BRIEFS:Sea Kings athletes commit

Corona del Mar High senior baseball players Jake Lemmerman and Vinnie St. John will sign their letters of intent to Duke and USC, respectively, Nov. 8, Sea Kings Coach John Emme said Tuesday.

“It’s obviously exciting,” Emme said. “It was expected they would continue to play in collge. It’s great for our program.”

Lemmerman, a shortstop and last year’s Newport-Mesa Player of the Year, batted .429 with four home runs and 25 RBIs for the Sea Kings last year.

St. John, who batted .400 and stole 16 bases, is receiving a partial scholarship. He is gaining most of his scholarship through academics, his father, Vinnie Sr., said. Vinnie St. John Jr., who has a 4.2 grade point average, was told that his baseball and jersey will be waiting for him when he arrives at the school next year.

He was recruited as a pitcher and outfielder.

Lemmerman, an All-CIF Southern Section Division III second-teamer, is being recruited as a shortstop.

The two said they were excited they will be signing together. They grew up in the same neighborhood and played on the same T-ball team. They also played against each other in Little League.

“That makes it awesome,” Lemmerman said of signing with his friend. “We played Little League together and to see the way we’ve been able to improve has been great to watch. Maybe in college we’ll play against each other again.”

— Steve Virgen

SAILORS HIRE BROOKS

Newport Harbor High has hired Josh Brooks as its new girls’ soccer coach.

Brooks comes from Villa Park where he coached the boys’ team from 2002 to 2006 and the girls’ team last season. Brooks also played soccer at Fullerton College and Pacific Christian College.

He inherits a Sailors team that narrowly missed the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs last year. Newport Harbor finished, 7-10-2, 4-4-2 in the Sea View League, after back-to-back victories to end the season.

UCI’S SCHOENI HONORED

UC Irvine senior goalkeeper Kenny Schoeni was named Big West Conference Player of the Week in men’s soccer following two shutouts last week.

Schoeni, a Vanderbilt transfer, has seven shutouts this season, tying a school single-season record.

He had a combined seven saves in the Anteaters’ 2-0 win over UC Riverside on Oct. 18 and UCI’s 0-0 tie with Cal Poly on Saturday.

UCI is 10-3-3, 4-2-1 in the Big West, where it sits in second place. The ‘Eaters play host to Cal State Fullerton Wednesday at 7 p.m.

LIONS VOLLEYBALL AWARDED

Vanguard freshman outside hitter Kelsey Wirt and sophomore outside hitter Breeann Peterson have been named Golden State Athletic Conference Players of the Week.

Wirt tallied 51 kills (5.1 per game), 50 digs and four aces to lead Vanguard to an upset win over No. 3-ranked Cal Baptist. In the five-game victory, she recorded 21 kills, 23 digs and three aces. Wirt also complied a career-high 30 kills in a five-game win over Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA.

Peterson amassed 109 assists, 21 digs and nine kills in the two wins. She had 48 assists against Cal Baptist.

In the win over APU, she dished out a season-high 61 assists. She also added 12 digs, three aces and an ace.

Vanguard (12-10, 5-9 in conference) plays at Biola on Thursday at 7 p.m.