Boys BB CIF State Previews & Picks

The predicted scores of these games each year are done with great respect to all 12 teams who’ve made it to a CIF state championship and with a historical touch. Editor Mark Tennis has been credentialed at every CIF state championship weekend since the first one in 1980 in Oakland. Managing editor Ronnie Flores also has done all of our boys hoops overall state team rankings for more than 20 years. Of course, Sierra Canyon and Damien have to be big favorites in the Open Division and for D1, but it’s more of a crap-shoot in the other divisions. We were 5-1 in boys state final picks from last season.

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Note: Our lead boys basketball analyst, Ronnie Flores, did the breakdowns for Open Division boys and Division I boys. Editor and publisher Mark Tennis did the rest with help from Ronnie in D2.

FOR MOST RECENT BOYS STATE TOP 30 RANKINGS (DONE BEFORE REGION FINALS), CLICK HERE.

(All games played at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento)
(All state rankings references to State Top 30, which were done before any of this week’s games)

Open Division (Boys)
State No. 1 Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (SoCal) 29-1 vs. State No. 4 Salesian of Richmond (NorCal) 29-3, Saturday, 8 pm

This is a terrific matchup to close out the 2025-26 CIF season, as our season-long No. 1 team from each region will meet for all the marbles. Salesian, the CIF North Coast Section Open champs and preseason No. 3 team in the state, simply knows how to win with a deep and balanced team that also knows how to play from behind. Sierra Canyon, the CIF Southern Section open champs and preseason No. 1, has been dominant and simply hasn’t been behind much. Salesian is making its second appearance in the CIF open title game after getting over the hump in 2024 when it erased some NorCal open demons and played No. 1 Harvard-Westlake for the title where it lost 50-45 in a game that was quite competitive. For as much national attention as Sierra Canyon gets, it hasn’t dominated CIF basketball at the highest level quite as much as general fans may think. The program is making its first appearance in the CIF Open title game since 2018-2019, when the Trialblazers dominated Sheldon of Sacramento, 76-52, to win back-to-back state open crowns. Sierra Canyon was going for a third straight title in 2019-20 and advanced to the CIF open final on a Tuesday before the CIF state championships were canceled on Thursday morning because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.

Salesian is 2-2 in state title games, winning titles in D4 in 2012 and 2009. It was upset in the 2011 D4 final by Windward of Los Angeles. The Trailblazers are 4-0 all-time in CIF finals, winning in 2015 in D5 when, like Salesian in 2012, it was one of the state’s best teams prior to the competitive equity movement.

Sierra Canyon seems to be on a mission after capturing the CIF D1 title in 2025 in spoiling a spirited upset bid by Lincoln of Stockton. The top returning player and star of last year’s D1 title game, 6-foot-7 Maxi Adams, is much improved and playing his best ball as of late. He brings intensity on defense and on the offensive glass, while developing a calm and smooth demeanor to his offensive game. He’s also knocking down shots with regularity, and came up big during a key stretch to close the third period in a 63-57 win over state No. 2 Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood in the SoCal open final. The North Carolina-bound Adams made back-to-back 3-pointers during a 14-3 run to make the score 50-40 after the Wolverines had temporarily took the lead. He finished with 26 points, making 5-of-12 on 3-pointers.

The second McDonald’s All-American on the team is 6-foot-4 Brandon McCoy Jr., one of the nation’s most explosive players in basically all four years he’s been a high school player. McCoy did his first three seasons at St. John Bosco of Bellflower (team won CIF D1 title there two years ago) and can change this game in a big arena setting with an explosive dunk or big block. Adams and McCoy open things up on both ends for 6-foot-7 senior Brannon Martinsen, a lefty forward who can score in a variety of ways, is tough on the glass and knows how to frustrate defenses by getting to the line. The offensive board work of Sierra Canyon’s trio has been impressive in the post-season and was a big factor in the win over Harvard-Westlake. The Pride simply cannot give up as many offensive rebounds as some of Sierra Canyon’s SoCal post-season opponents.

The Pride may not have a McDonald’s selection, but their core is no slouch and they do have a big-time talent in Stanford-bound Elias Obenyah. Realistically, he’s been one of the state’s best players since his sophomore year and nearly willed Salesian to an upset of Harvard-Westlake in the 2024 game. The 6-foot-5 Obenyah had more clutch moments in his team’s 59-54 overtime victory over state No. 5 and top-seeded Riordan of San Francisco in a true road NorCal open title game. Obenyah had 11 points in the fourth period and five in overtime. No other player hit double figures for Salesian, but there are at least six others capable of double-digits on a given night, as The Pride have incredible depth even though they lost a few keys players to transfer in the off-season.

