SARATOGA -- On the heels of one of the greatest careers in West Valley baseball history, sophomore infielder David Estrada was named West Valley Male Student-Athlete of the Year during the 2026 West Valley Scarf Ceremony. Estrada, part of a special three-year class under head coach Bobby Hill, is a San Jose-native who holds numerous West Valley all-time records.

Estrada left his mark immediately at West Valley. In his first game as a Viking, just over six months separated from finishing his redshirt season, Estrada broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run. His freshman season was littered with moments, from hitting a Viking-record (both single-season and career) 29 doubles in a season to leading off the Vikings' Final Four-opening victory with another solo shot. Overall, Estrada hit .405 with five home runs, driving in 48 and reaching base over 50-percent of the time.

Following the 2025 campaign, Estrada committed to the University of Hawaii. On paper, it's a perfect fit for Estrada, whose bat-to-ball skills (career 8.7% strikeout rate) and gap-to-gap power should slide in seamlessly at Hawaii. He's also an extremely versatile player who has appeared all over the diamond with the Vikings. He left his prep career at nearby Archbishop Mitty High School as a middle infielder, started as a corner outifielder at West Valley but then became one of the states' premier defensive third basemen at the conclusion of his career.

As a sophomore, Estrada authored the final pages in his legendary career. He hit .372, knocked five more homers and finished with 74 RBI, passing Josh Kruezer's nearly 25-year-old single-season record. He continued with his tremendous play in big moments, hitting a three-run double against Butte to shave off part of a six-run defecit, then drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly an inning later. In a game against Hartnell, he became the first Viking ever with four doubles in a single game. And, in an elimination game in the Skyline Regional, Estrada fought to a full count after the first two batters in the inning were retired and blasted a solo home run on the 11th pitch of the at-bat to put West Valley ahead.

But arguably the most telling of Estrada's skill is his ability to bounce back from adversity. For how strong his MVP-winning 2026 season was, it didn't start off that way. Through March 21st, Estrada was only 8-for-46 (.174) with just two extra base hits. From then on, he hit an absurd 63-for-145 (.434) including a 16-game hitting streak that lasted almost all of mid-March to mid-April.

In the Vikings' penultimate game of the season against Feather River, Estrada became the first Viking to play 100 games in his career, a testament both to his durability and the Vikings' ability to go deep into the postseason. Estrada missed just one game in his two seasons with the Vikings. He shattered the all-time record in hits (158, previous 132), doubles (49, previous 29), runs scored (128, previous 112), walks (72, previous 63) and finished 8th all-time with a .389 batting average.

Estrada now heads to Hawaii, looking to continue a long stretch of terrific talent that the Vikings have transferred to the four-year level.