San Joaquin County flag football has come a long way.
The talent might be the biggest indication yet.
League award winners are back. Players are putting up thousands of yards, double-digit interceptions and eye-popping touchdown totals, while underclassmen are already making their case among the county’s best.
And with the 2026 season well underway, narrowing all that talent down to 25 wasn't easy.
The Record considered past production, accolades and what players have done so far this season.
Here are the top 25 high school girls flag football players in San Joaquin County.
Julissa Alfaro
Edison | WR/LB | Senior
Apparently, first-team All-SJAA defense left Alfaro wanting more. Through just 12 games, the senior has blown past last year’s totals with 98 flag pulls,
15 sacks, 601 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
Faith Allen
Lathrop | ATH | Senior
Need a catch? Allen has 1,901 receiving yards. A run? Add 819 more. Defense? Try 55 flag pulls, nine sacks and five interceptions. That’s 35 touchdowns and two first-team All-WAC selections in 57 games.
Carissa Amador
St. Mary's | LB | Senior
Getting into the backfield became a habit for Amador. The St. Mary’s linebacker piled up 13 sacks and 25 flag pulls for loss among her 66 total pulls, earning first-team All-TCAL defensive honors.
Kayla Amarante
Sierra | C/LB | Junior
Azusa Pacific already sees something in Amarante, and Sierra coach Chris Zalunardo thinks VOL MVP voters should, too. Through 13 games, she has 653 total yards, nine touchdowns, 45 flag pulls and seven sacks.
Lillie Bayless
Lodi | RB/LB | Junior
Legendary Lodi football coach Bob Whittaker left some big shoes to fill. Bayless is building her own legacy with 3,910 total yards, 48 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and a TCAL Utility Player of the Year award.
Jael Bernard
Kimball | ATH | Senior
Strictly a defensive back last year, Bernard earned first-team All-TCAL honors with nine interceptions and 147 flag pulls in 26 games. Now doing more, she already has nine picks, 61 flag pulls and 147 receiving yards in half as many games.
Makayla Burlingame
East Union | RB/LB | Senior
Good luck keeping Burlingame out of the backfield. She piled up 42 sacks, ninth in the section and second in the county, along with 69 tackles on her way to first-team All-VOL honors.
Chayce Celestine
St. Mary's | ATH | Junior
Finding Celestine near the football wasn’t difficult last year. The first-team All-TCAL defender had 143 flag pulls, 11th in the section and third in the county, while adding 445 total yards and three touchdowns.
Leianna DePerio
Kimball | QB | Junior
Receiver last year. Quarterback this year. Dominant either way. DePerio was a first-team All-TCAL receiver with 1,058 yards and 17 touchdowns before moving to quarterback and totaling 2,464 total offense and 15 touchdowns through 13 games.
Eden Fry
Tracy | ATH | Junior
How do you follow 12 interceptions, 851 total yards and 14 touchdowns? Fry has somehow raised the bar, already totaling 949 yards, 17 touchdowns and another 12 interceptions in 13 games after earning first-team All-TCAL defense.
Julianna Gaspar
East Union | QB | Senior
Gaspar didn’t win VOL Offensive Player of the Year by being one-dimensional. She paired 3,598 passing yards and 48 touchdowns with 1,113 rushing yards and nine scores, with her passing total ranking ninth in the section and third in the county.
Yasmin Guadarrama
Tokay | wide receiver | Senior
Last year’s first-team All-SJAA recognition is looking more justified by the game. Guadarrama has turned 45 catches and 25 carries into 936 total yards and nine touchdowns through 14 games.
Myah Hayter
Manteca | WR/DB | Junior
Ten picks. Eleven touchdowns. And Hayter was only an underclassman. She piled up 620 total yards and 28 flag pulls along the way, turning a do-it-all season into first-team All-VOL honors.
Mia Hendrix
Ripon | ATH | Junior
A first down every carry? Hendrix averaged even more. At 16.6 yards per attempt, the first-team All-TVL selection rushed for 1,493 yards while adding 19 total touchdowns, seven interceptions and 50 flag pulls.
Preslee Kofod
Lodi | LB | Junior
Kofod made a habit of finding flags last year, racking up 99 tackles and first-team All-TCAL honors. She hasn’t stopped, adding 38 tackles and five sacks in nine games this season.
Sari Lawson
Manteca | ATH | Junior
Most sophomores are still finding their footing. Lawson was busy becoming the VOL Co-Defensive Player of the Year, finishing with 96 flag pulls and eight interceptions while adding 646 total yards and 12 touchdowns.
Yesenia Marsellis
Escalon | ATH | Junior
Even through Escalon's five-win season, Marsellis was hard to overlook. She turned 779 receiving yards, 78 flag pulls, 11 interceptions and four touchdowns into first-team All-TVL honors.
Teagan Osborn
Ripon | DB | Junior
Throwing anywhere near Osborn came with a risk. She picked off 18 passes, ranking 13th in the section and fifth in the county, while adding 57 flag pulls.
Adri Powers
Tracy | QB | Junior
First-team All-TCAL last year. MVP push this year? Powers has gone from 1,630 passing yards, 459 rushing yards, 33 touchdowns and 21 interceptions to 1,952 passing yards, 869 rushing yards, 33 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in two fewer games.
Ja’Leiyah Ray
Lathrop | ATH | Senior
Calling Ray a two-time first-team All-WAC selection almost undersells it. Last year alone, she had 1,206 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns, 919 rushing yards and eight scores, then added 18 interceptions and 37 flag pulls on defense.
Sita Saenz
Tracy | RB | Junior
Nothing about Saenz’s production screams first-year player. In just 15 career games, she has rushed for 1,065 yards on 108 carries, added 879 receiving yards and scored 15 total touchdowns.
Jordyn Smith
Bear Creek | WR | Sophomore
A big play was waiting to happen whenever Smith touched the ball. As a freshman, she turned just 60 receptions into 1,196 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaging 19.9 yards per catch and earning first-team All-SJAA honors.
Mila Townsend
St. Mary's | ATH | Junior
This one almost sounds made up. Townsend’s 2,489 receiving yards ranked fifth nationally and first in the section, her 35 touchdowns ranked sixth in the section and first in the county, and her 20 interceptions ranked fifth and second. Add 120 flag pulls, first-team All-TCAL honors and two years still to go.
Tessa Zalunardo
Sierra | QB | Junior
College programs have taken notice of Zalunardo — 19 of them, to be exact. It’s easy to understand why after 6,697 passing yards, 1,955 rushing yards and 113 total touchdowns through just 58 career games.
Asha Virk
Tokay | QB | Sophomore
All she needed was an opportunity. After not starting Tokay’s first seven games, Virk took over and has since thrown for 1,492 yards and 21 touchdowns against just five interceptions, with Tokay winning eight of her nine starts.
This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin County high school flag football 2026: Top 25 players
