Wilcox QB Kai Imahara transfers to South Bay private school for senior season
SAN JOSE - Seismic quarterback news has shaken up the balance of power in South Bay high school football.
Wilcox quarterback Kai Imahara, a multi-year all-league performer with the Chargers, has transferred to Archbishop Mitty for his senior year, he announced on social media.
Imahara won the Central Coast Section Division II championship with Wilcox in 2024, also winning the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division's offensive player of the year award before getting hurt in the playoffs. He was again named to the PAL Bay all-league team in 2025.
"I want to thank all of Wilcox football and school for making me the player I am today, and for a great high school experience," Imahara wrote.
"To my brothers still there, I wish you guys nothing but success in your future. I'll forever cherish the times we've had and forever have you guys as my family."
Wilcox was already undergoing a time of transition, as longtime coach Paul Rosa stepped down at the end of last year. Conor Dunn, who was Rosa's top assistant coach, has taken over.
Rosa remains at the Santa Clara school as an athletic director and cited a desire to watch his son Brayden, a former Bay Area News Group Santa Clara County Player of the Year, at UC Davis as a big reason for stepping down. But in a comment that has proved to be prescient, he also noted that part of his frustration stemmed from Wilcox and other public schools' inability to compete for players on a level playing field.
"The landscape of the private schools really trying to get as many kids as possible is creating a big gap between the privates and the publics," Rosa said in December. "You know how many kids try to come to our school that we turn away because they don't live in our area? You're just not playing by the same rules.
"You can see the private schools are hiring people to make sure that they can get kids into their schools. I mean, it's an arms race. And we don't have any weapons, basically. To me, that's the big disadvantage."
Wilcox was regularly one of the best programs in the South Bay during Rosa's tenure, serving as Los Gatos’ main rival for titles in the PAL Bay and most recently winning the league in 2024.
The Chargers finished 6-5 in 2025, tying for second in the PAL Bay and losing 34-21 to Sacred Heart Cathedral in the CCS Division II opening round.
Mitty, which beat Wilcox 33-20 in the teams' second game of the year, also went 6-5 last season, finishing fourth in the West Catholic Athletic League and losing 29-13 to Serra in the CCS Open/Division I opening round.
"As for my senior season, this will be my best and most accomplished season," Imahara wrote to conclude his post. "I'm here to take it all and show that I can hang with the best. I cannot wait to get started in summer camp and build until the season starts."
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 11:26 AM.