Cody Shen of San Diego Torrey Pines (left) had 26 points for Falcons in upset of Santa Margarita on Tuesday. At right is freshman Boss Mhoon, one of top players for D3 state No. 1 King’s Academy. Photos: @TPHS_Basketball / X.com & King’s Academy Athletics / MaxPreps.com.
As has been the case since competitive equity seeding for CIF regional playoffs, we can’t do any divisional state rankings since it isn’t known which divisions to place teams until the regional playoffs are seeded. We not only have those placements from last Sunday, but the first round of games from Tuesday to go off of to compile these first rankings. These also will be the same divisions used for upcoming divisional all-state teams. First No. 1 teams are Roosevelt of Eastvale (Open), Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (D1), Rocklin (D2), King’s Academy of Sunnyvale (D3), Fresno Christian (D4) and University Prep of Palo Cedro (D5). Almost every CIF division playoff on Tuesday had at least one big upset involving teams we had penciled in to be near the top of a division.
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Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. It will be a Gold Club post for the second state divisional rankings next week and the final rankings. All regular season weekly and final state rankings are available only to our Gold Club members as well as our state stat star of the week honor rolls. Some of our upcoming all-state teams also will be for Gold Club members only. To check out getting a Gold Club membership to see all of these features plus all of our updated state record lists, and more, CLICK HERE.
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NOTE: All results from regional first-round games played on Tuesday, March 4 are included.
*Indicates season complete.
**Indicates forfeit wins/losses not included in record.
***Indicates forfeits plus season complete.
OPEN DIVISION
(All 11 teams in order)
1. Roosevelt (Eastvale) 32-2
2. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 26-7
3. St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 31-1
4. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) 30-2
5. Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) 27-1
6. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 26-6
7. De La Salle (Concord) 27-4
8. Salesian (Richmond) 26-3
9. Montgomery (San Diego) 29-2
10. Folsom 28-3
11. Modesto Christian 24-6
Comments: The only games on Wednesday night for the first round of the Open Division will be Modesto Christian at Salesian in the north and Montgomery at Notre Dame in the south plus St. John Bosco at Harvard-Westlake. All 11 teams have been ranked according to the same order that we had them in to start the week in our own State TOP 30 overall rankings.
DIVISION I
(Counting Tuesday results)
1. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 23-7
2. Redondo Union (Redondo) 26-5
3. La Mirada 26-7*
4. JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 23-10
5. Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 23-7*
6. Los Alamitos 26-8
7. Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach) 30-4
8. Heritage Christian (Northridge) 25-7*
9. Inderkum (Sacramento) 29-2
10. Lincoln (Stockton) 28-4
11. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 22-9
12. Santa Barbara 27-6
13. Carlsbad 26-6
14. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 22-9*
15. Buchanan (Clovis) 27-5
16. Windward (Los Angeles) 22-8*
17. Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro) 22-6*
18. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 21-8
19. Torrey Pines (San Diego) 24-6
20. Dublin 24-5*
Next: Clovis North (Fresno) 24-9*, Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 24-9*, Liberty (Brentwood) 26-3, Mission Bay (San Diego) 22-12*, Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 26-5.
Comments: Teams down to No. 30 Dublin in this week’s overall State TOP 30 (which were done before Tuesday’s first round) were all placed in the same order for this division, and then adjustments were made as the results on Tuesday came in. We did not drop SoCal No. 2 seed Santa Margarita way down after its upset loss to Torrey Pines. The Eagles were the co-champions in the Trinity League and still had some top wins this season. Credit to the Falcons, but they couldn’t have been ranked that high coming in due to having two losses to Mission Bay. CIFSS D1 finalists Los Alamitos and Mira Costa also have been moved in front of Heritage Christian, the only CIFSS Open Division team that went 0-4 in pool play games. Heritage can go back in front of any CIFSS D1 teams after all games are played out. La Mirada, the team from the CIFSS Open Division that also did not make to the regionals when that section decided to go with 10 teams in that bracket instead of eight, has moved up a spot due to Santa Margarita’s loss and the fact we are still ranking the Matadores ahead of JSerra (the team they beat in their final pool play game). In the north, there were no big upsets, but it was perhaps a good sign for top seed Archbishop Riordan that one of the teams it has been dominating this season in the CIF Central Coast Section, St. Ignatius, stepped up with a big 62-56 win at Dublin (which would have been No. 14 in these rankings if it had won).
DIVISION II
Junior guard J. Rob Croy of Riverside Poly has multiple D1 offers and led Bears to a win vs Moreau Catholic in January at the MLK Classic in Concord. Photo: Mark Tennis.
1. Rocklin 25-8
2. Westchester (Los Angeles) 23-9
3. Jesuit (Carmichael) 23-9
4. Chatsworth 23-8
5. Poly (Riverside) 23-10
6. St. Augustine (San Diego) 18-14
7. Milpitas 24-4
8. Destiny Christian (Sacramento) 20-12
9. Clayton Valley (Concord) 22-12
10. Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach) 23-7
Next: Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 15-13, Bakersfield Christian 22-8, Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 26-7*, Cleveland (Reseda) 24-6, Clovis East (Clovis) 17-11, Oakland 22-8, Parker (San Diego) 19-11.
