The 2025 State Team of the Year St. John Bosco baseball team of Bellflower shows off a CIF regional title plaque for the second straight year, but this one in D1 was a little bit bigger than last season. Photo: Tom Connolly / For OC Sports Zone.
Bellflower school has ended No. 1 in the state in football four times (all since 2013), but has never finished No. 1 in any other sport we cover until this week. The Braves won the CIF SoCal D1 baseball title last Saturday to add to their CIF Southern Section D1 title from the previous week and are easy, obvious choice for State Team of the Year. They now join all-time state list that goes back more than 125 years.
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As the CIF Southern California Division I championship game was about to get started last Saturday, it probably wasn’t mentioned by anyone close to the St. John Bosco baseball program that even with a loss in the game to Patrick Henry of San Diego that there was a chance that the Braves still were going to be State Team of the Year for California.
That’s how much their win in the CIF Southern Section D1 semifinal over nationally celebrated Corona plus their win in the title game over Santa Margarita impacted state and national rankings. The Patriots, with 10 losses overall, were not going to move higher even with a win.
The Braves took no chances, however. They capped a tremendous two months of baseball by blanking Patrick Henry, 4-0, and now today it’s official. They are the State Team of the Year for the first time in school history. The only other Bosco teams that have been No. 1 to end a season in the state have all been in football (2013, 2016, 2019, 2022).
Junior shortstop James Clark of the Braves already has been named Player of the Year in the Trinity League. Photo: YouTube.com.
This year’s baseball team guided by head coach Andy Rojo often played like a football team, using its athleticism to make great defensive plays, run the bases and get big hits backed up by a pitching staff that performed at its best against the best competition.
This is the third straight CIF Southern Section D1 champion to also finish No. 1 in the state, but the Braves are the first ones to win both the section and CIF regional titles. Last year’s team at Corona opted out of the regional playoffs. In 2023, JSerra also opted out, one year after the Lions played on in the first year of the regionals in 2022 and lost in the regional final to Huntington Beach.
CIF state championship games are expected to be approved and added to the calendar in two years, which this year in D1 would have matched the Braves vs NorCal D1 champion De La Salle of Concord (a school they’ve played to win three of their four state titles in football). The Spartans won their third CIF NorCal D1 title in the last four years also on Saturday with a 5-4 win vs Serra of San Mateo.
St. John Bosco also represents the Long Beach region of the CIFSS and is the first State Team of the Year from there since Long Beach Wilson in 2007. Before that, you have to go back to Lakewood for 1987. Historically, with schools like Wilson, Millikan, Compton and Long Beach Poly, the region has always been great in baseball. Poly’s first major championship teams are from 1912 and 1913.
“I’ve run out of words to explain the run this team has been on,” Rojo told reporter Tom Connolly of the OC Sports Zone website following last Saturday’s game. “We haven’t lost a game in two months. It’s unbelievable and truly unprecedented, winning the triple crown, the Trinity League, the Southern Section Division 1 title and now the Division I regional state championship. I think we should be in the conversation for a national championship.”
It should be noted that there have been State Teams of the Year in recent years in some sports that get there after losing in a section final and then winning revenge style in the regional finals. That didn’t happen for the Braves, either, and it couldn’t happen for Corona, either, as that team again opted out of the regional playoffs. The Panthers (28-3) will finish No. 2 in the final state rankings and since Bosco will have to be higher nationally (at least for any rankings that make sense) that adds more strength to Rojo’s comment about a No. 1 national ranking.
Pitching depth is a major factor for any team winning three times in one week in the regional playoffs and the Braves showed that off by starting freshman Brayden Krakowski against the Patriots. Krakowski kept the Patriots at bay by allowing just three hits and one walk before he was relieved by junior closer Jack Champlin with two outs in the fifth inning. Champlin’s closing work was the key in both wins vs Corona and Santa Margarita and he retired all seven batters he faced against Patrick Henry.
Bosco took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of its title game. Junior James Clark led off with a triple, scored on a RBI single by Noah Everly and then Everly scored on an RBI single by Miles Clark, brother of James. An RBI double by James Clark and an RBI single by Jayden Jackson accounted for the team’s final two runs.
For the season, James Clark led the way with a .411 batting average, 29 runs scored and 46 hits. Everly had a team-best 30 RBI with a second-best 29 hits. The team ERA is 1.26, however, shows the major strength of the squad. Senior Trevor Hershman pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in the 2-0 win over Corona and had a 1.19 season ERA. Champlin closed out that game with two outs and gave up no runs in four innings vs Santa Margarita and one inning each in the other two regional games. Gavin Cervantes also went 8-0 with a 1.20 ERA.
And for those wondering if this Bosco baseball program can start doing other similar things that the football team has been doing, all of the pitchers except Hershman will be back next season. The Clark brothers, Everly, Jackson, Moises Razo (28 hits) also will all be back.
“It’s hard to put it in words what we have accomplished, but today we went out and executed,” James Clark told OC Sports Zone. “We like to get out early and punch teams in the mouth and get ahead. What we’ve done as a team is set a wonderful legacy and it has been iconic.”
CAL-HI SPORTS ALL-TIME
STATE BASEBALL TEAMS OF THE YEAR
(All teams listed prior to 1980 based on research by our founder,
the late Nelson Tennis)
Billy Carlson was one of the top players at Corona for the last two seasons. Photo: @USABEvents / Twitter.com.
