Modesto Christian’s breakout star is The Bee’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year
Trevor Dickson saw it all from opposing defenses this season.
The Modesto Christian guard was double-teamed, saw a box-and-1 and had defenses from state champion-level teams on high-alert for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
When players transferred out of the program this offseason, that created room for him to shine. While the team waited for incoming transfers to serve the CIF-mandated transfer sit-out period, Dickson kept the team afloat.
By the end of the season, Dickson led the team to its 23rd Sac-Joaquin Section championship, its state-best 30th straight league title and an appearance in the Open Division playoffs.
Individually, he went from a role player to the team’s leading scorer, increasing his numbers across the board along the way.
“I was able to learn from guys like Gavin (Sykes) and Myles (Jones) and we had some guys transfer out so I had to be more ball dominant and more of a ball handler,” Dickson said. “My teammates were able to trust me, my coaches were able to trust me.”
Dickson scored 626 total points (19.6 ppg), up from 330 last season, grabbed 130 rebounds, dished 49 assists, had 32 steals and 12 blocks for the Crusaders.
He was 15th in California with 105 made threes and hit the 1,000-point scoring mark with a patented long ball in the NorCal Open Division semifinals against Archbishop Riordan.
After hitting the scoring milestone, earning Tri-City Athletic League MVP honors, leading the Crusaders back to a section title while averaging a career high 19.6 points a game, Dickson is The Bee’s boys basketball Player of the Year.
Dickson grew in stature from about 6 feet to start his sophomore season to 6-foot-5 at the start of his junior campaign and his profile grew with it.
Not even halfway through the season, he was one of the most recognizable names in the section. Some of the best teams in Northern California had him at the top of their scouting reports on a nightly basis. Hard switching and top-locking him on off-ball screens and guarding him full court when he was one of the team’s primary ball handlers.
But he still did the little things. He made the extra pass, got into a defensive stance to guard and expanded his role as a leader.
“He’s the highest basketball character kid I’ve ever met. Whatever it takes. He’s smart, focused, cares about basketball. If it was a 2K game, he’d be a 100 out of 100,” Crusaders’ head coach Chris Teevan said during the season. “He’s not just stepping into a role in the basketball part, he’s stepping into a role at the school. … The way he leads and connects people on the court and off the court is important.”
Dickson put all the rumors to bed unprompted during his Player of the Year interview in the foyer of Modesto Christian’s Anderson Gymnasium. He talked about wanting to be the best player to come out of the Crusaders’ storied program. He dreams of having the legendary playoff performances former teammates BJ Davis and Gavin Sykes had during their times on Sisk Road. He wants to keep their CIF-SJS home playoff streak alive (the Crusaders have not lost a home Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game since 1998). He wants his jersey and his name to hang high on the walls in the gym’s entryway like boys and girls legends that came before him.
“I’m hoping to leave a legacy here. Stay all four years and be one of the best players to come out of MC,” he said.
So, no.
Despite chatter in different parts of the Sac-Joaquin Section, Trevor Dickson won’t transfer out of Modesto Christian for his senior season.
“I heard it. A lot of rumors go around and I was hearing stuff that I never even said or my family’s never said,” Dickson said when asked about the rumors. “I just want to leave a legacy here. Leaving for my senior year would not really be the most ideal and the schedule we’re about to play next year is going to be top-notch.”
The Crusaders made their 11th Open Division state tournament, a Northern California record and increased their lead atop the CIF-SJS championship list.
But arguably the best part about this season is the fact that there was just one senior.
Nearly all the team’s rotation this year will be back for the 2026-27 campaign where they expect to be back in the Open Division playoffs. Teevan said after the team’s loss to Riordan in the NorCal Open Division semifinal that there’s a chance the Crusaders could be Northern California’s top team heading into next season.
And even with all of the things he accomplished as a junior, Dickson is set on coming back even better for his last season on Sisk Road.
Fan Vote Player of the Year
JORDAN MAGANA, CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Magana built off a junior season where he was the team’s leading scorer, and became more of a vocal leader and the team’s go-to option down the stretch. Nothing says this better than the Raiders’ home game against rival Oakdale.
With the game tied and the Raiders inbounding the ball on the sideline, Magana rushed to get open. After Oakdale denied him on the initial action, he scrambled to get the ball and got off a clean shot from behind the arc, draining the buzzer-beater as the game clock expired.
Magana and the Raiders went 17-13 overall in the 2025-26 season, a third place finish in Valley Oak League play and a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs.
He scored a game-high 26 points with six threes in a 70-65 first round win over Roseville. He reached double figures in all but one game and hit 20 points 10 times. In his final varsity season, Magana averaged the exact same amount of points and scored the same total points as a senior as he did in his junior season, posting numbers of 17.3 and 503, respectively. He got to the free throw line at a higher clip as a senior, making a career high 128 foul shots at a career high 89% clip.
He also posted a career high 107 assists. Magana was a four-year varsity player for the Raiders and leaves the program as one of the best ever. He is the Raiders’ leader in career points (1,764) and threes (315) and is third all time in assists (333).
The fans noticed his seasonlong contributions as the Raiders’ leader, making him their choice for The Bee’s Boys Basketball Fan Vote Player of the Year. Magana secured 71% of the votes in the poll. He finished ahead of second and third place finishers Trevor Dickson of Modesto Christian and Curtis Harmon of Beyer.
2025-26 Modesto Bee Boys Basketball All-District Team
First Team
Louie Dill, Senior, Enochs
Curtis Harmon, Junior, Beyer
Siincere Hudson, Junior, Modesto Christian
Somto Patrick, Freshman, Modesto Christian
James McGee, Junior, Beyer
Jayson Powers, Senior, Gregori
Second Team
Bryce Busam, Junior, Oakdale
Jordan Magana, Senior, Central Catholic
Cole Martin, Senior, Modesto Christian
Ivan Martinez, Senior, Johansen
Keimani Thompson, Junior, Beyer
Jake Vander Veen, Senior, Ripon Christian
Honorable Mention
Beyer: Rodney Oliney; Big Valley Christian: Yusef Abdulla, Titus Boone, Austin Lung; Central Catholic: Zach Ishmail, Amari Waterford; Central Valley: Parteek Sohal; Ceres: Raymond Cortez, Tayden Galton; Davis: Jericho Dunlap, Jose Maravilla; Denair: Koby Cervantes; Downey: Andrew Miller, Michael Richardson; Enochs: Marcus Leon, Joseph Ponteras; Escalon: Ben Ferreira, Jake Ferreira, Logan Huebner; Gregori: Rajan Candhu, Mason Marsden, Myles Vath; Hilmar: Aaron Solorio; Hughson: Daram Kang; Johansen: Johnny Chavez, Julian Davis; Modesto: Xavier Lopez; Modesto Christian: Seve Archuletta, Elijah Payne; Oakdale: Niki Jones, Gavin Wyatt; Orestimba: Rudy Corona, Emilano Medina; Patterson: Troyce Harrison, Jace Johnson; Pitman: Abhiraj Cheema, Tyler Sanchez; Ripon: Andrew Shaw, AJ Vanderwerff; Ripon Christian: Amos Cady, Mason Tameling; Riverbank: Luke Castro, Dario Rollaceli; Turlock: Ledger Ladine, Donovan Muirbrook
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
