All-State Girls BB 2025: First Team

Julia Wilson of Rancho Christian (left) led her team to the CIF Southern Section D1 title and will play next at Gonzaga. At right, Nina Cain from McClatchy of Sacramento not only has gained a first team slot but also has been added to our all-time list of NorCal players of the year. Photos: cwbasstography / Instagram.com & Premier Preps.

For the all-time archive of every Cal-Hi Sports All-State girls basketball team ever chosen, CLICK HERE.

RELATED All-State Girls Basketball All-State Teams:
2nd & 3rd Team Overall/Elite (Gold Club) | Underclass (Gold Club) | All-State by Divisions | All-Time Regional POYs

We hope you like this free post on CalHiSports.com. Consider becoming a member of our Gold Club so you can see all of our great content, including our upcoming new class-by-class player rankings. For more on special offers to join our team, CLICK HERE.

CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.

To order a commemorative, official All-State Basketball patch for those who’ve been named to one of our all-state teams for the 2025 season, go to THIS LINK at BillyTees.com. The special link has been set up for all-state basketball patches. Billy Tees has been the official merchandiser of the CIF for many years.

Our all-state hoops patch for this year (2025) is available to order at BillyTees.com. Patches also come with a certificate to further recognize the achievement.

2025 CAL-HI SPORTS ALL-STATE
ELITE GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAMS

FIRST TEAM OVERALL

F/C/G – Nina Cain (McClatchy, Sacramento) 6-2, Sr.

The release of these final overall elite all-state teams also is when we add a name to our all-time list of Northern California players of the year and for 2025 it is Cain who getting the nod. NorCal for us also includes the CIF Central Section (always has) but for the Bay Area part of it there wasn’t a consensus selection among others as to who it should be. Cain on the other hand clearly was the top choice in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.

The versatile Cain, who can pretty much play any position on the court, joins the first team this year after being on the second team after last season. The University of Washington-bound standout was named the Sacramento Bee Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, had numbers that were a little lower than last year (20.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg) but she still averaged 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, plus 3.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks. Her numbers and overall effort was still the key to McClatchy winning its first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title in 18 years. In the CIFSJS Division I 64-53 title-game victory over Folsom, Cain posted a solid double-double 22 points and 12 rebounds. For her career, Cain cracked the career 2,000-point mark after finishing with 2,016. Nina fell just short of the 1,000 rebound mark but still finished with 990 career rebounds.

Addie Deal of Mater Dei has been one of the top Class of 2025 players nationally since before she even came to the school from Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach. Photo: btnscouting / Instagram.com.

The Monarchs’ McDonald’s All-American rebounded from a junior season that saw her miss just about all of it with an injury, to make her mark as one of the top players in the state and even got some consideration, and rightfully so, for Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year honors. Just like in her sophomore season, but not last year when she was injured, Deal was named the Orange County Register Player of the Year. Deal was also named 2025 All CIF Southern Section Open Division. It is also her second Elite First Team selection after earning it as a sophomore after transferring from Pacifica Christian.

It wasn’t anywhere near her top game of the season but on a night when the Mater Dei community and the local Orange County proprietor of several McDonald’s restaurants feted Iowa-bound Deal and presented her with a McDonald’s All-American team jersey with her parents by her side, it was only a prelude to the CIF Southern Section Open Division Pool B opening round 62-35 victory over visiting Windward (Los Angeles) in a game Deal took charge right from the opening tip-off and finished with a solid double 26 points (two three-pointers) and 12 rebounds with four assists and two steals. The win for a Monarchs’ team that finished No. 4 in the Final Expanded rankings came against a Windward team that finished No. 11. In the CIF Southern Regional Open Division quarterfinals, Deal had 27 points in a rout of No. 7 ranked Bishop Montgomery. Addie had 20 points and seven rebounds in a 53-49 victory over national top five Bishop McNamara of Maryland in that team’s only loss of the season, and 25 points in a 15-point win over Maryland No. 2 Bullis. Her final game for Mater Dei came in a 67-57 CIF Southern Regional Open Division semifinal loss to eventual state champion Etiwanda but Addie gave it her all and finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and that was after she had gotten 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a regular season loss to Ontario Christian.

For her senior season, Deal averaged 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 3.4 steals per game. She shot 47 percent overall and 37 percent on 51 made three-pointers, and 79 percent from the free-throw line. Besides the McDonald’s honors, Deal was a member of the Jordan Brand Classic and an All CIF Southern Section Open Division selection.

F – Tati Griffin (Ontario Christian) 5-11, Fr.

