RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - As the dog days of summer are fast approaching, we are entering a time where we're clearly removed from the previous athletic calendar, and still a ways away from the upcoming year. With that in mind, it seems appropriate to follow up on some of the biggest names and faces of both the present and past that have provided a big impact to our area locally. Some of the biggest names in the collegiate and professional ranks have come from our own backyard.

It would be an oversight not to mention Philadelphia Phillies' first baseman Rhys Hoskins first, who parlayed a stellar high school career at Jesuit to an exceptional stint at Sacramento State. His early years allowed the 26-year-old to be selected in the fifth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft by Philadelphia, and five years later he has become one of the brightest young stars in the game.

This season, Hoskins is batting .270 in 270 plate appearances, and has converted 73 hits into 16 home runs and 50 RBI. Hoskins graduated from Jesuit in 2011.

The Cordova area has also left quite an imprint on the football field, with a few names enjoying varying levels of success as of late.

A graduate of Cordova in 2005, Coye Francies played collegiately at American River College, Oregon State University and San Jose State before being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Francies would play for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in 2010 before returning to the NFL in 2011, where he played with the Seattle Seahawks toward the tail end of that season. In 2012 Francies signed with the Oakland Raiders and lasted one season before being released in the summer of 2013.

Perhaps the most well-known pro player in Cordova area history, Lancers alum Seneca Wallace, is still involved with the game to this day. After graduating from Cordova in 1998, Wallace would play college ball at Sacramento City College before transferring to Iowa State for his junior and senior seasons, respectively. His collegiate play would result in Wallace being drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, where he would remain until 2009. From 2010-2013, Wallace had stints with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. Most recently, Wallace coached high school football at the Episcopal School of Dallas in Dallas, TX. Earlier this month, Wallace hosted his annual "Skillz Camp" at Bondurant High School in Bondurant, IA.

In the coaching ranks, former Cordova Lancers quarterback Troy Taylor, who led the Lancers to an undefeated 14-0 record and a Section title in 1985, has taken the next big step in his career. Although Taylor would be drafted in the fourth round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, Taylor has made his mark in the coaching ranks, locally as a co-head coach at powerhouse Folsom High School, as well as collegiately at Eastern Washington and most recently at Utah the past two seasons.

This past December, Taylor accepted an offer to become the head coach at Sacramento State. Taylor, who enjoyed two stints at Folsom from 2002-2004, as well as 2012-2015, will hopefully bring some of his local luck to the Hornets, who have not competed in a playoff game since 1988 nor won a conference championship since 1995 within the Big Sky Conference. During Taylor's last run at Folsom, the Bulldogs went 58-3 under the tutelage of Taylor and co-head coach Kris Richardson, winning four Section titles and one State championship.