By MARTY JAMES
Nicole Gleeson, a Vintage High School graduate who was the Defensive Player of the Year on the Napa Valley Register's All-Napa County team as both a junior and senior, is one of four players who have recently committed to play basketball for the Napa Valley College women's team, Storm head coach Paul DeBolt announced.
Gleeson will transfer to Napa Valley after playing her freshman season of college basketball at Dominican University of California, a private NCAA-Division II school in San Rafael. Gleeson, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard, played in 17 games and averaged 3.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 season for Dominican. She made 11 starts and averaged 21.2 minutes per game.
One of Gleeson's best games was in a 71-56 victory over Academy of Art, when she had seven points and 17 rebounds at the Conlan Center in San Rafael.
"I went to some of her games her senior year and saw her play – I was really impressed with her," DeBolt said on May 5. "Nicole presents a lot of problems for other teams. She's long. She can defend. She's a presence. She's a shot blocker."
Gleeson was 20-of-46 shooting from the floor, 19-of-29 from the free-throw line, and also averaged 1 block and 1.1 steals per game for Dominican, which went 10-18 overall and 7-15 in the Pacific West Conference.
Gleeson had a stellar senior season for Vintage, helping the Crushers to a 20-8 record and Vine Valley Athletic League title. Vintage's season came to a close with a 57-41 loss to San Ramon Valley-Danville in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Division I Championships.
She averaged 9.7 points on 45 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 steals, 2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. She had impressive season totals: 263 points, 121 rebounds, 55 assists, 111 steals, 41 blocks.
NVC announced the commitments of Gleeson, Anna Ghisletta and Charlotte Gerard of Napa, and Perla Bautista of Vintage on Twitter on May 3, at @NVCAthletics. Ghisletta, Gerard and Bautista are each seniors.
Ashley Vogen, named as one Vintage's Block V Athletes of the Year in 2016, has also committed to NVC.
Gleeson was named as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Monticello Empire League as a junior and in the VVAL as a senior. She was chosen as co-Player of the Year at Vintage, as a senior, sharing the top team award with Alyssa Andrews, and was also named first-team All-VVAL.
She was selected to play for the Under Armour U-17 UA Rise showcase girls basketball team, based out of Marin County, last year.
"Given the present circumstances, kids are thinking about maybe just staying home more. But I think also, that these are kids who want to play," said DeBolt. "They just need to have a good place where they're confident – that we're going to have a team, that they're going to be coached, that we're going to be competitive, and that they can move on and keep playing.
"These are good kids. As coaches, we're going to try to teach them to play for each other, play for their teammates. You want to play for each other and make each other better. If they can do that … people will have to sit up and take notice. Napa won't be another … when you see it on the schedule, it's a 'W.' "
NVC was forced to cancel its 2019-20 season in mid-December, after playing just eight games during the nonconference schedule, due to a shortage of players – the result a combination of injuries and those who left the program. Jerry Dunlap, NVC's Athletic Director, announced on Dec. 16 the cancelation of the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to an insufficient number of participants.
The Storm lost all eight of its games, falling twice to Ohlone-Fremont (73-47 and 85-40), and losing to Modesto (84-32), American River-Sacramento (89-44), Las Positas-Livermore (66-39), Hartnell-Salinas (75-41), Los Medanos-Pittsburg (99-39), and Lassen-Susanville (104-30).
Napa Valley started out the season in early November with eight players. It was the first season of women's basketball at Napa Valley since the 2017-18 season.
DeBolt is hopeful of having a roster consisting of at least 11 players.
"We're going to keep adding players," said DeBolt, the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association State Coach of the Year (2000-2001 season), who spent 30 years as the head coach at Contra Costa-San Pablo (1986-2016). "We're talking to other kids. We're not there yet. We're going to keep adding as we go.
"I think people will be surprised. I've told them all that we won't let them down. When they look back, they'll be happy that they chose Napa Valley."
Ghisletta, a point guard and team captain, was named as a finalist for Player of the Year on the All-Napa County team after averaging 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game for Napa (12-15 overall, 6-6 VVAL). The Grizzlies lost in the first round of the CIF North Coast Section Division I Championships to American-Fremont, 69-44.
"Anna is a really good kid. She's a solid point guard," DeBolt said of the All-Vine Valley Athletic League first-team player. "She's got a lot of places in her game where she could grow and get better and gain more confidence. We're going to have a great time coaching her."
Gerard averaged 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
Vogen was named as a finalist for Player of the Year on the 2015-16 All-Napa County team. She averaged 7.1 points per game.
"It's great having her," said DeBolt, who ranks sixth for wins all-time in California community college women's basketball history. "She can make 3's. She's strong and she can defend. She can guard just about anybody."
DeBolt is excited about the commitments that he has received and the potential for adding more players.
"I think when they see the vision that we have, as a coaching staff, they'll realize that this is going to be a lot of fun," he said. "Our goal is to be competitive, to make some noise, to establish something that will last, and to move kids on. These kids can play (four-year) college basketball somewhere."
DeBolt guided Contra Costa to 11 Bay Valley Conference titles and 19 postseason appearances. The Comets finished as the state runner-up at the California Community College Athletic Association state tournament in both 2001 and 2003.
He led Contra Costa to three state final four berths, four state elite eight berths, and seven state Sweet 16 berths, compiling a 562-380 record. He is a three-time CCCWBCA Junior College Region 8 Coach of the Year and an eight-time BVC Coach of the Year.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association, Associated Press Sports Editors, and California Prep Sports Media Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in September of 2019.