You are smart to focus on direct admission. I do not live in California, but I understand nursing is severely impacted/competitive at the public universities.
If you don’t have any particular geographic limitations, there is a list here at the CC nursing forum that has direct admission programs (note: it was recently confirmed that Ohio State is NOT direct admit). That could help you get started.
I think @Banker1 has a daughter who recently went through this process as a California resident.