Daily Journal Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year: Sacred Heart Prep’s Alex Osterloh

“I had heard a lot about him from previous coaches and administration, and didn’t want that to skew my vision at all,” Wulbrun said. “And I had two takeaways from our first meeting. The first, he loved the game. He had a passion for basketball. And the other, he had very good self awareness.”

Osterloh was revered as a high-energy point scorer, and savvy defender who had appeared in three previous Central Coast Section Open Division tournaments. What he hadn’t done, however, was celebrate any hardware at the CCS, Nor Cal or state levels.

After a season of growing pains and big gains, Osterloh has been named Daily Journal Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year. Not only did his turnaround as a multi-dimensional player coincide with the Gators flipping the script on a 10-11 start to their season. He went on to revel in the postseason, not only playing his best basketball of the year, but ticking all three of the aforementioned championship boxes.

It was a journey that culminated in a CIF Division IV state championship crown, the first in SHP program history.

“I think the biggest thing was he held us all accountable,” Osterloh said. “I think Coach Martinelli also did that. But this year was in a different, more direct way. ... [Wulbrun] made me a lot better this year just through his direct comments. Just telling me exactly what he needs from me.”

Osterloh led the Gators in every major statistical category, averaging 14.3 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals. The assists number, in particular, speaks to his growth as a facilitator, one who learned to slow the game down, establish the offense, and be content with early passes and setting up shots at the end of long possessions.

“He came ready every day,” Wulbrun said. “He was ready to be coached every single day. Not all the lessons were learned that quickly, but his intention to learn and to get better was there every single day. ... There’s a great responsibility about being the best player on your team ... and there’s a heavy burden, at times.”

SHP turned the corner Feb. 10 in a 71-29 blowout of Harker. The win evened the Gators’ record at 11-11. But it was the depth the team displayed that encouraged Wulbrun, the 14 players who saw minutes all playing precision basketball wire to wire despite the runaway score. Osterloh’s performance was particularly good, with 11 points and five assists in 13 minutes.

“There’s a physicality,” Wulbrun said. “He has great size for his position and he plays with tremendous motor, and he has great speed. And I really thought he was a guy that could use that stretch and that speed ... as a guy who could get to use that physicality to get to the free-throw line.”

The Gators didn’t lose another game all year, finishing with an 11-game winning streak. Win No. 6 of the streak marked the program’s first CCS title since 2020-21, with a 71-64 overtime win over Half Moon Bay.

Then came the ride to the CIF Division IV Nor Cal championship, where Osterloh’s ability to get to the free-throw line got taken to another level. The rematch with Half Moon Bay saw an improbably finish. With the game tied 51-all and HMB possessing the ball, Osterloh forced a clutch turnover with the pressure defense that would become signature to the Gators’ success.

It was two-pronged pressure that gave SHP the ball for the final possession. Osterloh’s younger brother Matthew, a sophomore guard, ran interference while the older Osterloh forced a turnover along the sideline near midcourt.

“I wasn’t worried,” Osterloh said. “My little brother is like the best defender I know. ... He doesn’t get enough credit from that. He made the guy cough the ball up and I just got into the lane. ... The ball landed in my hands. That was all him.”

Then, with SHP in the bonus, Osterloh took the inbound pass and surprisingly drew a foul near midcourt with less than a second to play. The senior went to the line and knocked down both free throws to deliver the Nor Cal championship, and send the Gators to the state title stage at Golden 1 Center.

Against San Juan Hills in Sacramento, Osterloh gave a command performance at the free-throw line. The Gators trailed 45-41 with two minutes to play, but a clutch offensive rebound from forward Alberto De Bernardis put Osterloh at the line for his penultimate trip to the line, which tied it 45-all.

More pressure defense, and a 1-v-1 with Osterloh on defense saw guard Pat Bala reach in for a steal up top. SHP played for the final shot, and they got it — milking the shot clock for a five-touch possession, that saw Osterloh receive the ball at the top of the key. The senior gathered while a San Juan Hills defender was bearing down on him.

“He stood in there and took it,” Wulbrun said. “He went up there and took that shot knowing the guy was coming right at him.”

Osterloh squared up for a 3-pointer. But again, with less than a second to go, the senior drew a whistle that would send him to the line to shoot for championship hardware.

“I went into it and when I saw him coming ... I flinched,” Osterloh said. “I was like scared. It didn’t look like a closeout. He looked like he was coming to hit me. So I just shot it and curled up into a ball.”

With the whistle, everyone wearing Gator Nation red went into celebration mode. Even Osterloh, who needed make just one of his three free throws, could sense the moment.

“I’d done it four days before, I was super confident,” Osterloh said. “I knew when I went to the line ... we won this. We’re a state champion.”

The NCAA Division III commit to Claremont McKenna College finished his varsity career in style. He not only made one free throw. He his all three.

And the rest, as they say, is history.