Leon Powe III, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored nine points vs. Riordan and is an unselfish talent. He’s also a good catch-and shoot guy who can do glass work. Six-foot junior Asante Johnson had seven points and six rebounds and veteran coach Bill Mellis, who has 697 career wins going into Saturday’s showdown, has been singing Johnson’s praises since the preseason. Point guard Isaiah Davis, a 6-foot-senior, will look to have a big game against Sierra Canyon’s Steph Kankole, while Salesian has many capable players of matching up with Sierra Canyon’s DeLan Grant, a muscular talent who looks like some of The Pride’s Grid-Hoopers. The best of the lot is actually Salesian’s second best overall player night in and night out and that’s Carlton Perrilliat, a 6-foot-5 senior who is capable of 15 to 20 points in this game. Salesian actually can stay close even if he doesn’t score much. After all, he had only four points and six rebounds vs. Riordan but his presence is needed if Salesian is going to pull off the upset.

There is some size difference, but these two teams match up fairly well and it’s always difficult to prepare for Salesian’s trademark depth. Mellis does a great job of developing unselfish units, but Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier (485 career wins) has really enjoyed coaching this group because of their professionalism and unselfishness. Salesian doesn’t have as big an advantage in those two areas as one might think and both clubs are excellent defensively. Sierra Canyon is just a bit longer and more talented with its shot making.

Since the advent of the open division on a statewide level in 2012-13, there hasn’t been any upsets in this game from a rankings point of view. Not a single one, and the North has only won one time when wire-to-wire No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd defeated four-time defending champ Mater Dei in a game played in the Bay Area while the rest have been played in Sacramento. The streak will continue, as the Trailblazers will go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the state and become the first ever team to capture three CIF open titles.

Prediction: Sierra Canyon 69, Salesian 64

Division I Boys
State No. 11 Damien of La Verne 31-7 (SoCal) vs. State No. 25 Folsom 29-6 (NorCal), Friday, 8 p.m.

These two teams are ranked a bit below the finalists in this division last year, as once again the South has a team from the CIFSS open playoff ranks that comes in ranked higher because there are simply more depth of top teams to pull into the South’s open division. This is a intriguing matchup featuring two of the best coaches in the state with teams that have a connection. Damien’s Mike LeDuc has been coaching high school basketball since 1979-80 and is No. 2 on the all-time state list for coaching wins (behind Mater Dei’s Gary McKnight) and one of only three coaches with over 1,000 wins (including Rolling Hills Prep Harvey Kitani) and that’s where the connection comes in.

Mike Wall of Folsom has been long recognized as one of the top coaches in NorCal and this year he knew his team was going to be talented once again after advancing to the NorCal open semifinals in 2024-25. Wall took his team to The Classic at Damien (holiday tournament) and the Bulldogs won the Gold Division with a 68-58 title game victory over Rolling Hills Prep on Damien’s home court. Folsom, the No. 3 seed in the North, did take a few licks early and both clubs lost to NorCal open champ Salesian: Damien fell, 57-54, and the Bulldogs lost, 74-68. Damien went 1-2 in the CIFSS open playoffs, while Folsom advanced to the San Joaquin Section D1 semifinals, where it fell to Sheldon of Sacramento.

Both teams are somewhat perimeter-oriented, but know how to play big inside when it calls for it. For the NorCal champs, the player who is counted on the most is 6-foot-6 senior Joven Dulay, who at his size has a terrific skill level and can work the boards. He’s also clutch, as he made all 10 free throws he took in the fourth quarter and scored 12 of his 25 points in the final period of the Bulldogs’ 78-68 win over King’s Academy of Sunnyvale in the NorCal D1 final. The star of the game was 6-foot-3 Jack Shull, a fundamentally sound player who can do a bit of everything well. He finished with 30 points in Tuesday’s game while 6-foot-3 sophomore Parks Weaver added 15. Weaver is deceptive, he’s faster and quicker than he looks, and strong on his drives. Most important, Weaver can make shots all over the court. The team made 10 3-pointers in the win vs. King’s Academy and 16-of-18 free throws in the fourth period.

