Mater Dei High School is a private,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

secondary school in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, located in and administered by the Diocese of Orange. Mater Dei is nationally known for its strong sports programs, especially in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. It is ranked first in the United States for "best high schools for athletes" by school review company Niche. In 2014,

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

ranked it in the top five high schools in the U.S. for producing professional athletes. Over 68 percent of the student body participates in some role with a team, in one of the 25 different sports sponsored by the school. Altogether they have won 90 CIF, state, and national championships.

History

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles opened Mater Dei in 1950, the first Catholic high school in Orange County. The school had 111 students and a faculty of seven, including

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by its initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. Its founders were Irish Catholics. The BVM currently works in tw ...

, plus principal Fr. Joseph Eyraud. In 1953 they were joined by the Patrician Brothers, who taught until 2005. Enrollment grew rapidly. The school was originally designed for 800 students, but by 1964 was serving 1,800. In the 1970s it became the largest Catholic high school west of Chicago. Overcrowding persisted until 1987, when Santa Margarita Catholic High School opened in South Orange County. In 2000, Mater Dei embarked on a major capital campaign to fund a new parking lot, chapel, library, and service buildings, as well as a spate of athletic facilities and, in 2019, a much-needed parking garage.

Controversy

The school has received mixed attention in local media, due in part to scouting athletes from public high schools and offering scholarships, in order to reinforce their acclaimed football program. In 2021, a lawsuit was filed alleging that systemic hazing pervaded the football program resulting in a "brutal locker room altercation." This lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in 2023. Another 2021 lawsuit alleged that two Mater Dei football players severely injured a classmate in an orchestrated attack. Orange County bishop Kevin Vann responded with a public statement supporting the school's leadership and criticizing the "media frenzy". The school announced it would commission an independent investigation into the allegations. In January 2022, a female alumna of Mater Dei filed a lawsuit following the surfacing accusations of hazing, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by a former football coach during the late 1980s.

Athletics

Mater Dei High School's teams are named the Monarchs, and their colors are red and grey. As of 2023, the school sponsors boys' and girls' teams at multiple levels in 25 sports in the Trinity League, part of CIF Southern Section: * Baseball * Basketball * Beach Volleyball * Cheerleading * Cross-Country * Football * Golf * Lacrosse * Soccer * Sailing * Softball * Swimming & Diving * Tennis * Track & Field * Volleyball * Water Polo * Wrestling In addition, boys' beach volleyball, e-sports, equestrian, ice hockey, and surfing are offered on a club level. Known for their football and basketball programs, Mater Dei has also graduated professional athletes Robbie Rogers (soccer), Tiki Ghosn (mixed martial arts), and Greg Woepse (pole vault), as well as ten Olympians. A total of 15 players have been named Gatorade California State Players of the Year.

Football

The Mater Dei football team plays in CIF Southern Section Division 1. They most recently won the CIF State Championship during the 2024 season, and won national championships in 1994, 1996, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023. As of 2022, three graduates have won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

, John Huarte, Matt Leinart, and Bryce Young. In 2021 ''The New York Times'' cited Mater Dei's football program and that of rival St. John Bosco for making high school football look like

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

competition in terms of recruiting, training, and facilities.

Notable alumni

Athletics

* Bob Ammann – former soccer goalkeeper * Mike Ammann – former professional soccer player * Devin Askew - college basketball guard * Matt Barkley – NFL

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

* McQuin Baron – Olympic water polo player * Colt Brennan – NFL quarterback * Zabien Brown – college football cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide * Bol Bol – NBA center * Cedric Bozeman - NBA player * Schea Cotton – basketball player * JT Daniels (born 2000) –

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

quarterback for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

* Thomas Duarte – NFL

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

* LeRon Ellis –

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and center * Danny Espinosa –

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Austin Faoliu Austin Faoliu (born January 9, 1999) is an American football nose tackle for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL). He played college football at the Oregon Ducks football, University of Oreg ...

– NFL

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

* Nate Frazier - football player * Spencer Freedman (born 1998) – college basketball player for the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

and

NYU Violets NYU Violets is the nickname of the sports teams and other competitive teams at New York University. The school colors are purple and white. Although officially known as the Violets, the school mascot is a bobcat. The Violets compete as a member ...

