SBART Luncheon: Cole Anderson Named UCSB Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Cole Anderson was awarded UCSB’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and local spring sports teams provided their final updates at the last Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon of the year on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

While most local teams have wrapped up their seasons, Santa Barbara High boys volleyball and Dos Pueblos boys lacrosse are gearing up for CIF-SS title matchups on Saturday.

Cole Anderson Named UCSB Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Anderson was a standout student-athlete for the Gauchos for the past four seasons, getting the job done on the court and in the classroom.

“Reflecting on my whole journey here, the basketball is awesome, but I really just think about all the relationships I’ve built and the people I’ve met along the way and that I’ll continue to think about as I move on with my life,” Anderson said.

“I want to move back here when I’m older because I love it here. Basketball’s been awesome here. Life’s been awesome, and I’m really just honored to get this award, so thank you guys.”

He ended his career as one of the best shooters in program history, including a blistering 47.4% mark from beyond the arc during his senior season. He also shot over 40% in each of his first three seasons.

Anderson, who plans to continue his basketball career at the professional level, was as reliable as it gets. He started every game of his final two seasons while playing in 127 of a possible 128 games during his 4-year career.

UCSB head coach Joe Pasternack praised Anderson for his dedication and commitment to the Gaucho program throughout his years rather than turning to the transfer portal.

“What [Anderson] did with his family is they went totally against the grain for the right reasons,” Pasternack said. “He wanted to get a degree from UC Santa Barbara. He wanted to be associated with one program, one group of alumni and boosters that would take care of them the rest of his life when his pro career is over… but he’s set for the rest of his life because all of our alumni see that, and they really respect loyalty.

“Over the course of four years, he’s had opportunities to make a lot more money by going to the portal and going to other schools. Schools were recruiting him relentlessly to leave UC Santa Barbara.”

In the classroom, he finished with a 3.5 GPA while making the Academic All-Big West Team for his sophomore, junior and senior years.

Anderson is the last of 11 Scholar-Athletes of the Year for the 2024-25 school year, joining Carpinteria’s Keyla Manriquez, Providence’s Sarah Monroy, Laguna Blanca’s Chloe Gidney, Santa Barbara’s Gwen Chenoweth, San Marcos’ Andres Villa, Bishop Diego’s Sophia Regan, Cate’s Daisy Gemberling, Dos Pueblos’ Pessia Fygenson, SBCC’s Selma Jensen and Westmont’s Sage Kramer.

The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.

“The most important thing you hope as a coach is that you can prepare young men to be successful in life after basketball,” Pasternack said. “I want them to thank me when they’re 28 years old, not when they play for us, because God knows he didn’t thank me every single day for getting on him, and his parents didn’t either, but hopefully one day, he’ll appreciate the lessons he’s learned.

“He gave us the greatest benefit in the world to stay at UCSB for four years.”

CIF Championship Games on Deck

Dos Pueblos boys lacrosse and Santa Barbara High boys volleyball have reached the game they have been vying for all season long.

The Chargers will play for the CIF-SS Division 2 title against either San Clemente or Aliso Niguel, who square off on Tuesday. The championship game will be on Saturday at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.

Dos Pueblos, which boasts a 17-person senior class, comes into the game as the lone undefeated team in California with an impressive record of 21-0.

The Finneran twins, Dan and Jack, have been the focal point of the Charger offense all season and throughout the playoff run, in which they have outscored opponents 39-19.

The Dos Pueblos defense has come in clutch as well, led by goalie Danny Perez and the tandem of Andrew Forsland, Mitchell Maskerey, Jackson Sillers and Makai Callis.

Meanwhile, the Dons will take on Sage Hill for the CIF-SS Division 4 boys volleyball championship, and they will do so in front of their home crowd. J.R. Richards Gym will host the title match on Saturday at 1 p.m.

They seem to be peaking at the right time, winning four straight playoff games after going 14-10 in the regular season and placing third in the Channel League.

Three of those four postseason wins have come via sweeps, as Santa Barbara High has leaned on the strong offense from Benicio Duarte and Luke Zuffelato on the outside while relying on a stout defense led by Jack Goligoski.

Sage Hill has found similar success in the postseason with three sweeping wins on the opposite end of the bracket.