The long wait is finally over for Sydney Douglas, Jelise Mix and the Centennial girls basketball program.
Douglas and Mix helped Ontario Christian’s girls basketball program win the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division championship last season as freshman, but the duo transferred to Centennial in the offseason. And their eligibility had been in limbo since June.
Centennial hired Matt Tumambing as its new girls basketball coach in April. Tumambing was the coach at Ontario Christian for five years (2019-23) but stepped down prior to the 2024-25 campaign. He coached at United Christian Academy last season.
Several players transferred to Centennial following the hiring of Tumambing, including Douglas and Mix. A handful of the players were cleared by the CIF Southern Section as sit-out players (transfers without having made a valid change of residence), but the transfers of Douglas and Mix were scrutinized because they play for the Finest Basketball Club program where Tumambing coaches.
The transfers of Douglas and Mix have been listed as “under review” on the CIF Southern Section website for nearly six months. On Tuesday morning, however, the status of Douglas and Mix changed on the website. Both now are listed as sit-out players.
The CIF Southern Section does not allow athletes to follow coaches — high school or club — to another program without penalty (between 12 to 24 months of ineligibility). Tumambing said substantial paperwork and video evidence was provided in this case.
“We had to submit film and (roster sheets) showing I was coaching different teams than the ones the two girls were playing on,” Tumambing said. “It’s been a long wait, but there’s relief knowing we are going to be at full strength when the season begins.”
Centennial won’t play its first game of the season until Dec. 26, which is the first day sit-out players regain eligibility to compete. The Huskies open play at the Desert Holiday Classic in Indio against Camarillo and square off with Sierra Canyon on Dec. 30.
Tumambing had to backload his schedule because the program had only one returning varsity player, Kansas-bound two-sport standout Cydnee Bryant, and six of the eight players who have transferred into the program had to go through the sit-out period.
Douglas, a 6-foot-7 forward, is considered one of the nation’s top players in the 2028 recruiting class (No. 2 by ESPN.com). She averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year at Ontario Christian. Mix played in 15 games last season.
“I think we’re a top 10 team in the country with this roster, and were excited to go out there and prove that,” Tumambing said.
Maylana Martin-Douglas, Sydney Douglas’ mother, said the family never lost faith during the process.
“I think we were confident all along that this would be the final outcome,” said Martin-Douglas, who was a star player herself at Perris High School and UCLA. “We just stayed the course and concentrated on getting acclimated to the new school and team.”
Martin-Douglas said they were informed by the Southern Section last week that the decision had been made.
“Sydney was super excited. She was jumping up and down and yelling after we told her,” Martin-Douglas said. “That was a long process, but now the real work begins. She’s excited about getting on the court again and playing that first game for Centennial.”
