Bakersfield Christian is shown after it won its CIF Central Section divisional title. Eagles will be in CIF SoCal D3 semifinals on Thursday. Photo: PAGMETER.com.
Here is the first place in any ranking national or state to see Pacifica of Garden Grove now at the top of the state as the Mariners have supplanted St. Francis of Mountain View following Tuesday’s massive upset pulled off by Amador Valley of Pleasanton. Oak Ridge & Whitney of the Sac-Joaquin Section both had huge wins Tuesday as well, but Whitney has forfeited later NorCal playoff possibilities. These divisional rankings can only be done twice due to CIF playoff protocols and we’ll have a final ranking by our traditional five divisions out later next week. Other No. 1 teams going into the regional semis are Gahr of Cerritos (D2), Sutter (D3), Bakersfield Christian (D4) and Hesperia Christian (D5).
(Records through Tuesday, May 28 regional games)
*Season complete.
**Forfeits not included.
Note: All teams are ranked even if they opted out of the CIF regional playoffs. We also look for teams that aren’t in the CIF regional playoffs because they lost in section playoffs or played in a section championship and their section doesn’t allow its runner-up in some divisions to move on.
Kaylee Davis is the top player at Amador Valley. She has signed with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Photo: Amador Valley HS Athletics / MaxPreps.com.
DIVISION I
1. Pacifica (Garden Grove) 27-2*
2. Lutheran (Orange) 21-4*
3. St. Francis (Mountain View) 28-1*
4. Canyon (Anaheim) 24-5*
5. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 23-4
6. Whitney (Rocklin) 22-3**
7. Norco 23-4*
8. Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta) 26-4
9. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 23-5*
10. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 20-5*
11. Los Alamitos 20-6*
12. Clovis North (Fresno) 22-7
13. Del Norte (San Diego) 24-6
14. Hollister 22-5*
15. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 18-14*
Notes: The big news on Tuesday came from Mountain View where the No. 1 in state Lancers from St. Francis lost in the first round of the NorCal D1 playoffs, 4-1, to Amador Valley of Pleasanton (17-11). The Dons can still do more damage this week, beginning in Thursday’s semifinals vs Clovis North. We’d still rank them as of now behind league rival Livermore (23-5), which won the East Bay Athletic League title but didn’t get into the regionals as a runner-up from a CIF North Coast Section division (D2) in which the runner-up doesn’t advance. Amador had gotten in by winning the NCS D1 title. St. Francis for now stays in front of Canyon of Anaheim due to a head-to-head win but has to drop behind CIFSS D1 champ Pacifica along with CIFSS D1 runner-up Orange Lutheran. Both of those teams opted out of this week. On Wednesday, news broke that Whitney will have to drop out of the CIF NorCal bracket after its big win on Tuesday over Archbishop Mitty due to the use of an ineligible player. More details about that situation will come later. Oak Ridge was set to play Whitney on Thursday after a win on Tuesday at Hollister. Clovis North already was set to host Amador Valley on Thursday after a win on Tuesday over Casa Grande and also for the finals on Saturday if it can get past the Dons. Down south, the semifinals on Thursday will be Southwestern League rivals Murrieta Mesa and Great Oak playing once again plus Del Norte of San Diego hosting Valley View of Moreno Valley.
DIVISION II
1. Gahr (Cerritos) 19-10*
2. California (Whittier) 28-5*
3. Valley View (Moreno Valley) 26-5-1
4. Casa Grande (Petaluma) 23-3*
5. Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 28-5
6. Etiwanda 28-5
7. Benicia 23-2*
8. St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 25-4-1*
9. Willow Glen (San Jose) 23-7
10. West (Torrance) 24-5*
Bubble: Carson 18-7-2, Granada Hills Charter (Granada Hills) 29-3, M.L. King (Riverside) 20-10*, Monterey 21-8*, Rio Mesa (Oxnard) 24-7*, Rocklin 15-16*, Salinas 21-9, Tracy 25-4-1.
Notes: Going into Tuesday’s first round of the regional playoffs, we were thinking that either Casa Grande or St. Joseph would have a shot at being No. 1 for our D2. Casa Grande played up in D1 and played well but couldn’t get past Clovis North. St. Joseph also was up in D1 and lost to Great Oak, a CIFSS D1 quarterfinalist. Valley View is still going in the SoCal D1 playoffs and notched a big win over CIF San Diego Section Open Division winner Poway. The Eagles, however, have to be behind Gahr (the CIFSS D2 champion) plus California (which edged them in the CIFSS D2 semifinals). Mater Dei Catholic is a solid D2 top seed but in the final overall rankings it will have to be behind Poway (and therefore will have to be behind Valley View). Etiwanda, the CIFSS D3 champion, could add a CIF SoCal D2 title to its resume, but we wouldn’t put the Eagles in D3. There are eight CIFSS championship teams, after all, and there are going to be some of them that don’t match in a five-division format.
Olivia Bauer has been a standout pitcher for Sutter since her sophomore season. She has signed with Boise State. Photo: Twitter.com.
