Five players from the Concord (Calif.) area to watch

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lost in the shuffle of the size of places like Oakland and Berkeley, or the appeal of Walnut Creek and Danville is Concord, Calif. A city of roughly 130,000, it has the population to produce high-level soccer players, and right now it is doing just that.</span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">High school teams in the area are fortunate at the amount of talent currently teeming in Concord as the quality has only gotten better over the years, despite teams losing players to MLS Next, academies, and other club commitments.</span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">There are scores of players who have the ability to play at the next level, but here are five of the very best whose names you should know and will likely hear about in the college ranks.</span> <h5><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Zach Miller, Las Lomas, Senior, Midfield</span></strong></h5> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Miller, who plays club for Paul Curtis' Walnut Creek Surf Soccer Club 03/04 team, is the ideal student-athlete. He's a 4.0 student, a four-year varsity starter, and is an unselfish player. He makes everyone around him better. He wants to play in college and has enough class to do so.</span> <h5><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jared Gallegos, Mount Diablo, Sophomore, Center Midfield</span></strong></h5> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gallegos is another 4.0 student. The Glens Club player in San Francisco is a very talented young center midfielder with a great field presence and an understanding of the game. Colleges will be knocking on his door in his junior year.</span> <h5><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Agustin Duenas Escamilla, Ygnacio Valley, Senior, Keeper</span></strong></h5> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Duenas has been a club keeper since age 7 and has won multiple club championships including a NorCal State Cup. He plays for Diablo Valley Wolves and has a long list of interested colleges, including Cal State Maritime, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Fullerton, Loyola-Marymount, and St. Mary's. He is a 3.0 student as well.</span> <h5 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-35151 alignleft" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/11/Alex-Hockenberry-300x293.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="293" /><strong>Alex Hockenberry, Concord, Senior, Keeper</strong></span></h5> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hockenberry has been a club player for five years and started playing keeper when he was 10. He's a Surf Cup champion and a four-year high school starter. He's a bright player and a good student, with a 3.0 GPA. He has St. Mary's, Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus, and UC Davis interested.</span> <h5><strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Miguel Ruvalcaba, Concord, Senior, Midfield</span></strong></h5> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ruvalcaba is one of the more underrated players in the Concord area. He has been a standout club player for Heritage SC and Diablo FC before they merged and became Diablo Valley Wolves. He's an NPL winner, was honorable mention all-Diablo Athletic League as a junior, and earned player of the month honors for the Minutemen.<img class="size-medium wp-image-35152 alignright" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/11/Miguel-Ruvalcaba-162x300.jpg" alt="" width="162" height="300" /></span>