Comments: The top seeds are Rocklin and Riverside Poly. We agree with Rocklin (has a win over Folsom), but have L.A. City Open champ Westchester higher from the south. The Comets were just closer to being in D1 than the other teams. We also have St. Augustine a lot higher than the seedings. The CIF San Diego D1 champs have a lot of Open Division and D1 playoff experience and have had injuries that helped create a lot of losses early in the season. Saints had a solid road win on Tuesday at Canyon of Canyon Country. The same may be true about Clayton Valley in the north, which had an impressive win on Tuesday vs Serra (San Mateo).
DIVISION III
Daniel Powers was the leading scorer for Christian Brothers when it defeated El Capitan of Merced last week to win the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D3 title. Photo: Mark Tennis.
1. King’s Academy (Sunnyvale) 24-4
2. Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 26-7
3. Mission College Prep (SLO) 26-7
4. Palisades (Pacific Palisades) 21-11
5. University (San Francisco) 22-11
6. Carlmont (Belmont) 18-10
7. Palo Alto 23-5
8. San Gabriel Academy (SG) 17-13
9. Mira Mesa (San Diego) 27-6
10. Carmel 25-7
Next: Aptos 25-6, Birmingham (Lake Balboa) 16-13, Christopher (Gilroy) 25-3*, Enterprise (Redding) 16-13, George Washington Prep (Los Angeles) 18-9, North (Bakersfield) 28-6, Olympian (Chula Vista) 26-7*, Sage Hill (Newport Beach) 19-11*.
Comments: It would indeed be awesome to see the kids at Palisades perhaps celebrating with a CIF state title plaque after all they’ve gone through, but we did not put the Dolphins at the top of this group. They are the top seed in the south and come from the same league as Westchester, Fairfax and others. King’s Academy, however, has a much higher computer ranking and so does Christian Brothers and Mission College Prep (same league as Santa Maria St. Joseph). Mission College Prep (like St. Joe) also was placed in the south instead of the north. The big upsets on Tuesday were NorCal No. 3 Christopher of Gilroy falling to Enterprise of Redding and SoCal No. 3 Olympian of Chula Vista falling to George Washington Prep. Yes, we look at computer rankings to help with these divisional rankings, but do it also knowing that they can be way off. No way that Olympian was one of the state’s top 50 teams (had come up to No. 43 this week) and the team couldn’t win a first-round SoCal D3 game vs George Washington Prep.
DIVISION IV
1. Fresno Christian 27-6
2. Priory (Portola Valley) 22-6
3. Casa Roble (Orangevale) 29-4
4. Fairfax (Los Angeles) 12-16
5. Santa Cruz 19-11
6. Poly (Sun Valley) 24-9
7. Natomas (Sacramento) 25-8
8. Palma (Salinas) 21-7
9. Berkeley 16-15
10. Grant (Van Nuys) 18-14
Next: Bernstein (Hollywood) 27-2, Lincoln (San Francisco) 22-9, Pacifica (Garden Grove) 22-11, Ramona (Riverside) 27-7, St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) 16-13, Westmont (Campbell) 19-9*.
Comments: The CIF must have really had to fill in some holes in the south bracket since it doesn’t usually place Fresno teams in the south, but that’s where Fresno Christian landed. The Eagles, who won on Tuesday vs Citrus Hill of Perris, probably should be glad, however, they are in D4. They have a resume that certainly could have put them in D3. Speaking of Citrus Hill, the Hawks would get our dubious distinction of being screwed in the CIF regional/division placements more than any other team. They had a 47-45 win over Wilson of Hacienda Heights in the CIFSS D4A playoffs, but were seeded 16th in D4 south while Wilson was seeded No. 1 in D5 south. Those kinds of seedings are the worst of all in competitive equity and make the least sense of all. The team that won had to travel all the way to Fresno as a No. 16 in a higher division but the team that lost got a bye and a top seed in the next lower division. It wouldn’t hurt anyone at all and wouldn’t take much extra time for the CIF to fix those situations when they come up and it’s a simple fix. Just flip those two teams so Citrus Hill is a top seed and Wilson is the one traveling to Fresno.
DIVISION V
1. University Prep (Palo Cedro) 25-8
2. Pacific Ridge (Carlsbad) 29-2
3. Wilson (Hacienda Heights) 19-13
4. Gridley 25-5
5. Math & Science College Prep (LA) 23-7
6. Alhambra (Martinez) 17-14
7. Weed 25-6
8. Kaiser (Fontana) 22-10
9. Fortune (Sacramento) 22-8
10. Alhambra 18-14
Next: Argonaut (Jackson) 26-7, Diamond Ranch (Pomona) 20-15, International (San Francisco) 21-12, Sierra Vista (Baldwin Park) 22-11, Sonoma Valley (Sonoma) 18-15, Strathmore 22-22, Woodland Christian 27-6*.
Comments: We don’t yet have details of what happened in its loss, but when the CIF came out with its brackets on Sunday we thought one of the favorites in this division was Woodland Christian. Romello Bruhn of the Cardinals had just scored 49 points in the Sac-Joaquin finals in a blowout win vs Argonaut. But Woodland Christian was upset in the first round, falling at home to Sonoma Valley. Uni Prep is the only team in the division with a computer ranking higher than 250 and was therefore slotted in at No. 1. The other thing we’re looking at is the possibility of the state’s two Alhambra high schools (Martinez & Alhambra) perhaps playing each other for a state title. The NorCal seedings had Alhambra had No. 6, but two higher seeds have already lost. Down south, the Moors were seeded third and won in their game on Tuesday as well.
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.
