The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 15, at 5:30 p.m. The Induction Class of 2025 includes five athletes, a coach and a special achievement honoree.
This is the fourth in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
To purchase tickets to the Hall of Fame event at the Cabrillo Pavilion, click here.
Girls basketball was the hottest ticket in town when Amber Melgoza was knocking down shots for Santa Barbara High.
And she filled up the hoop like no other in program history.
Melgoza finished her brilliant career as Santa Barbara’s all-time leading scorer with more than 2,700 points, including 1,000 in her junior year. She led the Dons to their first CIF-Southern Section championship and elevated the program to compete at the section’s highest level.
She was named the CIF-SS 3AA Player of the Year as a sophomore after leading the team to the division title and earned All-CIF honors in the 2AA and Open divisions the following two years. Santa Barbara advanced to the section playoffs and the state tournament all four years she played for coach Andrew Butcher.
Recognized for her incredible work ethic and competitiveness, Melgoza continued to push herself at the Division 1 level of college basketball. She enjoyed a standout career at the University of Washington, scoring 500-plus points in three seasons for the Huskies— only the third player in program history to accomplish the feat. She is ranked eighth on the school’s all-time career scoring list with 1,717 career points.
“Her work ethic was unmatched and it’s no surprise that she developed into one of the Pac 12’s best players and amongst the nation’s leading scorers,” said former Washington coach Jody Wynn. “Amber was an absolute joy to coach and set a standard of excellence for all of her teammates to follow.”
In her last three seasons with the Huskies, she averaged 18.1 points. She received All-Pac 12 first-team honors as a senior and sophomore and was an honorable mention selection in her junior year. As a senior, she led the team in scoring (515 points), assists (84) and minutes played (28.1) and was second in rebounds (146). She scored 30 or more points four times, with three of them coming in Pac-12 Tournament games.
Melgoza turned pro and started her career in Italy with Polisportiva Battipagliese in the top Italian League. Her time in Europe includes stints in France for Charnay and in Spain for Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM and Cadi La Seu, her current club.
She also competes for the nation of Malta, gaining citizenship through a special program offered by the country for athletes. She helped Malta reach the final of the European Championships for Small Countries in 2024. She’s also played for the country in 3-on-3 tournaments.
“My favorite part about playing overseas is being able to play a game that I love and do what I have always dreamt about when I was a little girl: to play professional basketball,” she told the website Unlimited Potential Basketball in 2021. “Now I’m finally doing it, and I am able to play and travel the world.”
Precocious in sports at an early age (she was a competitive BMX rider at age 6 and was a standout quarterback in elementary school flag football), she worked her way into the Santa Barbara starting lineup as a freshman and made an impact —she led the team with 221 rebounds. Her contributions helped the Dons reach the CIF-SS 3AA semifinals.
She elevated her game as a sophomore, averaging 22 points, eight rebounds and three steals to lead the Dons to their first CIF-SS championship and the CIF State final. She scored 38 points in a 67-43 rout of Lakeside for the 3AA title and became the program’s first CIF MVP since Holly Ford in 1983 and 1984.
The team advanced to the CIF State Division 3 final and fell to Modesto Christian, 64-55. Melgoza scored 30 points, with 20 coming on free throws, setting a state finals record.
In her junior year of 2014-15, Santa Barbara was elevated to Division 2AA. The tougher competition only made Melgoza better. Three times she broke the Dons’ single-game scoring record, pouring in 48 and 47 points in regular-season games and 50 in a 2AA quarterfinal playoff win on the road. Santa Barbara High legend Holly Ford held the previous record of 45 points in 1980.
She averaged 33.5 points on 52 percent shooting and finished the year with 1,004 points, becoming the fourth player in CIF-Southern Section history to score 1,000 points in a season, joining Naismith Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller (who did it twice at Riverside Poly), University of Washington Hall of Famer Guiliana Mendiola (El Toro) and Amy Jalewalia (La Quinta/UCLA).
After three seasons, Melgoza moved to the top of Santa Barbara’s career scoring list. She racked up 1,950 points, eclipsing the school career scoring record of 1,804 by Lisa Willett (1997-2000).
As a senior, Melgoza averaged 26.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while competing in the 1AA Division. The Dons won a share of the Channel League that year, captured the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and defeated perennial power Mater Dei in the playoffs. Melgoza scored 31 points in that win before a packed crowd J.R. Richards Gym.
“She always performed best against the best opponents,” said Butcher. “She would invariably come up with the key steal, rebound or score when a game was on the line.”