Local notebook: Condors filling out staff; BC releases more schedules; Watts returns

Jul. 11—The Bakersfield Condors' coaching carousel is finally grinding to a halt.

Newly appointed head coach Colin Chaulk needed just two weeks to secure a pair of key additions to his staff, tapping Josh Green and Keith McCambridge as assistant coaches on Monday. The pair will serve alongside Sylvain Rodrigue, a goaltending coach and holdover from Jay Woodcroft's staff.

Bakersfield still has a vacancy at video coordinator, after the Oilers promoted Noah Segall to join former Condors Woodcroft and Dave Manson in Edmonton on Thursday.

Green, an accomplished former center with a decadeslong playing career — including two stints with the Oilers — is still fairly new to coaching but most recently served since 2019 as an assistant with the Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League.

McCambridge, contrastingly, played as a defenseman and has already racked up nine years as an American Hockey League head coach between St. John's, Manitoba and Hartford.

He will provide a veteran presence alongside Chaulk, who is slated to take on his first AHL head-coaching job this fall.

One month away: With football and volleyball schedules already in place, Bakersfield College is beginning to fill out the remainder of its fall slate, with cross-country, women's soccer and wrestling recently added to the calendar. While BC has yet to post its rosters — which can change pretty close to the start of competition — the Renegades had a host of freshmen play key roles last year in all three sports.

That was especially notable in women's soccer, which had just one sophomore on its roster and a first-year head coach in Edgar Linares. BC had an eight-game losing streak but finished the year on a 3-3-1 stretch, and starters like midfielders Ariana and Mikayla Polanco and goalkeepers Katelyn Gonzalez and Sierrah Smith retain eligibility. Their season opens Aug. 19 at Fullerton.

Cross-country is expected to bring back reigning conference champion Jacob Yagers on the men's side and top performers like Rain Gomez and Crystal Raya for the women's team, with the Renegades' first competition slated for Aug. 26 at Irvine Regional Park.

Wrestling has a taller task, replacing two-time state champion Jonathan Hunter at 184 pounds, but the program had plenty of first-year Renegades in last year's lineup, like Eathon Rider at 125, Gracen Hayes at 165 and brother Corbin Hayes as a heavyweight.

Fall schedules are still pending for women's soccer and men's golf.

Powering up: Bakersfield's own Brayden Watts is returning to the Oilers organization, re-signing with the Wichita Thunder for a third season in the ECHL. Watts had 46 points in 52 games with Wichita last year but made headlines for a quiet four-game stint with the Condors, during which he became the first Bakersfield native to play for the Condors in a non-emergency capacity. (Garrett Taylor served as an emergency goaltender in 2015.) Rejoining Edmonton's farm gives him another chance to play in front of hometown fans next year.

Deserted: Early summer tends to be a quiet time for high school football. Not so in Mojave this offseason, as controversy surrounds the departure of the Mustangs' coach, Cash Achziger. As reported in the Antelope Valley Press on June 23, Mojave's administration chose to replace Achziger, a winner of four championships since 2013 who is not a full-time employee of the district and must reapply for the job each year, with incoming physical education teacher Joshua Waybright. The school district characterized it as a by-the-book example of prioritizing on-campus employees, in accordance with a contract with the teachers' union; Achziger said the school principal and athletic director led him to believe he would return, then never offered an explanation for passing him over. The decision spurred a petition in the local community, with Mojave rapidly approaching the start of its season.

More new homes: With BC softball pitcher Talia Nielsen already headed to Abilene Christian, the Renegades have announced another signing from their successful 2022 squad. Slap-hitting outfielder Kylie Havens, a Frontier alum who batted .375 with a 15-game hitting streak for BC while serving primarily as the Renegades' leadoff hitter, has signed with Division II Concordia Irvine.

In other BC news, linebacker Jalen Smith announced that he will attend Hawaii next year. The Garces product had 15 tackles and one interception in 2021.

After starting four games for Cal State Bakersfield last year, opposite hitter Isabela Adamczyk has transferred to Embry-Riddle, a Division II school in Florida.

Other recent commitments include Ivan Hernandez of Golden Valley soccer to Antelope Valley (NAIA) and Tanner Forbus of Centennial baseball, a junior, to Point Loma Nazarene (Division II).

Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.