Sam Tu, Northwood – Orange County Register

Dan Albano

| High School sports reporter

Dan Albano has been a high school sports writer at The Orange County Register since 1993. He specializes in football and all the aquatics but covers many different sports. Dan’s passion for water sports has earned him the nickname, Aqua Dan, in the newsroom and taken him to multiple U.S. Olympic Swim Trials and many USA water polo events as a reporter. He also writes about high school football recruiting, including The Register’s annual FAB 15 teams that list the top high school football players in the Western U.S. before National Signing Day. He compiles the Hot 150 list of football players to watch in Orange County before each season. During football season, he partners with Steve Fryer and Jonathan Khamis on OCVarsity’s Gridiron Show and hosts a weekly podcast on Trinity League football. In 2015, Dan received the Bud Dwyer Jr. media award from the Southern California High School Football Coaches Association. He was honored as a Jim Staunton Champion for Character by the CIF-Southern Section in 2017. Dan is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, where he worked at The Daily Titan as a news reporter, sports reporter, managing editor and opinion editor.