It wasn’t that long ago that there were none or very few freshmen on any of the All State Elite teams, and certainly not any on the First Team, but that has changed. Now, with Griffin, the somewhat runaway State Freshman of the Year winner being named All State Elite First Team, it marks the third straight year a freshman has graced the best of the best and the second straight year that it’s been a player from Ontario Christian after Kaleena Smith was honored last year preceded by McKenna Woliczko of Archbishop Mitty two years ago.

Griffin has a different game than Juju Watkins had as freshman at Windward but many analysts are comparing the upside of Tati over the next three years as comparable to Juju, and some even felt that she has the most upside of any current Ontario Christian player, even Kaleena Smith.

Last season, Griffin was second on the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game, second in rebounds at 8.2, second in assists with 3.9 and third in steals at 2.8 per contest. Tati was most difficult to defend down low as evidenced by the fact she shot 59 percent from the field but she can shoot the 3-ball as well after connecting on 43 three-pointers and shooting 43-percent from outside the arc.

For a freshman, Griffin was a model for consistency. She only missed double-figure scoring once and that was when she hardly played in a game Ontario Christian won by 99 points. Her season high of 29 points (11 rebounds) came in the Knights’ 65-63 victory over Etiwanda in the CIF Southern Section Open Division title game. Griffin also had 13 double-doubles and 18 was her high for rebounds. Besides the Cal-Hi Sports honors, which includes All State Freshmen First Team, Griffin was one of two freshmen to be named All CIF Southern Section Open Division.

Freshman Maliya Hunter was named Player of the Year in the West Catholic Athletic League. Photo: Harold Abend.

With Hunter being named All State Elite First Team, it marks the first time ever that two freshmen have graced the first team, and besides that honor the Monarchs’ big girl also got some consideration as the runner-up for State Freshman of the Year.

For Hunter, the daughter of Stanford assistant coach Wayne Hunter, it wasn’t just about the numbers because if you just went off her 10.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season, it doesn’t look that impressive. However, when McKenna Woliczko suffered a season-ending injury in early January in a loss to Ontario Christian, it left a tremendous void on a team that was No. 1 in the nation at the time when after only a few days prior to that, with Woliczko and Hunter leading a full strength Monarchs’ team, they had beaten Ontario Christian by 25 points in the title game of the top division of the Nike TOC. At that point everything changed.

“When McKenna went down we had to spread the sugar, but there was no question Maliya was our most consistent player from that point,” said legendary Mitty head coach Sue Phillips. Spreading the sugar meant Mitty ended up with five players averaging at least seven points per game, but it was Hunter that was the team’s leading scorer and the leading rebounder as well, plus her defense was exceptional.

Although for the most part her scoring was consistent and she didn’t have any games where her point totals were off the charts, Hunter was solid against top-notch competition. Soon after Woliczko went down, Mitty still had national level competition to face and although the team lost in close games to national top 10 Sidwell Friends of Washington D.C. and by only four points to national No. 1 New Jersey Morris Catholic, Hunter had a solid 17 points and nine rebounds against Sidwell Friends and 15 points and nine rebounds against Morris Catholic. In the Monarchs’ 64-60 win over Clovis West in the CIF Northern Regional Open title game, Hunter outplayed UNLV-bound senior Alexis Swillis and finished with a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds, and she even drained a three-pointer.

After all was said and done, Hunter not only gets a Cal-Hi Sports Elite First Team and All State Freshmen First Team selection, but she was also named the West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year and the 49er Cal-Hi Sports CIF Central Coast Section Player of the Year.

F – Grace Knox (Etiwanda) 6-3, Sr.

After moving from Las Vegas and missing her entire sophomore season due to injury, Knox was an integral part of the Etiwanda 2024 CIF Open Division state championship team and was in some people’s eyes the best player down the stretch for the Eagles. Her numbers were excellent, but in the end the two spots that Etiwanda got on the All State Elite First Team went to 2024 Ms. Basketball Kennedy Smith and Aliyahna “Puff” Morris, who edged out Knox for State Junior of the Year.

This past season, the LSU-bound McDonald’s All American fought through an injury riddled season that saw her miss a few games when she really wasn’t needed, and she was still wearing a back brace to help with a sore back she had right up until the CIF Open Division state championship 75-59 victory over Archbishop Mitty. At the press conference following the game, Knox admitted she was banged up all season but made every effort to play through her injuries.

Although not strongly considered for the Ms. Basketball honor, there was little question Knox was one of the top 10 players in the state and after making Elite Second Team last year she snags All State First Team honors this season. A perfect example of her value came in the state championship victory. With Etiwanda only up 32-31 against Mitty late in the first half, and despite grimacing from pain after getting up from the hardwood after she got knocked around early on, Knox came alive and finished with a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds with eight of the points and six rebounds coming in the second half when Etiwanda took charge.

