Escalon’s all-around lead guard is The Bee’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Good basketball players show up every day, no matter the circumstance.
They are consistent, lead in their own way and often come through when teammates call on them.
Great players show up every day and perform, but when their team needs them most, they raise their play to levels even they can’t explain.
Escalon junior guard Arianna Velasco had a season with a postseason run echoing those of great players.
Velasco jokes that she was never more hydrated in her life than she was during the Cougars’ historic postseason run.
She played all 32 minutes in nearly every section and NorCal regional playoff game, finding time to catch her wind in the flow of the action. When she could, she replenished with water and electrolytes.
The Cougars suffered a blow when Madi Babasa, a 1,000-point career scorer and program leader in points, was diagnosed with a season-ending foot injury. Velasco knew she needed to do more, which meant getting uncomfortable.
For most of her playing career, she considered herself a pass-first player, looking to set her teammates up first, play defense and grab steals second and score her own points last. But without Babasa, she knew her role would increase.
“I knew she would always be there on the bench supporting us, but on the court I had to take more control of the game,” Velasco said.
The junior answered the call, scoring at least 20 points in four of the team’s final five games. Though they lost to Central Catholic in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals, they qualified for the CIF Northern California Regional Playoffs, where they went to the Division V NorCal semifinals, farther than any other Escalon girls basketball team has ever advanced.
In a span of a few games, Velasco went from wondering if she could turn on a score-first mindset to putting the Cougars program on her back and leading the team to history.
“I was told more than ever during the playoffs to be more selfish,” she said. “That’s always been weird for me, because I’ve always been a pass first point guard who likes to get everyone else open shots.”
After a season that included winning Trans-Valley League MVP, reaching a career scoring milestone and spearheading a record-breaking playoff run, Velasco is the Stanislaus District girls basketball Player of the Year.
“At the end of the day, I saw how when I’m challenged, I can push myself to limits I didn’t think I’d be able to get to,” Velasco said of her play during the playoffs.
All season whatever head coach Joe Dalpogetti asked Velasco to do, she did it. She led the team in points (17.4), rebounds (9.9), assists (5.2), steals (5.2) and blocks (1.7) per game.
She averaged career highs in every category.
The Cougars won 27 games this season, completing their second season in three years where they won at least 25 contests. They finished a perfect 12-0 in the Trans-Valley League, their first undefeated league season in recent school history.
Her running mate Babasa averaged 14.5 points a game before her year was cut short.
“We knew there would be a lot expected of us with some underclassmen coming up, so we wanted to show them what Escalon basketball was all about and how this program could be grown together,” she siad.
Velasco hit the 1,000-point scoring mark earlier this season and did not slow up. She is now closing in on breaking Babasa’s school scoring record.
Now an upperclassman, Velasco entered the season wanting to be more of a vocal leader, and she succeeded. But after a stellar regular season, she was forced to do more, physically and verbally. She found her voice and led a Cougars team that was running on an abundance of heart, a special team bond and a special player who put together one of the best playoff runs in Northern California.
“Well, we have Ari, other teams don’t,” Dalpogetti said after Velasco’s 23-point outing against Durham in the NorCal second round. “She’s a superstar, she’s very humble and she plays really hard. She does everything on both ends of the floor.”
Velasco has impressed throughout her basketball career and as a junior, took her game to another level.
But it’s not a stretch to say basketball is not her best sport.
Velasco stars on the diamond, scooping up ground balls on the infield and launching home runs over the fence. She plays for a high level travel team and has received Division I college interest. She hit .407 as a sophomore with 22 hits, 13 RBI, three doubles and a triple and stole 23 bases. Velasco was an All-District honorable mention honoree last year.
She says softball helps with basketball and vice versa.
She is a middle infielder whose job on defense is to move laterally at the drop of a dime. The basketball defensive slides help with that.
