Mann Chooses UC Santa Barbara; Johns-Richardson Bound for Colorado

Foothill’s Kristen Mann, a 6-foot-2 forward, has committed to play women’s basketball at UC Santa Barbara.

Mann made The Times All-Orange County team the last two seasons. Last season, she shot 54.6% from the field, averaged 19.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists for Foothill, which was ranked seventh in Orange County and reached the Southern Section Division II-A semifinals.

She chose Santa Barbara over Pepperdine, UCLA and Stanford.

“I really liked the family atmosphere [Santa Barbara] had,” Mann said. “They’re not only in the top 10, but they care about you more as a person than as a basketball player. Most of the top 10 schools were primarily concerned with your skills.”

* Veronica Johns-Richardson, who led Troy to the section Division I-A finals, has committed to play at Colorado, her high school coach Kevin Kiernan said.

Johns-Richardson, a two-time Times all-county player, averaged 18.3 points, 7 assists, 6.7 rebounds and shot 57.3% from the field. The 5-10 guard also had 152 steals.

* Courtney Fossatti, whose pitching and hitting helped Foothill win the Southern Section Division I softball title, said Tuesday she has committed to Arizona.

“When I got off the plane in Arizona, I knew,” said Fossatti, who was 23-1 with a 0.04 earned-run average last season, and limited opponents to a .084 batting average. She also batted .360 with 29 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases, and has been a first-team Times All-Orange County player for three seasons. “I hadn’t had that feeling on any of my trips.”