Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The school has served the area since 1966. Students within its attendance boundaries live in western Mission Viejo, southwest Lake Forest, Trabuco Canyon, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Laguna Hills. Its mascot is Pablo the Diablo and its colors are scarlet and gold. 230 credits are required to graduate. It is the home to one of the only agricultural farms on a high school campus in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Mission Viejo High School, an International Baccalaureate (IB) school since 1985, offers an IB program for academically focused students, awarding approximately 80 IB diplomas in the 2015–2016 school year. The school has been recognized with three Blue Ribbon School Awards and six California Distinguished School honors, most recently in 2024. Its performing arts programs include a marching band that won the WBA 4A division championship in 2016, a drumline that earned multiple High Percussion titles between 1997 and 2003, and four choir ensembles. Notable alumni include golfer Mark O’Meara, Olympic swimmer Brian Goodell, astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, soccer player Julie Foudy, NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, journalist Brianna Keilar, and MLB pitcher Patrick Sandoval.

In the 2022–2023 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,646 students and 75.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 21.8. 40.9% of students were eligible for free or discounted lunch.

Academics International Baccalaureate Mission Viejo has been an International Baccalaureate (IB) school since July 1985. This program, taught to 80 students, is for academically talented and highly motivated students sponsored and administered by the IB Organization. The students who meet the IB requirements are eligible for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. This school received approximately 80 diplomas in the 2015–2016 school year.International Baccalaureate Organization: Mission Viejo High School, accessed December 2, 2006.

Awards and recognition Mission Viejo High School has been awarded the Blue Ribbon School and Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education on three separate occasions, in 1988–89, 1994–96It's a Blue Ribbon day for six Orange County schools – EDUCATION: Two have won the nation's top honor before., The Orange County Register, February 9, 1996. and 2001–02,Mission Viejo, Trabuco Hills highs BLUE, The Orange County Register, May 31, 2002, "The Blue Ribbon award is the third that Mission Viejo High School has received in its 35-year history. Mission Viejo received Blue Ribbons in 1988 and 1996."Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982–1983 through 1999–2002 (PDF) , accessed May 11, 2006. the highest award an American school can receive.CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 20–06. Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005

Mission Viejo High School has been recognized six times as a California Distinguished School, in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2009, 2013, and 2024.Schools take state honors, The Orange County Register, April 13, 2001, "Two Mission Viejo high schools were named California Distinguished Schools this week. It was the first recognition for 15-year-old Trabuco Hills High School and third time around for Mission Viejo High School."Distinguished School Awards: Award Winners for Orange County, accessed December 2, 2006.

Performing arts Marching band The school's marching band is part of the Western Band Association. They have competed in the 5A division every year until 2016, in which they began competing in 4A and won their division at the WBA Class Championships.WBA Class Championships 4/5A 11/19/2016 - Buchanan HS Fresno CA, Western Band Association. Accessed October 3, 2017.

The drumline won High Percussion at WBA State Championships each year from 1997 to 2003, excluding 2000.Mission Viejo High band wins state title, The Orange County Register, November 28, 2003, "Mission Viejo High School Marching Band and Color Guard competed with 25 bands to win the Western Band Association State Championship in Fresno on Saturday. It is the first time in six years that the school band, which practices 14 hours a week, won the title."

Choir The school offers four different choir classes: Concert Choir, Diablo Chorus, Treble Choir and the Chamber Singers.

Sports Mission Viejo plays in the Coast View Athletic Association for all sports except football where they play in the Alpha League.

Football The school's football program has been highly successful with 2 CIF State Championships (2015, 2023), 8 CIF Southern Section titles, and 28 league championships.

From 1999-2017, head coach Bob Johnson led the team team to a record of 338-97-1 and he was inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame in 2023. Two of his sons, Bret Johnson and Rob Johnson, coached with him.

Chad Johnson (no relation) took over as head coach in 2017.

Girls Basketball The girls basketball program won CIF Southern Section titles in 1982 and 1987.

Girls Softball The girls softball program has been very successful over the years. They were named Cal-Hi Sports Softball State Team of the Year in 2014 and 2016. They won CIF Southern Section titles in 2014, 2016 and 2022. They were the runner-up in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championships in 2026.

