Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Brandon Romero will be remembered as one of the best all-around athletes the Hoopa Warriors have seen in recent years.

But that’s not all.

According to his coaches, he’ll also be remembered as a great teammate, a versatile and hard-working student-athlete who always seemed willing to do whatever he could to improve his team, and an inspirational team leader to the younger athletes still learning the ropes at the school.

He was also arguably the best receiver in the H-DNL last fall and one of the best defensive backs, a conference MVP candidate on the basketball court, and a key player who played a pivotal role in leading Warriors baseball back to relevance in the spring.

All in all, it was a very impressive way to close out an outstanding high school career and one that peaked during his senior year.

In addition, this is an athlete who earned the respect of opposing coaches, players and fans, many of whom marveled at his undeniable talents and appreciated the demeanor he brought to the field of competition.

After matching wits against Romero and his Hoopa teammate Lyle McKinnon for the past four springs, Ferndale baseball coach Justin Andersen paid tribute to both players this year describing them as “fierce competitors.”

And because of all of that, Brandon Romero is the 2025 Humboldt Sports Little 4 Boys Athlete of the Year.

Romero beat a talented and deep list of finalists for the award and was one of just three Little 4 boys to be named to an all-conference team in three different sports, along with McKinnon and Ferndale’s Prescott Langer, each of whom also received a lot of consideration for the award.

And the recent Hoopa graduate is far from done just yet.

Romero will now take his talents to Shasta College, where he play both football and baseball for the Knights.

Perhaps most important of all, Romero is an inspiration to the young athletes in the Hoopa area, showing them what can be achieved if they put in the work and listen to and learn from their coaches and teammates.

Not only does he appear determined to continue to play for as long as he can, but he’s willing to work hard for that, and he’s going to have to if he wants to play multiple collegiate sports.

But Romero has certainly shown he has the tools and approach to succeed at the next level.

And now he’ll head to Redding as the 2025 Humboldt Sports Little 4 Boys Athlete of the Year.

Congratulations to Brandon and to all of our finalists for the award.

As always, a big shout out and thank you to this year’s award sponsors, a group that includes The Humboldt Fence Company, DelReka Distributing, Mendes Supply Company and Bode Construction, all of whose support will help to pay for the trophies.