This past season, and despite her challenges, Knox averaged a very solid 15.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. Besides being a McDonald’s All American, Knox was chosen for the Jordan Brand Classic and was an All CIF Southern Section Open Division selection.

G – Aliyahna “Puff” Morris (Etiwanda) 5-5, Sr.

The 2025 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year and Senior of the Year follows in the footsteps of 2024 Ms. Basketball and former teammate Kennedy Smith by completing the quad of winning all four class honors. Puff won the 2024 State Junior of the Year, 2023 State Sophomore of the Year and 2022 State Freshman of the Year honors, and now also makes it three straight All State Elite Girls First Team selections after garnering Elite Third Team as a freshman.

There have been several players who have earned a Ms. Basketball award that have been a member of at least three straight CIF state championships, but those were before the CIF went to competitive equity in 2013 and established the Open Division, and that means Morris is the only one to win three consecutive Open Division titles and that is a remarkable feat, and one that Smith was unable not achieve.

Besides the three straight CIF Open Division state championships, the Eagles’ four-year record was an amazing 123-12 with Morris at the point, and this came while playing a national level schedule that included traversing the country to play top competition along with the CIF Southern Section Open Division, by many accounts and rightfully so the toughest playoffs in the nation.

Besides the Cal-Hi Sports Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year honor, Morris has taken down some other significant hardware including Riverside Press Enterprise All Inland Empire Player of the Year and the Baseline League Most Valuable Player. Morris was also named a McDonald’s All American and was one of six players in double-figure scoring with 10 points, including 2-for-4 on three-pointers. Morris was also chosen for the Jordan Brand Classic.

This past season, Morris led Etiwanda in scoring at 24.1 points per game plus 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals per contest, 80 made three-pointers, and most analysts felt Puff was one of the top defenders in the state. Her top performances didn’t come in blowouts but against top competition, including 32 points plus four assists in a 67-57 win versus Mater Dei of Santa Ana in the CIF Southern Regional Open Division semifinals. Puff poured in 32 points with five assists and two steals in a close loss to New York No. 1 Long Island Lutheran, 26 points against national Top 20 Incarnate Word Academy of Missouri in a win that broke the nation’s longest winning streak, and 20 points, five assists and four rebounds in a 13-point win over national No. 6 Sidwell Friends of Washington, D.C.

In the last two games against Ontario Christian in the Southern Section Open title game and CIF Southern Regional championship, Morris had 20 points and five assists in the CIFSS Open championship 65-63 loss, and a team-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 on three-pointers, plus she played exceptional defense, particularly down the stretch against Kaleena Smith in the Eagles’ 67-62 SoCal Open championship victory. In the state championship win over Archbishop Mitty, the three-point shots weren’t falling but she played exceptional defense and still finished with 12 points and seven assists. For her career, Puff finishes as the No. 3 all-time leading scorer in Etiwanda history with 1,750 points, and No. 2 all-time with 294 made three-pointers.

G – Jerzy Robinson (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 6-1, Jr.

After transferring from Arizona’s Desert Vista of Phoenix prior to her sophomore season and finishing as a close runner-up to McKenna Woliczko of Archbishop Mitty for State Sophomore of the Year, Robinson landed a spot on the All State Elite Second Team overall. With Woliczko out for the season with an injury, there was pretty much little doubt Robinson, who is regarded as the top recruit in the class of 2026 by several recruiting services, was going to be almost a slam dunk to garner State Junior of the Year honors, and she did and now also moves up from Second Team to All State Elite First Team.

We didn’t really do finalists for Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year, but if we had Robinson would have been among the handful that got serious consideration. Despite being rested for five games, four against teams where Sierra Canyon won in a running clock and once in an 18-point win over No. 15 ranked Fairmont Prep, Jerzy had outstanding numbers and was over 30 points in 10 of the 26 games she played in. This past season, Robinson averaged 27.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She shot 44 percent overall from the field, 32 percent on 63 made three-pointers, and a very solid 84 percent from the free-throw line. Her 50 points (eight rebounds) in an 89-45 victory over Woodland Hills Louisville was a career high. In her final game of the season, a 69-57 overtime loss to Ontario Christian in the CIF Southern Regional Open Division semifinals, Jerzy had 27 points and nine rebounds. Robinson was also named All CIF Southern Section Open Division and Cal-Hi Sports All State Juniors First Team.

Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian seems destined to be a member of the 4-for-4 all-state club, which means being all-state first team overall four times in four high school seasons. Photo: @ochsathletics / X.com.

