Carissa Qureshi, Marina – Orange County Register

Dan Albano

| High school sports reporter

Dan Albano has been a high school sportswriter with The Orange County Register since 1993. He specializes in soccer and all water sports but covers many different sports. Dan’s passion for water sports has earned him the nickname Aqua Dan in newsrooms and has led him as a reporter to several US Olympic Swim Trials and many water polo events across the United States. He also writes on high school football recruiting, including The Register’s annual FAB 15 teams, which rank the top high school football players in the western United States ahead of National Signing Day. He compiles the Hot 150 list of football players to watch in Orange County before each season. During football season, he collaborates with Steve Fryer and Jonathan Khamis on OCVarsity’s Gridiron Show and hosts a weekly podcast about Trinity League football. In 2015, Dan received the Bud Dwyer Jr. Media Award from the Southern California High School Football Coaches Association. He was named the 2017 Jim Staunton Champion for Character by the CIF-Southern Section. Dan is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, where he worked at The Daily Titan as a news reporter, sports reporter, editor-in-chief and opinion editor.