From the hardwood to the gridiron and beyond, taking a look back and ahead at the San Antonio-area high school sports landscape:

By the numbers

1,000: Career points for Brandeis senior forward Alexis Parker, who reached the milestone while the Broncos were competing in the three-day, 32-team BeYOUtiful tournament on Nov. 11 in Austin.

 25: Area teams earning spots in the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization’s Region IV preseason rankings. Defending state champion LEE is No. 1 in the Class 6A boys poll. Harlan is No. 3, Reagan is No. 5, Clemens is No. 6 and Smithson Valley is No. 7. In 5A, Southwest is No. 1, Alamo Heights in No. 6 and Kerrville Tivy is No. 9. Defending state champion Boerne is No. 1 in 4A and Fredericksburg is No. 7.

On the girls side, LEE is No. 3 in 6A. Smithson Valley is No. 5, Reagan is No. 6, Brennan is No. 7, Steele is No. 8, Madison is No. 9 and Brandeis is No. 10. Alamo Heights is No. 4 in 5A, Boerne Champion is No. 5 and New Braunfels Canyon is No. 8. In 4A, Boerne is No. 1, Canyon Lake is No. 4, Pleasanton is No. 5, Davenport is No. 7 and Fredericksburg is No. 9.

Teams began after-school workouts on Monday and can hold their first scrimmage on Dec. 10. The season kicks off on Jan. 3 and concludes with the UIL state tournament April 13-16 at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.

Notebook

On the move: Veterans Memorial football coach Richard Mendoza was promoted to principal at Judson, his alma mater, during Tuesday’s Judson ISD board meeting. Mendoza was 28-18 in four seasons with Patriots, making Class 5A playoffs in each. They advanced to the second round in their first two postseason appearances, losing to eventual regional finalist Mission Veterans Memorial in 2018 and Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial in 2019. Veterans Memorial lost in bidistrict the past two seasons.

Mendoza was the starting quarterback on Judson’s 1996 Class 5A (now 6A) state finalist squad and the backup on the Rockets’ 1995 state championship team. Mendoza threw for two touchdowns in Judson’s stunning 30-21 win vs. Galena Park North Shore in the state semifinals in 1996. North Shore featured future NFL players Cory Redding and Andre Gurode and seven other Division I prospects: Joe Walker (Texas), Lavar Johnson (LSU), Reginald Hardy (Arizona), Cedric Cormier (Colorado), Mark Potter (Arizona), Josh Seale (Rice) and Damien Nichols (Texas-El Paso).

Area commitments/signings

Sarah Mayberry, San Antonio Saints volleyball: Navarro College

Julian Sanchez, LEE soccer: Incarnate Word