Bears Sign Bonner To NLI
BERKELEY – Third year head coach Charmin Smith has landed another high-impact prospect with the signing of 6-foot-0 guard Amaya Bonner from Bishop O'Dowd High School, who signed her National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.
"Amaya is the perfect addition to our Cal circle," said Smith. "She brings size and versatility to our squad, and will be a problem for opponents on both ends of the floor. In my first action back on the recruiting trail this summer, I was so thrilled to watch Amaya glide to the basket, snatch offensive rebounds and swat shots – I was thinking, 'This young lady is going to be a Bear!' Now it's official. I can't wait for her to get here."
Though this year's class is smaller in size than previous classes, the addition of Bonner is no less impactful. The four-time letter-winner for the Dragons is rated a four-star prospect with an overall ranking of 94. For her career, she averages 16.7 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and 5.7 assists per contest.
Bonner, the 12th-highest ranked guard, is the 51st-ranked prospect overall in the 2022 class. She becomes the fifth ESPNU HoopGurlz 100 player to sign with the Bears under Smith's watch. In July this year, Bonner was named to the SportsStars Magazine Bay Area Top-75, which ranks the top-75 Bay Area athletes across all sports.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Amaya will continue to succeed at the next level when she attends Cal," said Bishop O'Dowd head coach Malik McCord. "I look forward to seeing Amaya continue to grow as she steps into the next level in her journey. I have not even seen the best of her yet and she will continue to evolve to reach her full potential within the Golden Bears program."
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Amaya Bonner
Position: Guard
Height: 6-0
Hometown: Fremont, Calif.
High School: Bishop O'Dowd HS
Club Team: Jason Kidd Select GBB
High School/Club Ball: Ranked No. 51 overall by ESPN's HoopGurlz and the No. 12 guard in the Class of 2022…Named to the Freshman All-State Team in 2019…named to the Sophomore All-State Team in 2020…Named the 2019 West Alameda County Conference Co-Player of the Year…earned First Team All-WACC honors in 2019 as well…exceptional student, being named to the First Honors Honor Roll in 2019, 2020, and 2021 at Bishop O'Dowd.
Chose Cal Over: Cincinnati, Arizona State, Boston College, UCLA, Kentucky, Arizona, and Harvard
What they're saying:
"Athletic guard/wing used her length and smooth strides in transition to help the Dragons repeat as CIF NorCal Division I regional champions. In the title game against Salesian, she finished with 16 points, three rebounds and two assists. Didn't get a chance to play in a second consecutive state final because of the coronavirus pandemic." – San Jose Mercury News
"Amaya has a high ceiling. She is already blessed with incredible athletic gifts as well as having a high IQ for the game overall. Amaya is able to play both ends of the floor and successfully play multiple positions with her skillset, height, and length. Amaya has continued to be a very coachable player and a great teammate." – Malik McCord, head coach Bishop O'Dowd