Notable Alumni Name Class Description Rudy Holmes 1970 NFL defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons. Mark O'Meara 1975 Golfer, winner of the Masters Tournament and the British Open in 1998. Member of World Golf Hall of Fame. Joe DeRenzo 1976 Musician and bandleader.* Walter Kolosky, Power, Passion and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra, page 280, Abstract Logix Books 2006 Michael Lopez-Alegria 1976 Astronaut, veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission.Robbins, Gary. "O. C. Native to lead Space Station: Lopez-Alegria, among the most experienced of NASA's astronauts, will spend six months aboard.", Orange County Register, May 23, 2006. Accessed July 10, 2007. "Lopez-Alegria was born in Spain, but later moved to Orange County. He graduated from Mission Viejo High School in 1976 and went on to a distinguished career as a Navy aviator." Matt Sorum 1976 Drummer for The Cult, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver. Brian Goodell 1977 Olympic champion and former world record-holding freestyle swimmer. At the 1976 Olympic Games, he won gold medals in 400m and 1500m frees."1976 Olympics – Montreal, Canada – Swimming" – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on May 2, 2008)Bon Thornton1980NBA player for the New York Knicks. Joel L Widzer 1980 Author, television journalist, speaker. Ralph Saenz 1983 Lead singer for glam metal band Steel Panther (as Michael Starr).Brianna Keilar1998American news anchor. Rob Adams 1988 Actor, acting coach, owner of The Actors Workshop, football coach. Julie Foudy 1989 Midfielder for U.S. women's national soccer team from 1987 through 2004. Won two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup championships. Troy Kopp 1989 Former Canadian Football League and Arena Football League quarterback. Joe-Max Moore 1989 Professional soccer player."U.S. women get cheers from afar", CNN Sports Illustrated, July 4, 1999. Accessed July 10, 2007. "New England and U.S. international forward Joe-Max Moore said he graduated from Mission Viejo High School in California with U.S. women's star Julie Foudy." Preston Burpo 1990 MLS goalkeeper. Megan McClung 1990 First female United States Marine Corps officer killed in combat during Iraq War.Ritchie, Erika I. "O.C. native dies in Iraq; The Mission Viejo graduate is the first female Marine officer killed in the war.", The Orange County Register, December 12, 2006. Accessed October 20, 2007. "McClung grew up in Mission Viejo, graduated from Mission Viejo High School, and received her officer's commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995." Scott Von der Ahe 1993 NFL linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts. David Michael Farrell 1995 Bassist for Linkin Park. Matt Keneley 1995 NFL defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. Brianna Keilar 1998 CNN correspondent."`Diablo Heat' grad pursuing TV career", The Orange County Register, January 24, 2003. "Brianna Keilar had it figured out. She was working as a reporter and fill-in anchor at KIMA TV, a CBS affiliate in Yakima, Wash., and looked at bigger media markets such as Tucson, Ariz., to eventually work her way up to a job in Los Angeles or New York. But the Mission Viejo High School alumna will not be reporting from Tucson anytime soon." Andreas Gustafsson 1999 Swedish race walker. Collin Ashton 2001 NFL linebacker who played for the San Diego Chargers. Jordan Palmer 2002 NFL quarterback who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Co-founder of RockLive. Jed Collins 2004 National Football League fullback who played for the Detroit Lions. Drew Radovich 2005 NFL offensive tackle who played for the Minnesota Vikings. Nick Reed 2005 NFL defensive end who played for the Minnesota Vikings. Mark Sanchez 2005 Former NFL quarterback. Konrad Reuland 2006 Former NFL tight end for the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. Jeff Baca 2008 Former NFL offensive tackle.Nick Dzubnar2010Former NFL linebacker for the San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans. Donothan Bailey 2010 Former gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. Tre Madden 2011 NFL running back for the Seattle Seahawks. Nick Dzubnar 2010 NFL linebacker for the Chargers and Titans Garrett Marino 2013 Canadian Football League defensive tackle for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Chandler Hutchison 2014 NBA guard for the Chicago Bulls. Noah Munck 2014 American actor, Gibby Gibson in Nickelodeon's iCarly Patrick Sandoval 2015 MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels.Taylor McQuillin2015AUSL pitcher for the Chicago Bandits. Brenden Schooler 2016 NFL safety for the New England Patriots Tanner Bibee 2017 MLB pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians. David Morgan 2018 MLB pitcher for the San Diego Padres. Jarrett Patterson 2018 NFL center for the Houston Texans Joey Yellen 2019 College football quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Pittsburgh Panthers, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Chapman PanthersEaston Mascarenas-Arnold2021Linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. Kadin Semonza 2023 College football quarterback for the Ball State Cardinals and the Tulane Green Wave Dijon Lee 2025 College football cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide Luke Fahey 2026 College football quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes

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