This year we got to keep him on the left.”
Contreras tried several sports before high school, including picking up volleyball in eighth grade.
“Growing up, I always wanted sports to take me into college,” said Contreras, who will play volleyball at UC Santa Cruz next year. “I didn’t find it in baseball or basketball. Freshman year came around, and I dropped basketball.”
He focused on the same sport at Upland as his sisters, Riley and Addison.
While Contreras was a major contributor for the 2021 team that made the CIF Southern Section Division 5 semifinals, he knew he needed to improve.
“My first year especially into my second year, other guys on the team and our coach thought I wasn’t that good of a passer and back then I really wasn’t,” Contreras said. “I thought it was something I could work on. I thought, ‘I really need to work on this because I want to play six rotations.’”
In the fall of his sophomore year, he started playing club volleyball with the Orange County club Pulse and felt he improved greatly entering his sophomore year under Robertson.
As the profile of the Upland program increased, moving to Division 3 his sophomore year (and winning a CIF State regional title) and to Division 2 the last two years, including winning a CIF-SS Division 2 title last year, Robertson saw the improvement in Contreras.
“He had to embrace not only the offensive load but be a presence defensively, and the leadership role that he had to take. That was an adjustment for him,” Robertson said. “He was not only the go-to player on the court, but the go-to player off the court as well.”
Contreras became a leader, helping the Highlanders not only this season, but in the future.
“Since a lot of guys on our team didn’t get a lot of playtime (previously), it really helped to have someone on the floor to coach them through certain situations,” Contreras said.
With the graduations from last year’s team there were plenty of questions for this year. But when Contreras recorded 24 kills in a four-set win over Anaheim Canyon in the home opener, he showed he was ready to take on that bigger role.
— PETE MARSHALL
IE VARSITY COACH OF THE YEAR
Brandon Baker, Rancho Verde
Baker was Rancho Verde’s successful boys basketball coach for many seasons, but he stepped down after following the pandemic-delayed 2021 season. Baker soon took on a new challenge in starting a boys volleyball program at the school. Rancho Verde has a 73-20 record during Baker’s three seasons at the helm, including a program-record 30 victories this season. The Mustangs went undefeated in the Sunbelt League for the program’s third consecutive league championship. Rancho Verde reached the quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoff for the second straight year.
— ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON
IE VARSITY FIRST TEAM
OH: Donovan Bacon, Fontana, Jr.
OH: A.J. Contreras, Upland, Sr. (Player of the Year)
OH: Tucker Ellis, Elsinore, Jr.
OH: Patrick Falliaux, Murrieta Mesa, Sr.
OH: Sirr Lobban, Rancho Verde, Sr.
OH: Caleb Sapp, Claremont, Sr.
OH: Weston Werner, Riverside Poly, Jr.
MB: Reagan Sager, Yucaipa, Sr.
MB: Preston Stevenson, Vista Murrieta, Sr.
S: Carson Chambers, Santiago, Jr.
S: Luca Corelli, Murrieta Mesa, Jr.
S: Leo Cruz, Hillcrest, Sr.
S: Aiden DuFour, Upland, Jr.
S: Ryan Ly, Vista Murrieta, Jr.
L: Joey Chute, Upland, Sr.
IE VARSITY SECOND TEAM
OH: Quintin Chiles, Great Oak, Jr.
OH: Jaden Delgado-Matsuda, Ganesha, So.
OH: Mark Huynh, Redlands East Valley, Jr.
OH: Reyce Ongalibang, Santiago, So.
OH: Micah Pool, Woodcrest Christian, Jr.
OH: Sean Spicer, Chino Hills, So.
OH: Noah Torres, Roosevelt, So.
OPP: Collin Applegate, Vista Murrieta, Sr.
MB: Micah Mackenzie, Ontario Christian, Jr.
MB: Louis Nolte, Claremont, Sr.
S: Jose Miranda Ramirez, Summit, Sr.
S: Collin Ramos, Great Oak, Jr.
S: Landon Wilson, Elsinore, Sr.
L: Dylan Spry, Yucaipa, So.
L: Diego Macias, Ramona, Sr.