2025 – Bellflower St. John Bosco (30-4)
2024 – Corona (30-3)
2023 – San Juan Capistrano JSerra (24-9)
2022 – Concord De La Salle (27-6)
2021 – Thousand Oaks (29-1)
2020 – No Selection (Pandemic)
2019 – Concord De La Salle (29-1)
2018 – San Jose Valley Christian (29-3-1)
2017 – Chula Vista Eastlake (32-4)
2016 – Clovis Buchanan (30-1)
2015 – Pleasant Hill College Park (26-4)
2014 – Clovis (33-5)
2013 – North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (28-4)
2012 – Vista (31-4)
2011 – Clovis Buchanan (30-2)
2010 – San Jose Archbishop Mitty (31-3)
2009 – Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley (26-6)
2008 – Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (27-4)
2007 – Long Beach Wilson (31-3)
2006 – San Jose Bellarmine (34-4)
2005 – Woodland Hills El Camino Real (28-4)
2004 – Chatsworth (35-0)
2003 – Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (32-1)
2002 – La Puente Bishop Amat (28-2)
2001 – La Puente Bishop Amat (27-2)
2000 – San Diego Rancho Bernardo (30-3)
1999 – Riverside Arlington (29-2)
1998 – Clovis (33-2)
1997 – Clovis (32-2) (plus one win by default)
1996 – Granada Hills Kennedy (31-3)
1995 – Fountain Valley (26-3-1)
1994 – Fountain Valley (27-3-1)
1993 – Fresno Bullard (26-3-1)
1992 – San Diego Mira Mesa (26-5)
1991 – Ontario (26-0)
1990 – Cupertino Monta Vista (27-3)
1989 – Fresno Bullard (28-2)
1988 – Fresno Bullard (29-1)
1987 – Lakewood (25-7)
1986 – Santee Santana (26-2)
1985 – Oxnard Rio Mesa (27-3)
1984 – Rancho Cordova (33-5-1)
1983 – El Cerrito (27-1)
1982 – San Diego Mt. Carmel (24-2)
1981 – Westminster (23-4)
1980 – Fresno Bullard (29-2)
1979 – Visalia Mt. Whitney (20-3)
1978 – Larkspur Redwood (30-5)
1977 – West Covina Edgewood (29-1)
1976 – Lakewood (22-4-1)
1975 – Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-3)
1974 – Torrance North (26-6-1)
1973 – El Segundo (30-5)
1972 – Venice (19-3)
1971 – El Segundo (33-2)
1970 – Lompoc (27-1)
1969 – Sacramento Grant (16-1)
1968 – Fresno Hoover (27-3)
1967 – Long Beach Millikan (20-4)
1966 – El Segundo (24-4-1)
1965 – San Diego Crawford (22-4)
1964 – Lynwood (23-2)
1963 – Long Beach Poly (21-4)
1962 – Sacramento Bishop Armstrong (22-2)
1961 – S.F. Sacred Heart (32-2-1)
1960 – Fresno Roosevelt (20-2)
1959 – S.F. St. Ignatius (28-3)
1958 – Fresno (25-1)
1957 – Fresno (22-2)
1956 – Ontario Chaffey (21-5)
1955 – South Gate (17-2)
1954 – L.A. Loyola (22-5)
1953 – Compton (23-2)
1952 – S.F. Sacred Heart (29-5)
1951 – Sacramento McClatchy (22-0-1)
1950 – Long Beach Wilson (24-3)
1949 – San Diego (29-3)
1948 – San Diego (26-3)
1947 – S.F. Mission (12-1)*
1946 – San Diego (24-7)
1945 – S.F. Mission (10-0, League)
1944 – S.F. Mission (9-0, League)
1943 – L.A. Fremont (13-1)
1942 – San Diego Hoover (13-0 vs. prep teams)
1941 – S.F. Galileo (12-1)*
1940 – S.F. Mission (11-1)*
1939 – San Diego (20-5)
1938 – Glendale (4-0, Playoffs)
1937 – S.F. Commerce (12-2, League)
1936 – Long Beach Poly (23-2)
1935 – Sacramento (20-1)
1934 – S.F. Mission (7-0, League)
1933 – Fresno Roosevelt (20 -2)
1932 – San Diego (11-4)
1931 – S.F. Mission (8-0, League)
1930 – San Diego (19-3)
1929 – San Diego (31-5)
1928 – San Diego (22-8-1)
1927 – Fullerton (29-5-1)
1926 – Alameda (21-1)
1925 – Los Angeles (6-0, League)
1924 – S.F. Sacred Heart (6-0)*
1923 – San Diego (15-4)
1922 – S.F. Mission (6-1)*
1921 – San Diego (18-5-2)
1920 – San Diego (13-1)
1919 – Oakland Technical (8-0)*
1918 – San Diego (12-6)
1917 – San Diego (12-1)
1916 – S.F. Poly (7-0, League)
1915 – S.F. Sacred Heart (5-0)*
1914 – S.F. Lowell (6-0)*
1913 – Long Beach Poly (19-3-1)
1912 – Long Beach Poly (17-5)
1911 – S.F. Sacred Heart (5-0)*
1910 – S.F. Sacred Heart (8-0)*
1909 – Alameda (5-0)*
1908 – Palo Alto (4-0)*
1907 – Alameda (5-1)*
1906 – S.F. Lick (1-0 League)**
1905 – S.F. Lick (9-1-1)*
1904 – Palo Alto
1903 – Berkeley
1902 – S.F. Lowell
1901 – Berkeley
1900 – S.F. Cogswell
1899 – Palo Alto (5-0)
*Record for league and playoff games only.
** Playoffs and remainder of league schedule were cancelled due to earthquake.
Lick’s 1906 team was regarded as being better than its 1905 team.
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
