McKae Amundsen Follows His Family Tradition

2026 Clovis North guard McKae Amundsen stands 5-foot-8 but as some guy named Twain once wrote about another species, "it's not the size of dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog." Simply put, Amundsen positively effects the games in which he is participating to such a greater degree versus most of his larger backcourt opponents. Plus, being the son of a heralded coach, he has worked to develop a now innate court sense seen so often in sons of coaches -- that being correctly utilizing the right moves on the court at the right moments. 

Plus, in a demonstration of his competitive fire, Amundsen was recently honored as the Top Defender in the Central Cali Prospects Next Up Top 30 Showcase. He was selected to the Top 60 All-Star Game this past weekend in the Pangos All-West Frosh-Soph Camp as well as honored as one of the Most Outstanding Players by scoring 16 points in the game. Longtime southern California talent evaluator Frank Burlison named McKae as one of his Top 20 Performers after witnessing the event. 

The so-called golden apples, haven't fallen far from the tree for McKae and his older brother Connor.

Those Genes

His father, Clovis North High Head Coach Tony Amundsen, spent a year as a redshirt bettering his game after initially not being wanted by the head coach at Chabot College. The next year during his freshman season, he averaged 22.5 points per game, 13th in the state, earning all-state honors. The elder Amundsen then boosted his scoring to 22.9 points per game as a sophomore, earning Northern California Player of the Year honors for his outstanding play with the Gladiators. His scoring total of 1,498 points places him as Chabot's all-time leading scorer. He then moved up to play for Pacific Coach Bob Thomason, earning all-conference honors his senior season. After three years of playing overseas, Amundsen returned home to begin a long-lasting coaching career primarily at the high school level and ultimately became enshrined in the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Being named the 2012 Division I California State Coach of the Year while helming the Bullard High program is yet another honor he earned.

So why basketball for the youngest Amundsen? "I grew up in a basketball family but our Dad never forced anything. I wanted to be like him." Blessed with the motivation to compete, all the males in the family still have a go at each other every so often on the court. "I played one-on-one with my Dad about six months ago. He doesn't move as well as he used to but he can still shoot the ball." 

Additionally, McKae's mother didn't play long in the basketball ranks but she received an award for "Most Aggressive Player" on her fifth grade team.

Best Hoops Skills

Asked to detail his best basketball skills, McKae offered, "definitely my ballhandling, passing and shooting plus a pretty good basketball IQ. Connor and my Dad have really helped me a lot."

Besides his brother and father being important influences, McKae also cited Kyrie Irving and Steph Curry as NBA talents he enjoys watching. Regarding the latter, "his reads off screens are amazing, he tears apart defenses."

As area scout Paul Hernandez wrote after this summer, "Amundsen is a shifty guard who plays with a relentless motor and is a tough on-ball defender who makes life difficult for opposing guards. Despite the impressive play on offense, it was Amundsen's relentless pressure on opposing ballhandlers that stood out the most ... he was picking up guys full court and displayed great instincts and timing that led to countless steals and transition buckets..."

His favorite hoops moment came last year "in my first start because our point had an ankle sprain and was out. I played nice and hit a couple of threes late to help out." He also added, "beating arch rival Clovis West at home (a 68-66 nail biter) and winning league (the Tri-Rivers League)."

McKae is known for his clutch play. As Dinos Trigonis tweeted late last December, "5-7 2026 PG McKae Amundsen hit a 3 with 20.8 secs remaining to lift Clovis North/CA over Heritage Christian/CA 56-54" in the Classic at Damien tournament.

As for leadership, McKae explained, "I'm definitely a leader by example and by keeping guys on track. But we have lots of leaders on our team in Connor, Jordan (Espinoza), Lucas (Jones) and myself."

Also An Academic Ace

Amundsen also shines in the classroom, sporting a 3.9 grade point average plus a recent Scholar Athlete award. "I try as hard as I can but I wish I could be better." His method of time management considering how much of his time is also spent in the gym is "to get stuff done right away." McKae is looking at majoring in kinesiology or something involving mathematics.

So what is he seeking in a college and basketball program? "I want a coach who keeps his guys accountable, who leads by example and offers a winning culture." McKae eschews any geographical restrictions, simply "looking for the best situation for me."

There is no rivalry or friction playing alongside his brother (who is two steps ahead in eligibility). My sense about him is he will always make the right play and that's how I position myself on the court."

McKae is one of those athletes who sets goals for himself (and his team) prior to each season. "In fact, I'm writing them out right now. I want to finish in the Pangos Top 20, win the Border League, be named a Top Performer in the Valley Children’s tourney, win championships at the Mission Prep and Damien Tournaments, finish with over 20 wins, be ranked in Paul Hernandez' list of Top 5 players, receive an offer by the end of summer and win League, Section and State."

The odds are in McKae's favor considering the entire Amundsen family has a lengthy history of goals becoming accomplishments.