DIVISION III
1. Sutter 28-0
2. Oakdale 22-7*
3. Capital Christian (Sacramento) 23-3-1
4. Paraclete (Lancaster) 31-3*
5. Dixon 21-4
6. Otay Ranch (Chula Vista) 18-12
7. College Park (Pleasant Hill) 15-9
8. Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) 23-8
9. Pleasant Valley (Chico) 23-5*
10. Capuchino (San Bruno) 18-11
Bubble: Alisal (Salinas) 21-4*, Aquinas (San Bernardino) 28-1*, Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 24-6*, Central Catholic (Modesto) 20-8*, Liberty (Winchester) 22-8*, Manteca 19-8*, San Rafael 23-5.*
Notes: We’re going with Sutter in the same division it is in for this week’s playoffs, but are ranking the Huskies in the same place they are for our own State TOP 35 Rankings. That means it’s the top spot and doesn’t match College Park as the top seed in the NorCal bracket or No. 3 seed Dixon. Second-seeded Cardinal Newman lost in its first-round game on Tuesday to Capuchino. Sutter played University Prep on Tuesday and posted a 5-3 victory. We also have both Oakdale and Capital Christian in D3 for these rankings, although both played Tuesday in the NorCal D2 bracket. Oakdale played Willow Glen of San Jose (D2 ranked) and lost. Capital Christian was only a No. 8 seed and it avenged an earlier loss with a 11-1 win over top seed Pleasant Valley of Chico. Let’s just say it’s not close to the shocker that a No. 8 beating a No. 1 was on Tuesday in Mountain View. For now, we’re still placing Oakdale higher than Capital Christian to reflect the result of last week’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D3 final. That could change in the final rankings if Capital Christian wins on Saturday. For SoCal, sorry but there’s no way we’re putting Paraclete up in D2. The Spirits usually have been D4 for these rankings. They were D2 and lost to Etiwanda on Tuesday.
Jayden Rutledge is a leading small schools all-state candidate for Imperial. Photo: Imperial Valley Press.
DIVISION IV
1. Bakersfield Christian 28-1
2. Imperial 28-3-1
3. Ganesha (Pomona) 22-0*
4. Woodlake 29-2
5. St. Helena 22-4
6. East Nicolaus (Nicolaus) 24-4
7. Valley Christian (Cerritos) 18-7*
8. Oceanside 23-6-1
9. Calaveras (San Andreas) 21-6-1*
10. Las Plumas (Oroville) 23-5-2
Bubble: Alvarez (Salinas) 18-12, Christopher (Gilroy) 16-10, Eastside (Lancaster) 24-10, Garfield (Los Angeles) 20-5, King’s Academy (Sunnyvale) 21-4, Leigh (San Jose) 12-14, Mission College Prep (San Luis Obispo) 15-8-1*, St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 22-3-1.*
Notes: Both Bakersfield Christian and Imperial are in the CIF SoCal D3 playoffs and they could meet in Saturday’s championship. The Eagles won in their game on Tuesday, 3-2, over Monache of Porterville while the Tigers topped J.W. North of Riverside, 7-0. Neither is the top seed and both will be on the road Thursday. We have both higher seeded teams, Otay Ranch of Chula Vista and Steele Canyon, ranked above in D3. Those schools are a bit too big for D4. This also was a division where to put unbeaten Ganesha of Pomona. The Giants opted out of this week’s playoffs after rolling through their competition in the CIFSS D6 playoffs, including 21-1 in the final over Viewpoint of Calabasas. Their schedule wasn’t great and we could have put them in D3 instead of D4. We wish there was more to go on other than the 349-19 scoring margin, but the team can still move up to No. 1 in D4 for the final rankings.
DIVISION V
1. Hesperia Christian (Hesperia) 20-5
2. Big Valley Christian (Modesto) 22-6-1
3. LeGrand 23-3-2*
4. Oxford Academy (Garden Grove) 25-7*
5. Escondido Charter (Escondido) 22-7
6. Coastal Academy (Oceanside) 17-16
7. Los Molinos 20-9
8. St. Bernard’s (Eureka) 19-11*
9. Linfield Christian (Temecula) 20-5*
10. Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 21-4-1*
Bubble: Colusa 23-6*, Francis Parker (San Diego) 21-4*, Stone Ridge Christian (Merced) 16-6,* Viewpoint (Calabasas) 17-3-1.*
Notes: Here’s a division in which our final ranking could indeed be decided on the field on Thursday and Saturday. In the CIF SoCal D5 semifinals, No. 2 seed Hesperia Christian is taking on heavy hitting Coastal Academy after a 10-9 win on Tuesday over Francis Parker. No. 1 seed Chatsworth is considered D4 by our criteria. Up north, we looked closely to see whether it was possible to rank Big Valley Christian ahead of LeGrand, which are both D5 but from different CIF NorCal divisions. LeGrand just lost to St. Helena in D4. Big Valley just beat Oakland, 5-0, and has a win over Ripon plus a 1-0 loss to Oakdale. If the Lions win the NorCal D5 title over the teams left, they could end No. 1 in D5 for the state depending on what Hesperia does.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