After being among a very few select freshmen to ever make All State Elite First Team last season when she was the State Freshman of the Year, Smith was pretty much a no-brainer for State Sophomore of the Year honors this season, was a razor thin close runner-up and only other real major contender for Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year where she was edged out by Aliyana Morris of Etiwanda, and now adds second straight All State First Team Elite selection. Smith was also a runner-up for the top player in California in some other internet/media outlets, but “Special K” as she’s known as to many, did win the Gatorade California State Player of the Year, plus she was the youngest of five finalists for the 2025 Naismith Award for girls basketball.

Despite just being a sophomore, Smith has already inked a deal with Addidas, and she was signed by none other than Candace Parker, who made her the first signee in her tenure as the president pf women’s basketball for Adidas. This past season, Smith averaged 23.2 points, 8.1 assists and 4.5 steals per game in leading the Knights to the CIF Southern Section Open Division title. Her team also was No. 1 in the nation for many weeks until it lost to Etiwanda in the CIF Southern Regional Open Division final. Smith set a state record as a freshman for most three-pointers in a season with 179 and this last season she added 92 more. With Ontario Christian adding a ton of scoring punch this season, Smith’s numbers were a little down from last season when she averaged 34.9 points per game, but her assists and steals were up. Smith still did go for 29 points or more nine times with a season-high 37 against La Jolla Country Day. As for college offers, there are well over 20, including those from USC, Connecticut, UCLA, South Carolina, LSU and Louisville.

G/W – Julia Wilson (Rancho Christian, Temecula) 5-10, Sr.

After watching Wilson take charge in the Eagles’ 58-48 victory over Brentwood in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 title game with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, we had said the Gonzaga-bound Rancho Christian star had proven she was one of the top state’s top players. Although she was not a one-girl team, Rancho Christian head coach Marlon Wells, the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Coach of the Year, made it clear in the post-game press conference that none of it would have been possible without Wilson, and not surprisingly she was named the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Player of the Year.

Not all of Wilson’s top games were in Rancho Christian victories. A perfect example was her double-double 35 points and 10 rebounds with seven assists in a loss to Etiwanda. Two days later, and in a loss to a Moreno Valley team that Brentwood defeated in the CIFSS D1 semis, Wilson had 32 points and nine rebounds. In an earlier loss to Moreno Valley she had a double-double 31 points and 10 rebounds with four assists. Even in her final game for the No. 16 ranked Eagles in the Final Expanded rankings, a seven point loss to Windward in the CIF SoCal D1 quarterfinals, Julia had 33 points. Wilson also went for 30-plus points on two other occasions, a double-double 33 points and 11 assists with six rebounds in an 84-60 win over Los Angeles Marlborough, and a season high 37 points with 10 rebounds and four assists in a 57-52 win versus San Diego Westview, and both Westview and Marlborough were on the state rankings bubble list for most of the season.

G/F – Kaeli Wynn (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-1, Jr.

Early in the season in top tournament action, and when the team chemistry was starting to take shape under first-year head coach and Kaeli’s mother, Jody Wynn, Mater Dei took an eight-point loss to Ontario Christian and a 17-point loss at the Nike TOC to a full strength Archbishop Mitty. However, from that point on, the Monarchs began to seemingly improve each game and they were on a 17-game winning streak, including a bounce back 72-57 win over Maryland No. 2 ranked Bullis in a game where Wynn had a double-double 25 points and 11 rebounds, but during the streak Mater Dei suffered a serious setback when Wynn went down with a dislocated kneecap. Four of the 17 straight wins came after Wynn went down but the streak ended with a 63-60 loss to Etiwanda in the final game of CIF Southern Section Open Division Pool play, and that left many wondering what the Monarchs might have done with Wynn in the lineup. She tried to come back for the CIF SoCal Open semis but it was obvious she was hampered by the knee and in 14 minutes she had seven points and seven rebounds. Unlike McKenna Woliczko of Mitty, who did not play enough games to qualify for the all-state teams, Wynn did play in enough games and was selected where she needed to go.

When Kaeli was at full strength, there was no doubt she is deserving of All State Elite First Team honors and she will likely challenge for Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year next season. Even in the Ontario Christian and Archbishop Mitty losses, Wynn had double-doubles with 16 points and 10 rebounds with three assists against Ontario Christian and 15 points and 11 rebounds versus Mitty. In a 59-49 tournament win over New York No. 1 Christ the King, Wynn went for 24 points, six assists and five rebounds. For the season, Wynn, who was named All CIF Southern Section Open Division and Cal-Hi Sports All State Juniors First Team, was second on the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game, led the team with 7.1 rebounds per game, plus she added 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.

Note: Co-founder Mark Tennis contributed to this report.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend