First team all-state guard Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth (left) scored more than 3,000 points over just three seasons and appeared in two CIF state finals. At right, St. Joseph of Santa Maria’s Tounde Yessoufou was presented with a plaque after he became the state’s all-time leading scorer back in February. Photos: Willie Eashman & Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year Brayden Burries from CIF Open Division state champ Roosevelt of Eastvale, State Junior of the Year Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and NorCal Player of the Year Tounde Yessoufou of Santa Maria St. Joseph are among those leading the way on the 46th annual Cal-Hi Sports all-state boys basketball teams. Go inside to see why these 10 have finished their careers as First Team Overall honorees out of the thousands who played across the state in 2024-25.
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2025 CAL-HI SPORTS ALL-STATE
ELITE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS
FIRST TEAM OVERALL
G – Alijah Arenas (Chatsworth) 6-6 Sr.
We’re extremely grateful that this all-state writeup for Alijah could have been much different. He was released from the hospital just a few days before we knew this final honor was coming out after surviving a solo car accident while driving a cybertruck. Arenas was listed in critical condition in the day following the crash, but thanks to bystanders who pulled him out of the truck he did not die and was not hurt even more seriously.
One of the state’s best pure scorers in recent seasons, Arenas put up prolific numbers that just can’t be ignored. The 6-foot-6 wing scored 1,031 points as a senior, averaging 29.5 ppg for a 26-9 team that advanced to the CIF D2 state final. Last season when he was classified as a sophomore, Arenas scored 1,154 points for the CIF D4 runner-ups. Add his 817 points as a freshman, and Arenas is easily the L.A. City Section’s all-time leading scorer with 3,002 points. He attained his mark in 97 games, averaging 30.9 ppg in his three-year career. That career scoring mark puts him in the Top 10 all-time in the state and ironically he broke the L.A. City Section career record of 28.7 ppg set by his father and 1999 all-state pick Gilbert Arenas of Van Nuys Grant. Alijah broke the L.A. City career scoring record of 1998 all-stater Deon Green (Los Angeles) and is the second ever elite team selection from Chatsworth, joining 1996 guard Jerome Joseph. A two time divisional state player of the year, the McDonald’s All-American selection and L.A. City Section co-Player of the Year is headed to USC.
Concord De La Salle’s Alec Blair is one of the top multi-sport athletes in the nation. Photo: Greg Stein.
Alec Blair (De La Salle, Concord) 6-8 Sr.
A repeat first team selection and three-time all-state choice, Blair was the final selection on the elite team as a sophomore and just improved different aspects of his game each season. Ironically, Blair’s senior season stats are nearly identical to his junior season (19 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg), but the team had better size, so Blair could utilize his play-making ability away from the basket more. Blair is also an intelligent defender who was counted on, on the defensive side of the ball, just as much for his offensive prowess. It resulted in the Spartans’ first CIF North Coast Section open championship and state No. 8 ranking and a slew of individual honors for the tall and rangy southpaw.
Blair was the North Coast Section’s best player for the second straight year and would go down as our Bay Area Player of the Year. He’s been named Contra Costa/Tri-Valley Player of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and is a four-time all-East Bay Athletic League choice. After being named the league’s co-Player of the Year with Sam Ramon Valley’s Seamus Deely last season, he was the EBAL POY by himself this time around. Blair is headed to Oklahoma and his family has told Cal-Hi Sports he will play hoops for the Sooners. Alec also is an elite outfielder for the DLS baseball team and has indicated he’s going to continue to play both sports starting off in college.
G – Brayden Burries (Roosevelt, Eastvale) 6-5 Sr.
The honors and accolades keep pouring in for Burries, California’s Mr. Basketball for 2024-25. Not only is he the CIFSS Open Division Player of the Year, he’s also our SoCal Player of the Year, the L.A. Times Player of the Year and two-time Inland Player of the Year by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. He’s the first player in Riverside County history to score over 1,000 points in a season (1,092) while averaging 29.5 ppg. Buries saved his best for last, averaging 37.6 ppg in three regional playoff games, including 44 in the CIF open state title game win that will go down as arguably the best winning performance in CIF championship history. This McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic participant also was the fifth leading vote-getter for the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel that determines the only production-based National Player of the Year honor (as opposed to recruiting). The Arizona commit was the top vote-getter among guards behind POY Cameron Boozer of Columbus of Miami.
G – Jason Crowe Jr. (Inglewood) 6-3 Jr.
This high-scoring guard was selected to the third team last season at Lynwood and is just too talented and prolific to leave off of first team. He scored 952 points this season in leading Inglewood to a 25-5 on-court mark while playing for his father, Jason Crowe Sr., at his alma mater. Ironically, the Sentinels didn’t make the regional playoffs after falling in the CIFSS D1 second round to L..A. Windward, but Crowe played on the best team of his career so far. He went from The Wood to The Wood, as he led Lynwood to the CIF D5 state title as a freshman (when he almost became the second ninth-grader to make the elite team after scoring 1,296 points) and last year averaged 37.4 ppg after netting 1,084 points in 29 games. Add in his totals from this season (he played 27 games), in which he averaged 35.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.1 apg, and 3.1 spg while earning all-CIFSS D1 honors and Crowe is averaging more points per game than any player who has ever laced ‘em up in California history.
Crowe Jr. enters his senior season with 3,331 points in 92 games, good for an average of 36.2 ppg, with one season to go. The best scoring average for a career that’s completed is the 33.7 ppg scored by 1979 All-American Leon Wood of St. Monica’s in Santa Monica. It’s known by many that Jason is on track to become the state’s all-time career leader next season in front of the record of 3,659 set this year by Tounde Yessoufou (see below).
Elzie Harrington completed a standout four-year career at St. John Bosco with his third straight All-CIFSS Open Division selection. Photo: qwik11hoops / YouTube.com.
G – Elzie Harrington
(St. John Bosco, Bellflower) 6-5 Sr.
A three-time all-state elite team selection, Harrington moves up to the first team after making the second team for the second consecutive season as a junior. Harrington didn’t get the fanfare of some of the state’s top talents, including a couple of juniors on his own team, but he’s had as much impact on open level teams and outcomes of big games as any player in the state over the past four seasons. This season, Elzie led Bosco to a 26-7 record and a share of the Trinity League title, it’s second in three seasons after the Braves won it outright during his sophomore season. Keep in mind, Mater Dei won a share of the league title for 34 straight years prior to Harrington running the offense for the Braves. He averaged 16.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.1 apg for a team that spent a majority of the season FAB 50 ranked and was named to the all-CIFSS Open Division team for the third consecutive season.
Last season, Harrington was the steadying force in a Bosco lineup that changed over the course of the season on the way to the CIF D1 crown and this season had to do more after Brandon McCoy (a first team selection as a sophomore) missed 16 games during the middle of the season. Harrington was co-Trinity League Player of the Year as a sophomore and once again shared the prestigious league honor with third team Kaden Bailey. He also was the Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team Player of the Year. Harrington, an excellent student, is headed for San Diego State.
F – Nik Khamenia (Harvard-Westlake, Studio City) 6-9 Sr.
One of the best players in program history moves up from the third team after helping Harvard-Westlake win its second consecutive CIF Open state title in 2023-24. The Wolverines were just a hair below that level this season, but with this do-it-all Duke recruit in the lineup, Harvard-Westlake was a major open threat. As it was, he led his team to a 31-3 mark and the state’s No. 3 ranking by improving all his averages (18.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 7.1 apg) over his junior campaign when he was one of three Wolverines to make the elite team.
Stats also don’t do Nik’s complete impact justice, as besides deep range shooting, he might be the best player Harvard-Westlake had in every aspect of the game. The Slovenia native can handle the ball, rebound on both ends of the floor, pass the ball as well as any forward in the state and is a lockdown defender. In fact, he was lauded for his defensive work on many other elite all-state talents over the past three seasons. A McDonald’s’ All-American, Khamenia was also named Mission League MVP.
F – Jasir Rencher (Riordan, San Francisco) 6-6 Sr.
On the deepest and most talented team in NorCal, Rencher stood out for his scoring ability, big play ability and all-around play. Similar to De La Salle’s Alec Blair and Harvard-Westlake’s Nik Khamenia, Rencher was also known for his defensive versatility. On a team with at least six other future D1 players, Rencher was scoring leader (14.7 ppg) and also tallied 5.2 rpg, 2.4 apg and 1.7 spg for the NorCal Open Division champs. Rencher also had many explosive moments where he showed why he earned a scholarship to Texas A & M, as he had a West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) record nine 3-pointers in a 33-point performance vs. rival Mitty and scored 22 points in the CIF Open title game loss to No. 1 Roosevelt.
Rencher’s numbers could have stood out more except for the fact Riordan won 14 WCAL games by a 38-point winning margin and will go down as one of the best teams in league history. Rencher not only was named WCAL Player of the Year, he was named Metro Player of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle. One of the best players in program history, Riordan won four straight Central Coast Section open titles with Rencher on the team. Riordan has now had an elite team selection every season in the 2020s expect 2022-23.
Gavin Sykes of Modesto Christian goes up for a dunk during one of three wins that he led the Crusaders to against CIF D1 state finalist Lincoln of Stockton. Photo: hayden_s_photography / Instagram.com.
F – Gavin Sykes (Modesto Christian) 6-5 Sr.
When you watch Sykes, he may not pass the “look test” or doesn’t wow with his athleticism such as other members of the first team do, but when you check the boxscore after games he’s as productive as any first teamer. Sykes doesn’t jump the highest nor is he the fastest, but like any great scorer, he plays with pace, knows how to use his body and always keeps the defender a bit off balance at the point of release. It led to him averaging 22.4 ppg and 5.0 rpg for a 24-9 team that qualified for the NorCal open playoffs and played to expectations.
Also helping Gavin’s candidacy was stepping up in big games, as he had 27 points vs. Tounde Yessofou and state No. 4 St. Joseph, 37 points vs. FAB 50 ranked Missouri state champ Oak Park and 35 and 45 points vs. Tri-City Athletic League rival and eventual NorCal D1 champ Lincoln of Stockton. The best player in the CIF Sac Joaquin Section, Sykes was also named T-CAL Player of the Year. He’s headed to Long Beach State.
F – Tyran Stokes (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) 6-6 Jr.
Talking to some veteran scouts at a Notre Dame game during the playoffs, we were trying to come up with a name the last time California has produced a power wing with Stokes’ abilities. It wasn’t easy but images of 2014 Mr. Basketball Stanley Johnson came to mind. The four-time state champion was more under control and smooth at all times, but Stokes can just overpower defenders and put the defense at his mercy in similar fashion.
Stokes used that unique combination of power, explosiveness and competitiveness to average 21.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 3.4 apg for the state’s No. 2 club. The Louisville, Ky., native made a big impact after starring for academy club Prolific Prep in Napa and is still in line for national honors. He was chosen for the L.A. Times’ 10-man all-star team, named all-CIFSS Open Division and already has been named Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year, in addition to being a Mr. Basketball finalist.
F – Tounde Yessoufou (St. Joseph, Santa Maria) 6-6 Sr.
The third time is golden for Tounde as he joins De La Salle’s Alec Blair and St. John Bosco’s Elzie Harrington as a first teamer selected to the elite all-state team for the third time. In Yessoufou’s case, he was a first team selection all three years and there has only been four others who earned that distinction: Jason Kidd (St. Joseph, Alameda) 1990-92, Renardo Sidney (Lakewood Artesia & L.A. Fairfax) 2007-09, Aaron Gordon Mitty, San Jose) 2011-13 and Lonzo Ball (Chino Hills) 2014-16. Add in our retroactive picks and that number is six, including the legendary Raymond Lewis (L.A. Verbum Dei) 1969-1971. Pretty cool company indeed.
The Benin native was that productive and spectacular and ended his career as the state’s all-time scoring king with 3,659 points and also averaged 10.3 rpg in 127 career games. As a senior, Yessoufou averaged 28.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 3.4 spg, 1.1 bpg and had his team in the regional playoffs all four seasons: three times in SoCal and once in NorCal. Ironically, he’s also officially being named with this all-state team as our NorCal Player of the Year, the first from the CIF Central Section since Jalen Green of San Joaquin Memorial in 2019. It doesn’t matter that the CIF (mistakenly in our opinion) placed St. Joe in the 2025 SoCal Open Division instead of the north. Since the early 1980s when Cal-Hi Sports founders Nelson and Mark Tennis began compiling all-state teams in five sports, the CIF Central Section has always been counted in the north. St. Joseph wasn’t in the north as a school until 2018 when it joined the Central Section after previously being part of the CIF Southern Section.
Note: Co-founder Mark Tennis contributed to this report.
Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