For Damien, the “inside” player is 6-foot-6 senior Eli Garner, who did a majority of the defensive work on 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American Christian Collins in Damien’s 48-41 victory over No. 4 seed and state No. 7 St. John Bosco in the SoCal D1 final. The Spartans, seeded No. 6 in the South, held the Braves to 14 points in the first half and Collins did not score before intermission. In addition to his physical and effective defense, Garner, a terrific jump-shooter, netted 16 points in the low-scoring regional final victory. Zaire Rasshan, a 6-foot-3 junior, is also one of SoCal’s better jump shooters and Folsom is going to have to find a way to close out on shooters with effectiveness and avoid cheap fouls in Friday’s game. The unsung hero and quarterback who makes things go for the Spartans is 5-foot-10 senior point guard Elijah Smith. He’s as tough as he is smart and is a deft ball-handler and decision-maker. He went for 20 points vs. St. John Bosco and if he can outplay Weaver, Damien will like its chances.

Folsom is seeking its first state title since 1985 in D3 when there were only three divisions, while LeDuc’s program won the 2022 D1 title over Clovis North as a CIFSS open entrant that finished No. 6 in the state. Neither of these teams will finish in that range of the state rankings regardless of Friday’s result, but it won’t matter because it will be a well-contested game with a high execution level. The team that gives up the last run is likely the one that loses and it won’t likely be a big run, either.

In the open division and competitive equity era since 2015-16, the champion in this division has come from the CIF Southern Section and every time it was a fall back team from the CIFSS open division, except when the Atlanta Hawks’ Onyeka Okongwu was dominating at Chino Hills and led the Huskies to back-to-back CIF D1 state titles. It will be another good game, but the SoCal CIFSS dominance will continue because of Damien’s 3-point shooting ability with a backcourt that can execute just as well as Folsom’s on a big court.

Prediction: Damien 64, Folsom 58

Division II Boys
State No. 22 Bakersfield Christian 24-11 (SoCal) vs. State No. 24 San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno 27-7 (NorCal), Sat. 4 p.m.

Some would say it’s bizarre that two CIF Central Section teams would be playing each other for a state title, but we’ve have had these teams ranked higher overall than many D1 teams (including Folsom) so it was no surprise that Bakersfield Christian won the SoCal D2 bracket while San Joaquin Memorial won it in the north. And if anyone has spent much time in Fresno or Bakersfield, while the cities have long been part of the Central Section, most Fresno folks consider themselves to be in the north while for Bakersfield it’s the south. The reason for the two being D2 instead of D1 is that they were seeded lower in the Central Section than either Buchanan or Clovis North and that low seeding played itself out in the regional playoff seedings as well.

The two teams reached Saturday’s state final much differently. Bakersfield Christian had to come from a 10-point deficit in the first half to edge Palisades of Pacific Palisades, 59-57. The Dolphins had been on a roll since winning the CIF L.A. City Section Open Division, but came up just a few plays short. Taiwo Daramola, a 6-foot-8 junior, had 28 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles. San Joaquin Memorial put up a 74-44 blowout of Oakland Tech and was not challenged. The Panthers had a harder time in the semifinals when they beat Clovis West of Fresno, 60-50.

This could be a case in which the coaches afterward are talking about how hard it is to beat a good team three times during a season. Bakersfield Christian is the team with two wins over the Panthers, but the second of those meetings, which was just a couple of weeks ago in the Central Section D1 quarterfinals, was just 61-59. The Eagles then played and did well considering the opponent in a 67-57 loss to top seed St. Joseph of Santa Maria.

San Joaquin Memorial had a win in the CIF D2 state final three years ago vs Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach and is looking to win a second CIF state title in four years. UC Irvine-bound Parker Spees has reached 2,000 or more career points and is averaging 12.7 ppg. Senior Sajiin Sidhu is up to 16.5 ppg while Ty Shalk has been averaging 13.1 ppg. The Panthers have a prestigious group of alums including Jalen Green (NBA), Brooke Lopez (NBA), Robin Lopez (previous NBA), Quincy Pondexter (NBA), Roscoe Pondexter and Clifton Pondexter.

Bakersfield Christian was supposed to make its CIF boys hoops debut in 2020 after a win vs Palisades in the D2 regional final. The worldwide pandemic started the next week, however, so the game vs Brookside Christian of Stockton was never played.

