Legendary high school coach to retire at end of season

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson announced Thursday night that he will retire at the end of the 2022 season. He revealed the news in a message published to social media.

Rollinson has coached at Mater Dei for 47 years, the last 34 as head coach. Some of the players he has led include Matt Leinart, Bryce Young and JT Daniels.

“Thank you to Mater Dei and thank you to the players, coaches, parents, administrators, and students for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime,” Rollinson wrote. “I feel a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mater Dei and to so many others over these past 47 years. I wish I could mention all of them now, but I will be here to thank all of them individually while we select the next head coach and provide that individual with the support that person will need to succeed.”

Rollinson, who played at Mater Dei, has coached some of the top high school teams in America. This season, the program defeated Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco in a high-stakes matchup.

Mater Dei captured national titles in 2017 and 2018. In 2021, it won its third CIF Open Division state championship game in five years. 10 games into this season, Mater Dei is undefeated.