For all she did on the court during her junior season, Velasco says the main reason the Cougars reached the heights they did this season was her teammates. They went on team trips to watch games at the University of the Pacific, had team dinners and met up at lunchtime to eat and talk. That translated at game time. After her injury, Babasa was just as active in street clothes as she would have been on the court; senior, freshman and every other player found ways to impact the game.
“From the very start, we had the mentality that we wanted to go really far this season,” Velasco said. “What really helped us do that this season was our team culture. … Having that connection, we’d all have that same drive and mentality to get there. This has been a very connected journey for all of us.”
Fan Vote Player of the Year
HANNAH GARCIA, CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Central Catholic had the best season in recent school history and junior Hannah Garcia was one of the main reasons. The addition of Garcia and fellow junior Ayla Parcon provided two additional guards who handled the ball and created offense at a high clip, pressured the ball full court and provided a competitive drive and leadership that only the great teams have. Garcia played basketball at Central Catholic for the first time after recovering from an ACL injury. It didn’t take long for her to make an impact, making all-tournament teams and earning MVP of the Raiders’ MST Gallo Tournament.
Central Catholic went half the season without losing a game. Garcia played right into the Raiders’ gritty defense and fast-break style offense. They won their first 17 games and nearly knocked off East Union in their first Valley Oak League matchup this season. By the end of the regular season, Garcia and the Raiders wrapped up the program’s first-ever VOL title and secured the top seed in the Division IV section playoffs. Garcia helped lead the Raiders to the section title game, their first shot at playing for a blue banner since 2000. Though they fell to West Campus, the Raiders’ season was not done. They advanced to the Northern California tournament where they travelled to Scotts Valley.
By season’s end, the Raiders were an impressive 27-3 and Garcia was an All-VOL First Team honoree, joining teammates Parcon and Samantha Nichols on the first team. Mia Cardoza was an honorable mention and Carsyn Lomeli-Garcia made the All-Defensive Team.
The fans rewarded Garcia for her breakout season, voting her The Bee’s Girls Basketball Fan Vote Player of the Year. She collected 61% of the votes in the poll, finishing ahead of Patterson guard Alyse Lomeli and Ceres guard Lilly Staggs.
2025-26 Modesto Bee Girls Basketball All-District Team
First Team
Madison Babasa, Senior, Escalon
Hannah Garcia, Junior, Central Catholic
Alanah Lopez, Senior, Gregori
Samantha Nichols, Junior, Central Catholic
Leilani Olanolan, Senior, Riverbank
Ayla Parcon, Junior, Central Catholic
Lilly Staggs, Senior, Ceres
Second Team
Laney Amezcua, Freshman, Enochs
Gia Brown, Sophomore, Gregori
Zadie Carroway, Senior, Downey
Sovannary Carter, Senior, Ceres
Dailynn Greener, Senior, Pitman
Audrey Pacheco, Senior, Gregori
Ailvia Pierce, Junior, Enochs
Honorable Mention
Beyer: Nevayh Gonzales; Big Valley Christian: Kailey Rivera; Central Catholic: Mia Cardoza, Carsyn Lomeli; Central Valley: Arienna Martinez; Ceres: Persia Rochell; Davis: Reagan Jamison; Denair: Piper Northcutt; Downey: Briana Roman; Enochs: Rylie Bethke; Escalon: Avery Bartelink, Ayana Cocio; Gregori: Kaylee Hartfield, Lillee Leonetti; Hilmar: Emma Gomes; Hughson: Adisyn Powers, Shawna Valverde; Johansen: Danna Singh; Modesto: Maeve Kidd; Modesto Christian: Zaryah Robinson; Oakdale: Avery Gleason, Natalie Powell; Orestimba: Ashlynn Bell; Patterson: Alyse Lomeli, Kailani Ortiz; Pitman: Clarissa Vallejo; Ripon: Anandjap Dhami, Itxel Reynoso; Ripon Christian: Annika Jung; Riverbank: Isa Fernandez, Paloma Reyes; Turlock: Valez Irasava
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