Prediction: San Joaquin Memorial 65, Bakersfield Christian 63

Division III Boys
Birmingham of Lake Balboa 22-8 (SoCal) vs. Cornerstone Christian of Antioch 28-8 (NorCal), Friday, 4 pm

Neither of these teams has won a CIF state title before, but Cornerstone won the NorCal D6 title two years ago and has been coming on as a small private school in the CIF North Coast Section. The Cougars also may be considered a favorite to win on Friday since they knocked out the 2025 CIF D4 state champion, Priory of Portola Valley, 73-65, in Tuesday’s regional final. They also will take a 16-game win streak in the state final.

Birmingham took advantage of a long break after it lost in the CIF L.A. City Section Open Division playoffs (all Open teams in the L.A. City get to move on into the regionals). Perhaps the Patriots also took advantage of getting a 3 seed in the D3 south bracket. They put up explosive scoring runs in all three of their regional wins, including 73-58 on Tuesday vs Colony of Ontario.

The most attractive aspect of this matchup appears to be the highly-regarded junior prospects for each team that will be involved. Cornerstone will have 6-foot-7 junior forward James Perry, who averages 17.0 ppg, along with 6-foot-3 junior point guard Ben Lukacs. He had 24 points in the NorCal final and is shown with 13.8 ppg and 3.5 assists. Birmingham’s junior contingent should be lethal as well with 6-foot-3 wing Takeio Phillips, who leads the Patriots with 21.2 ppg. Forward X’zavion McKay also has been a double-double machine as the 6-foot-4 standout has hit for 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per outing.

Predicted Score: Cornerstone Christian 71, Birmingham 68

Division IV Boys
San Juan Hills of SJ Capistrano 21-14 (SoCal) vs Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton 20-11 (NorCal), Saturday 12 noon

At the start of the regional brackets for D4, the team we liked the best was SoCal top seed Tulare out of the CIF Central Section. The Tribe reached the final with a 31-3 record, but they didn’t reach Sacramento. San Juan Hills surged down the stretch to take a 74-66 win in the SoCal final and will now head to the Golden 1 Center in search of its first CIF state final. A key for the Stallions has been the recent hot shooting of senior Rocco Jensen. He had 24 points vs Tulare and had 31 in an earlier playoff game.

Sacred Heart Prep’s advantage may be the competition it faced in the West Bay League of the CIF Central Coast Section. Also in that league is King’s Academy of Sunnyvale (just lost in NorCal D1 final to Folsom) and Priory of Portola Valley (just lost in NorCal D3 final). The Gators obviously aren’t in D1 or D3 and the D4 placement has been a good spot. Still, another local rival from Half Moon Bay proved hard to beat. While SHP beat the Cougars in the CCS playoffs, it needed overtime and in Tuesday’s NorCal final there was Half Moon Bay again. This time, it was a 53-51 win. Alex Osterloh has been Sacred Heart’s leading scorer at 13.4 ppg.

Both schools are making their first CIF state final appearance in boys hoops.

Prediction: San Juan Hills 64, Sacred Heart Prep 58

Division V Boys
Sylmar 24-12 (SoCal) vs. San Marin of Novato 21-13 (NorCal), Friday, 12 noon

A battle of longtime head coaches may be the best storyline coming out of Friday’s first boys state final of the weekend. Sylmar head coach coach Bort Escoto is in his 33rd season and is well-liked by many members of the SoCal media/coaching community for his personality and coaching style. San Marin is led by 73-year-old Chris Lavdiotis, who is in his second season at San Marin but previous has coached for 24 years at Piedmont and for several other schools. Neither coach has ever been to a CIF state final before.

Sylmar also takes a high-scoring attack into this matchup. Since the Spartans (also on a 16-game win streak) finished up the early portion of their schedule when they were playing higher-level competition and started league play, they’ve hit 100 points seven times and have often been in the 90s as well. They were held down in the SoCal final by top seed Coalinga in a 66-58 contest, but in their three earlier regional games they beat Canoga Park, 104-65, Preuss USD of La Jolla, 99-76, and Canyon of Canyon Country, 102-94 in overtime. Rob Winn has averaged nearly 20 ppg for the season but closer to 30 since January. Aiden Garcia (16.6 ppg) and Tim Tanner (15.6 ppg) have been explosive as well.

It’s been much more of a grind-it-out attack for San Marin. The Mustangs have shown resilience with their win in the regional semifinals over Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park (avenged an earlier loss) and then they went to top seed Mission San Jose of Fremont and shut down the Warriors, 56-46, on their home court. Senior Miller Morgan has led San Marin in scoring at 14.2 ppg.

Prediction: Sylmar 70, San Marin 65

Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can
be reached at ronlocc1977@gmail.com.
Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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