* Reggie Geary (born 1973) – NBA

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

* Tiki Ghosn –

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter * Matt Grootegoed – NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

* Mike Hessman – Major League Baseball player and inductee of the

International League Hall of Fame The International League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the International League (IL). It was created by the International League Baseball Writers' Association in 1947 to honor t ...

Vince Hizon Vicente Paul Bowie Hizon (born November 25, 1970) is an American-born Filipino retired professional basketball player. He is the former commissioner of the Filsports Basketball Association. FBA, a community-based grassroots basketball league in ...

– American-born former

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

player * Khaled Holmes – NFL center * Haley Hopkins - NWSL player * Mike Hopkins – NCAA basketball player and coach * John Huarte (born 1944) –

winner and NFL quarterback * Sara Hughes – professional

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

player * Chris Jackson – NFL

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

* Domani Jackson – college football

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the Alabama Crimson Tide * Stanley Johnson – NBA forward * Annie Karich - soccer player * Taylor King – professional basketball player * Kelsey Kollen – former softball player for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

* Tyler Lamb – professional basketball player * Quentin Lake – professional football player for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

* Matt Leinart (born 1983) – Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterbackBen Bolch
Leinart Chosen State Player of Year
''Los Angeles Times'', December 5, 2000. Retrieved April 30, 2011. * Todd Marinovich – NFL quarterback * Bru McCoy – college football player for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

* Chase McGrath – professional football placekicker * Ryan McMahon – MLB player *

Bobby Meacham Robert Andrew Meacham (born August 25, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who spent his entire six-year big league playing career with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since retiring from active play ...

– MLB

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and coach * Daniel Meyer – Major League Baseball player * Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis – WNBA guard * Ricky Ortiz – NFL fullback * Kennedy Polamalu – former professional football player and current running backs coach for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

* Katin Reinhardt – professional basketball player * Nikko Remigio – NFL wide receiver * Curtis Robinson – professional football player for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

* Robbie Rogers –

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

winger * Jamal Sampson – NBA

forward-center Forward–center is a basketball basketball positions, position for players who play or have played both Basketball positions#Frontcourt (forwards and center), forward and center (basketball), center on a consistent basis. Typically, this means ...

* Katie Lou Samuelson – guard/forward in the WNBA * Sergio Santos – MLB

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

* Miles Simon – basketball analyst for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and former NBA guard * Anthony Slama – MLB

* Olive Sagapolu – USFL defensive tackle * Amon-Ra St. Brown – NFL wide receiver * Ryan Stonehouse – American football punter, NCAA record holder * D. J. Strawberry – NBA

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

* Matt Treanor – MLB

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

* Alonzo Tredwell – professional baseball pitcher * Michael Wang – NCAA basketball player * David Wear – NCAA basketball forward * Travis Wear – NBA basketball forward *

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

– NFL football player * Max Wittek – former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

football quarterback * Greg Woepse – silver medalist at the 1979 Pan Am Games in the pole vault * Bryce Young (born 2001) – Heisman Trophy winner and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Other

* John A. Davis – film director/animator * Mike Gallagher (2002) – United States Congressman from Wisconsin's 8th congressional district (2017–present) * Bob Gunton – actor * Jeff Lewis – real estate agent and

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

Steve Oedekerk Steven Brent Oedekerk (born November 27, 1961) is an American filmmaker, actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his collaborations with actor and comedian Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac (particularly the '' Ace Ventura'' franc ...

– film actor, comedian, director, film editor, film producer, and screenwriter * Aimee Phan – author *

Mike Pniewski Michael Pniewski (born April 20, 1961) is an American actor and public speaker. Life and career Pniewski was born in Los Angeles, California. His education began at UCLA, where he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater and a ...

– actor, speaker * Shelby Rabara – actress, voice over actress, and dancer * Jaime Soto –

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Sacramento * Victory Tischler-Blue – singer, film producer, director, photographer, and member of the

all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...

The Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

– singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer *

Juan Zarate Juan Carlos Zarate is an American attorney and security advisor who served as the deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism during the George W. Bush administration. He is the global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer a ...

(1989) – Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (2001–2005) and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism (2005–2009)

References

External links

* {{authority control Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Catholic secondary schools in California High schools in Santa Ana, California Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in California